Anyone know anything about kids having bloody noses?

My youngest daughter is almost 11. She has had somewhat frequent bloody noses most of her life. For the most part they happen at night when she's asleep and wake her up, but they happen during the day, too. They're usually not bad, but happen with no notice and for no apparant reason.

They're worse in winter and we do run a humidifier and she puts vaseline in her nose each night before bed, which seems to help some.

I've talked to the doctor a couple times. The 1st time she prescribed a spray antibiotic for 10 days. She finished it and it made no difference. Then the doctor said she thinks my daughter has "thin membranes" and will outgrow it.

Last night when she was in the bathtub her nose started bleeding profusely. It took about 25 minutes to get it to stop, but then it oozed for an hour or so until she went to bed. It did not bleed over night. She had complained of a headache earlier in the day, but I have no idea if it is related or not.

I am baffled. I have not really worried about it much, thinking the doctor isn't worried and she'll outgrow it, but last night was a really bad one.

Anyone have any experience or know anything about this? Should we persue it with the doctor and, if so, what could be causing it? I don't know what I'm looking for.

Thanks,
Lisa

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My 9 year old was experiencing something similar. I took her to the Dr. They did blood tests to see if she had a clotting disorder...all came back ok. They put her on Claritin and gave her saline nasel spray. As long as she uses the medicine regularly she hasn't had a problem anymore with the nose bleeds. So I am believing that hers were just seasonal allergies. Hers occur mostly in the spring and summer time. She was also complaining of the headaches and the humidifier didn't help much either. Hope this helps you a bit.

As a young child, my son (now 10 years old) suffered bloody noses. His problem turned out to be allergies. His nose would get moist, then dry, then start to bleed. He was prescribed Zyrtec to keep his nose dry. And as soon as Claritin was an otc, we started him on that, on a daily basis. He has not had a bloody nose in forever.

Could the problem with your daughter be allergies? Is she on any allergy medicine? We did the whole vaseline in the nose thing too, before he was diagnosed with allergies.

I got them several times when I was 11/12/13, it was unusual for me so I'm guessing it had to do with hormones. Also during my middle pregnancy, baby was born in March and during that winter I got a few nosebleeds, I'm guessing a combo of the hormones and dry air.

I used to have nose bleeds when I was in my teens, now DD (17) is just outgrowing them. We both (30 years apart) used to walk around with tampons in our nostrills . I know it is a little anoying, but this too shall pass ....

Add my dd to the bloody nose=allergies list. They put her on Allegra and it cleared them up.

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Allergies...I never thought about those causing bloody noses. When she sees the news and the mold count is high after it rains, she always complains about her allergies "going off". I think I will ask her doctor about that....thanks guys, I knew someone would know something!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Could also be a blood vessel close to the surface of the nose. DS, almost 12, seems to be outgrowing the nosebleeds. They scare you half to death but in reality, there's really not as much blood as it seems. I always told DS's teachers so they wouldn't be caught off guard. By the time DS was 7 he knew how to handle a nosebleed by pinching his nose and holding his head down not tilted back.

It could also be dehydration (you said she c/o a headache). If you are dehydrated your mucous membranes will also dry out and be more susceptible to a nosebleed . . .

You are not using feather pillows or a down comforter, are you? When we were first married my DH had bloody noses all the time and he finally put two and two together when he realized he had been sleeping on feather pillows (what I grew up with, and never gave it a second thought). He is allergic to feathers. We switched to foam pillows and he rarely has bloody noses anymore. You might also want to consider putting protectors on the pillows and mattress to keep them as mite-free as possible.

My sis had nose bleeds all the time in her teens. The cause was also allergies, they ended up cauterizing (?) something in her nose to get them under control. It hurt, she's 30 now and still remembers it like it was yesterday. She still gets them occasionally now but no where near like she used to.

BTW, Walmart has the generic Claritin for like $2.68 for a 30 day supply. Great deal, I take it every day.

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No, she has neither. I don't think she's allergic to feathers, but her pillow is a regular one anyway.

Thanks,
Lisa

__________________
"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

My dd is 9, and has been having them practically all her life, worse in winter, but also has them throughout the year. This year has been worse for her. Sometimes they will last 1.5 hrs! We've been to the pediatrician, and given the same advice and info. I finally, on my own, took her to an Ear Nose and Throat doc a week ago. He took and look and said we're going to cauterize the vessels in the nostril, and that should take care of the problem. It's become quite a frustration, she has to sit in the nurse's office at school when she gets them, sit out of softball practice, etc... not to mention that I know she will likely be hassled b/c of it by other kids as she gets older. We are going to have the procedure done in about a week, after softball camp is over.