Anyone's child getting lots of nosebleeds at the moment?

[foxinsocks]

gah, it's getting a bit tiresome. Have had to change ds's sheets again as he had a massive nosebleed in the night. He's also been getting a few during the day.

I feel very sorry for him and he's quite tired from it all. Also, the blood has got quite thick now and has that strong, blood smell .

I'm wondering if there's something in the air - maybe this heavy atmosphere or something?

ds1 gets a lot at this time of year. Have you looked into cauterisation? I had mine done when I was 5. DS1 is a no-no.

oh poor you with ds1 - that must be a nightmare to manage.

I haven't taken him to the doctor yet - he's been getting them on and off since he was a newborn. I took him then and they basically told me to go away (!) and only come back if his nosebleeds wouldn't stop bleeding!

I wonder if I should book him an appointment then. Does an ENT have to do it?

Dd2 used to get nosebleeds. I took her to the dr who gave her a homeopathic remedy. Much to my amazement, it worked! She had a long bleed-free spell then they came back but they've never been as bad as before so I haven't done anything more about it.

Maybe you could give your ds a tonic, like children's Floradix, to boost his health. Also, put a large towel on his bed, to protect the sheets and save a bit of the washing.

I'd ask your GP if he;s getting lots. DS1 doesn't mind he just sprays it everywhere and wipes wherever handy (walls being a favourite!) It's a really simple op though, apparently they use liquid nitrogen or something these days. Done under local for older children, not sure about littlies.(Ds1 would be GA plus hispital stress if he ever needs a GA for something else I'll ask whether it can be done at the same time).

thanks

I have got pillow and mattress protectors (dd gets nose bleeds too but just not the type of volume ds manages to achieve!) but I think you're right, I'll have to lay down some towels - they are easier to wash after all!

Can you remember what the homeopathic stuff was?

phosphorus is a common homeopathic one- for bright red blood. Often good for thin pale children (I think may have remembered that incorrectly)

yes, I think I'll have to take him really - I imagine they get the ENT to cauterise so it's probably worth getting on the waiting list now.

I'm putting vaseline around the bottom of his nostrils (which sometimes helps) but they do seem more persistent than normal this year grrr!

thanks for your help.

I use vaseline if it doesn;t stop as well. Ds1 won;t let us pinch. Funniest time was when he started in the car - we have a scenic and he sits in one of the extra seats in the back. My helper had to climb back to him (traffic jam) and try and deal with it. In the car behind a woman was helpfully showing her son 'how one should deal with a nosebleed'. Head forward, pinching nose, ds1's was going everywhere and we were stripping off ds2 to mop it up ('give us your scar, take your coat off we need it') no way was he going to have his nose pinched....

lol at the woman behind.

they are foul things nosebleeds! In the night, ds often wipes his hands all over the wall too (eww) not quite realising he's recreating a scene from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

It's a bit of a shock to disocover it isn't it?

I remember another time he was carrying on in the car (he had issues about me stopping at traffic lights; I wasn't allowed to). So to hide the screaming I turned the radio up and sang loudly . Eventually caught sight of him in the mirror- covered in blood- yep massive nosebleed. The shame....

aarrghhhh must have given you a heart attack!

I can't remember the homeopathic remedy, sorry, but I don't think it was phosphorus.

Ikwym about the horror movie stuff. Dd had a white cot and the first time it happened there were bloody hand prints all over it. I din't know where the blood had come from, that first time - scary.

Your ds's nosebleeds sound a lot worse than dd's, tbh. My sister used to get them and she'd hold a bowl to catch the blood. Does it make children anaemic? I can't see how not, if the bleeds are so bad.

I don't know - I suppose it must. THey are very frequent rather than pouring iyswim. They don't tend to bleed for long thank goodness.

I will take him then - was under the impression that they wouldn't do anything but as he is 5 now, maybe there is something they'll do for him!

ds1 used to be a bit anaemic I think (although only checked once- not to be repeated!), I used to give floradix or spatone if I thought he was getting a bit low on iron. Espcially as he didn't eat meat for 5 years. Now he loves red meat and seems able to cope better.

thanks - rather stupidly, I'd not even thought of giving him Floradix, even though I have a bottle in the fridge. I've just checked it and it has a dose for his age so I'll give him some of that for a few days and see if there's any improvement in his tiredness! Will book him a GP appointment in the meantime.