Home Remedy to Prevent Nose Bleeds

At some time in each person's life, he will probably experience a nosebleed. These can happen due to an injury such as being hit in the face with a basketball, walking into a door or as a result of picking or blowing the nose too much. Low humidity, high altitudes and extremely hot temperatures may all result in nose bleeding. Allergies, sinusitis and colds, some medications, hypertension and a lack of vitamin K can all exacerbate the bleeding too. There are precautions you can take to prevent nosebleeds and treatments if you get them.

Prevention

• Check the humidity in your house or workplace. If it is below the normal range, try boiling a pot of water on the stove and reducing it to a low simmer for a few hours. Check the pot frequently to make sure it does not boil dry.

  Keep the nostrils moist by breathing deeply when you are taking a warm shower, use saline nasal spray daily or apply petroleum jelly to the nostrils. Placing vitamin E oil, castor oil or zinc oxide in your nostrils also keeps them from drying out.

  Avoid things that may cause your blood to thin such as garlic, ginger, aspirin, ginseng and vitamin E. If you are on heparin, coumadin or other blood-thinning medications, talk to your physician about the frequency of your nose bleeds.

  Eat some citrus fruit each day. Bioflavonoids, antioxidants found in citrus fruits, strengthen the blood vessels and make them less likely to rupture. If you do not like citrus, take 500 mg of bioflavonoids twice daily, according to the Health911.com website.

  Avoid allergy triggers such as wheat or dairy products if these tend to bother you. Take medications to control allergy symptoms before the allergy season arrives.

Treatment

• Pinching your nostrils together while sitting up and leaning your head forward a little bit should stop the nosebleed within a few minutes. Using an ice pack helps to constrict the blood flow and reduce the swelling or inflammation.

  Seek help from your doctor if the nosebleeds occur several days in a row or a few times a day. If you have bleeds from both nostrils at the same time, the bleeding does not stop within a half hour or if blood is running down the back of your throat, you should contact a doctor.