Treating And Avoiding Nosebleeds In Children Correctly
Nosebleeds, also known as epistaxis, are common in children, especially between the ages of 2 and 10 years.
A bleeding nose is often a concern of many parents, but rarely is it serious. In general, children with nosebleeds do not need a medical evaluation and can easily be cared for at home.
Types of nosebleeds in children
Local nosebleeds are the most common . This occurs when a blood vessel is injured (for example, a cold, nose picking, dry air, an allergy …).
Nosebleeds can also be a symptom of an illness (e.g. blood clotting disorder, high blood pressure, liver disease …). But this is relatively rare in children.
Reasons for nosebleeds in children
There are many different reasons that you can cause nosebleeds. The most common cause is dry air. Both a dry climate and intense heat can irritate and dry out the mucus in the nose.
This creates itchy crusts that your child scratches. If this injures a blood vessel, the nose starts to bleed.
Colds are another common cause of nosebleeds in children. Often it happens due to repeated blowing of the nose. Allergies can also lead to this.
Finally, injuries, bumps, and falls can also be responsible for the bleeding of the child’s nose. A blood vessel bursts from the impact and the nose begins to bleed.
How to treat nosebleeds in children
If the child’s nose is bleeding, parents worry. Keep calm, because it won’t make your child nervous either. It is usually not a serious problem.
Hold the nose together with your thumb and forefinger. The child holds the head normally or bends it slightly forward.
A common mistake is to lean the child’s head back. But then the blood runs down the throat and the child can choke on it. Coughing and vomiting can even occur.
As soon as the bleeding stops, the child should wait a while longer without touching the nose. Also don’t blow your nose!
For the next few days, you should be careful not to hurt your child’s nose again. His nose will be weaker and more prone to bleeding again.
How to prevent nosebleeds in children
It is relatively easy to prevent nosebleeds. Mostly it is caused by environmental factors or injuries. Note the following tips:
- One way to prevent nosebleeds is to keep your child’s fingernails short at all times. This is how you can prevent them from injuring themselves if they stick a finger up their nose. In addition, it is important to teach your child never to put fingers or other objects up their nose.
- If the climate is dry, you should keep the air humid. You can use a humidifier for this. The main thing is that you always keep this tool clean so as not to distribute dirt or dust in the air.
You can also prevent nosebleeds in children by keeping the lining of the nose moist. You can use nebulizers with saline solution or special creams for this. All of these remedies help protect the nose from drying out and injuries.
After all, children can also injure themselves when exercising with a lot of physical contact. We therefore recommend that you wear appropriate protective clothing so that the children do not get injured.
But despite the precautionary measures, children can simply have nosebleeds every now and then.
