What's the best way to stop a nose bleed?

[darcymum]

I have a five year old who picks her nose a lot, sometimes it starts bleeding (like now). How do we stop it and how long can it bleed for before I should worry.

You should put her head slightly forward and pinch gently at the top of the soft part of the nose, just where it meets the bone.
There's not much else you can do other than wait.
A nose can bleed for up to about 15 minutes. Much longer than that you might want to check with a doctor.

no you shouldn't

you sit upright and pinch the bottom, fleshy part of the nose to help it clot

pinching the top is no longer advised

Sorry. I'm clearly out of date on that one.

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Nosebleed/Pages/Treatment.aspx
I hate nosebleeds !

You can apply an ice pack to the forhead as well to help slow the blood flow. If it hasnt slowed down after 20 minutes or so I would look at getting medical attention. My 5 year old DS gets a lot of nose bleeds (mainly cos he picks his nose I think!) they usually bleed quite heavily for 5 minutes or so and then stop. I used to get them too as a youngster but grew out of it by the time I was a teenager (and mine were not caused by nose picking either :o

Went to ENT a few weeks ago and was given a dressing that looks like a small tampon to insert into the nose.

You can purchase them from the chemist, don't remember what they are called.

Thank you all, I was a bit worried last night. Her nose bled for about 30 minutes before stopping, then bled on and off for about the next hour but only a little each time.

I called NHS Direct (which I have heard the new government are scrapping) after about 15 minutes they advised the leaning forward method to stop it.

She has had nose bleeds before but not so heavy or for so long. All seems well this morning.

Thanks again everybody.