Need advice quickly please. To go to A&E? Waiting for a call back from 111 - beginning to really panic *MNHQ content warning for blood*

[TheKhakiBee]

Hi, my daughter has been having a nosebleed for the past 20 minutes or so. Have tried everything to stop it, head forward, pinching the soft part of the nose continously. There is ALOT of blood. Waiting for 111 to call back. AIBU to A&E for this? I don't drive, don't know if a taxi would take us. Photo shows some of the blood.

OH OP that must've been so traumatic for you both! And it's so hard knowing what to do sometimes. I really hope all is ok!

Hopefully it’s stopped now OP and you’re home again and managing to sleep.

I’d suggest A&E as may need cauterising

It's only life threatening in VERY rare cases and are accompanied by a multitude of other symptoms.
Nosebleeds are one of few things that are, 99% of the time, nothing serious. People need to stop scaring people. Ambulances wouldn't be needed unless there was something like chest pain, vomiting or coughing up the blood that was going down the back of the throat, dizziness etc.

Driving to A&E or urgent care, to ease your mind over a child is understandable, but those saying Ambulance, are part of the problem with the strain the service is under.

Hope your daughter is feeling better now OP x

Hi all, thanks for all the replies. It eventually stopped last night but we've just had a repeat exactly the same this morning. No idea what's going on. My eldest used to have pretty bad nose bleeds regularly but the bleeding now seems very excessive.

Possibly needs cauterised, how scary! Will you phone your GP?

People can die or get seriously ill from any large loss of blood. The reason the NHS is in a mess is years of Tory cuts and harmful policies, not people using it when they're seriously ill. Always best to call 999 or 111 and get medical advice.

This all sounds very dramatic for a 20 minutes nosebleed! It looks like a lot of blood but go and throw 50ml on red wine on the counter and mop it up- it'll be way more.

I had tons of nosebleeds as a child, so does my son now- at one stage it was 3 a day at nursery. All medical professionals were very chill about it but there were a couple of staff members who freaked out a lot like yourself. Apparently can be worse during a growth strut or hot weather. 20 mins is really not that long.

My mum had one last a few hours- she had to go to hospital for it to be cauterised. They're an inconvenience rather than an emergency.

How would you know?
Ambulances will always prioritise those with life threatening conditions
So the Op calling one won't prevent those in more urgent need getting one.

Poor you, it's always such a fright when they bleed like this

My two were absolutely prolific nose bleeders when they were younger. Some warning signs to look out for

1. When they have had colds (don't let her pick her nose!)
2. When the weather changes (particularly when it gets warmer)
3. Any slight knock to the nose

The capillaries are really close to the skin in the nose so it's easy to bleed. The doctor can cauterise them if necessary. There is actually quite a lot the GP can do - including some sort of cream they prescribe that does help.

I would get an urgent appointment with the GP if you can so they can give you something! And they can check there's nothing else worrying going on!

Because there's a photo. It's a nose bleed, it may need A&E but certainly not an ambulance. (HCP)

But nobody on the Internet can say wether it's serious or not
My son was critically ill last year fir the first couple of days his symptoms were very vague not to concerning, untill they weren't, and he nearly died he was in DKA we had no idea he was diabetic
So i would never police threads on here about Ambulances and waste of resources.

Well you must be a fantastic diagnotician ,to be able to say that from one photo.🙄

It would be far quicker treatment wise for the patient (and cheaper for the NHS) for the patient to attend urgent care or A&E, so how is the ambulance justified in anyones mind?

Don't be ridiculous, she doesn't describe or show pools of blood on the floor. The child is bleeding from capillaries, not an artery.

Sounds fucking brutal! How big are your nostrils???? I couldn’t get a tampon up one of mine 😂😂😳

I used to get pretty bad nosebleeds when I was young, now I'm older I suffer from dust and pollen allergies daily and have to take an antihistamine. My allergies are always worse mornings and evenings. Any new pets or have you done any DIY that could trigger dust allergies?

DS2 used to get spectacular nosebleeds. In his case it was a large blood vessel in his nose that was very near the surface. The drier air in the winter especially when the central heating was on was one of the triggers. So was doing sport.

The GP was not great so in the end we paid to see an ENT consultant who cauterised it. Cauterisation solved the problem once both sides of nose was done.
He went from a couple of nosebleeds a week to none in the last few years.

If it keeps happening go to A&E or Urgent Care quickly because when we went with DS2 they wouldn’t help if the bleeding was slowing which after 30+ minutes in the waiting room it was.

Otherwise keep a record of each nosebleed and see your GP and ask for an ENT referral.

OP, given it started again, I'd certainly talk to someone (if only 111) or get her checked out by GP/A&E. Obviously keep her off school for the day as well so she can relax and you can keep an eye on her.

It's blood, it started suddenly, there's quite a bit of it, and it's not stopping. That alone, irrespectiive of which body part is bleeding, is enough for any prudent person to seek immediate medical help.

And actually I think you'll find the NHS is in such a mess because it's overpoliticised and underfunded.

Hello - op I used to have very heavy and regular long nosebleeds slightly older than your daughter (maybe I was 9/10). Maybe 45min at a time and difficult to stop.

I had my nose cauterised on both sides. It was under general anaesthetic but an easy recovery and made it a lot better
.
I don’t remember any negative impacts on my health but it was a long time ago.
we had private medical insurance which meant it could be done quicker.

I started having nosebleeds last year, I'd had them as a kid but not as an adult. I went to the doctor because they were happening a lot and for a long time.

I remember saying to my doctor "I remembered that it said if your nose bleeds for longer than 20 minutes more than once you should consult a doctor" and she gave me a look and said TEN minutes.

In my case it was just swollen blood vessels due to a virus but like others I do suggest you see your GP.

What sort of HCP?

I had severe heartburn once. I phoned 111 for advice. I told them it was heartburn but they still sent an ambulance for me.
Better to be safe.

This happened to a client of mine. She lost 3 pints of blood and needed a transfusion. I called an ambulance. The paramedics told me that I did the right thing. I was told that I couldn't have stopped it. So yes, a nose bleed can be life threatening.