Nosebleeds

 

Nosebleeds are fairly common occurrences, especially with children.  The location of the nose and a large number of blood vessels in the nose predispose it to bleed from time to time.  The medical term for a nosebleed is epistaxis.  Who knew?  I have never heard that term used by anyone, doctors included.

Only occasionally are nosebleeds a cause for concern.  We will mention some of those instances in a little while.

Classification of Nosebleeds

Nosebleeds are classified as either anterior or posterior.  This classification refers to how superficially or how deeply into the structures of the nose the bleeding originates.

Anterior Nosebleeds

Anterior nosebleeds are far more common than posterior ones.  They also create far less cause for concern.  Anterior nosebleeds involve the many delicate blood vessels along the wall between the two nostrils.  Almost always, these types of nosebleeds are easily treated at home.  There is little cause for concern unless the nosebleeds become frequent or particularly heavy.

This is, most likely, the type of nosebleed a child may have.

Causes of Anterior Nosebleeds

• Trauma to the nose or face

The blood vessel rich nose is located in a vulnerable position.  There it sits.  Protruding, right out front, on the face.  Trauma to the nose will likely produce bleeding.  Trauma to other parts of the face may also cause the nose to bleed.  Bleeding may be heavy or light.  It may last for some time or stop quickly, depending on the individual. One cause of trauma to the nose, especially in children, is picking the nose.

• Drying out of the nasal passages.
• Living in dry climates.
• During the winter months.  Heaters and furnaces tend to cause the air inside buildings to become warm and dry.
• A low humidity environment.
• Bacterial or viral infections such as a common cold.
• Allergies.
• Nasal sprays, such as those used to treat allergies.  Generally, these only become problems if used to excess.
• Hypertension (High blood pressure. Blood Pressure)
• A structural problem inside the nose.
• A deviated septum.
• A polyp or tumor in either the nose or the sinuses.
• Chemical irritants, such as ammonia.
• A foreign body in the nose.  Children (and teens, in my experience) are prone to this sort of thing.
• Aspirin use.
• Medications that prevent normal blood clotting.  (Warfarin, Coumadin, Jantoven, Plavix, and many anti-inflammatory medications.)
• Alcohol abuse.
• Snorting drugs such as cocaine.  (Hopefully, no one following an alternative health site such as this is doing that.)
• Pregnancy.  Hormonal changes during pregnancy may cause nosebleeds.  Also, the rapid expansion of blood volume necessary to build a healthy baby predisposes mothers-to-be for anemia.  Anemia, naturally, leads to such things as nosebleeds and a tendency to bruising.

Posterior Nosebleeds

The bleeding of a posterior nosebleed originates both further back and higher up in the nose.  This area of the nose contains larger arterial branches.  As a result, posterior nosebleeds will be heavier than the anterior nosebleeds.  Blood flows down the back of the mouth and throat.  This occurs even when the person is upright, either sitting or standing.

Posterior nosebleeds are more serious than anterior ones because of the heavier bleeding and for other reasons.  These nosebleeds may require medical attention.  Identifying the more serious possible causes of these nosebleeds – and working to resolve them – could be important to future good health.

Posterior nosebleeds are more common in adults than in children for a variety of reasons.

Causes of Posterior Nosebleeds

• Hypertension – high blood pressure.
• The after-effects of nasal surgery.
• A calcium deficiency may contribute to this type of nosebleed.
• Health conditions that reduce the ability of the blood to clot.  Hemophilia and leukemia, for example.  There are many such diseases, not all of them serious.
• Tumors are not common causes of nosebleeds.  However, nosebleeds can be an indication that there is a tumor forming in the area.
• Liver disease can change blood clotting factors, leading to nosebleeds.

Symptoms

Of course, bleeding from the nose is the primary and outstanding symptom of a nosebleed.  Most nosebleeds affect only one nostril.  Naturally, a blow directly to the nose may produce bleeding from both nostrils.  Blood loss, with nosebleeds, may range from light to heavy and everywhere in between.

Symptoms of Severe Nosebleeds

A severe nosebleed may require medical attention.  The trick here is to determine when a nosebleed has crossed into the territory marked as severe.

• Heavy bleeding.
• Palpitations; irregular heartbeat accompanying the nosebleed.
• Vomiting as a result of swallowing excessive amounts of blood.
• Shortness of breath.
• Turning pale.
• Feeling faint or weak.

Symptoms of Even More Severe Nosebleeds

Under certain circumstances, there may be times when urgent medical attention is required with a nosebleed.  Some of these times might include:

• Very excessive blood loss, especially if the nosebleeds are occurring frequently and/or more frequently than previously.
• If the nosebleed was caused by an injury and the injury was quite severe.
• Medical help should be sought if the nosebleed is the result of and injury to the head that did not include a blow to the nose.
• The person with the nosebleed is an infant or a small child.
• Consider medical attention – or, at least, alternative remedies – if the nosebleed is associated with trauma to the face, blurry vision, or headache.
• An elderly person or a person who is already sick.
• Any time a nosebleed has not stopped after 15 to 20 minutes, even when direct pressure has been applied as much as is possible.
• Last, if you are in any way worried about the nosebleed, please seek medical attention.  It is always better to err on the side of caution.

Stopping a Nosebleed – Actions to Take

1. Tilt your head down while leaning slightly forward.  This may be exactly opposite of what you have been told.  However, leaning back, lying down, or tilting the head back allows the blood to run back into your throat and sinuses.  This too often causes gagging or inhaling of blood.
2. Spit out any blood that collects in your mouth.  Do not swallow the blood.  Swallowing blood may cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.  Of course, the action of vomiting is likely to make the bleeding worse.
3. Gently blow accumulated blood clots out of your nose.  Do this very gently.  The blowing may make the nosebleed slightly worse for a moment or two.  Nevertheless, removing the clots will be helpful in the long run.
4. WebMD suggests pinching the soft parts of the nose together between thumb and index finger.  Then, press the pinched parts of the nose inward toward your face.  This will compress the blood vessels against the bones of the face, effectively stopping them from bleeding.
5. Hold the nose in this position for at least 5 minutes.  Breathe through your mouth as you do this. Repeat as needed, if your nose is still bleeding after 5 minutes has passed.
6. Sit quietly afterward for, at the very least, several minutes.  Keep your head higher than the level of your heart.  In other words, DO NOT lie flat.  Certainly, DO NOT put your head between your legs as you may have been advised to do in the past.
7. You may want to apply a little bit of ice, wrapped in a towel, to your nose and cheeks for a few moments.

Tightly packing the nose with cotton is not recommended.  However, a loose cotton ball with one of the remedies suggested below may prove helpful.

Preventing the Nose from Bleeding Again

1. If you possibly can, rest with your head elevated at 30 to 45 degrees for a bit.
2. Do not blow your nose.  If you need to sneeze, be sure to open your mouth while doing so.  This will allow the rush of air to escape out of your mouth rather than through your nose.
3. Do not allow yourself to strain for a bowel movement.  It is surprising how much pressure builds up in the head at such times.  Drink plenty of water.  Avoiding constipation should be something you have already been doing every day!
4. Do not bend down to lift anything heavy.
5. Avoid drinking hot liquids for at least 24 hours.
6. Talk with your doctor about any medications you may be taking that may be reducing blood clotting factors.
7. Consider a lubricating ointment for the inside of your nose.
8. Consider raising the humidity in your home if the air is unusually dry.

General Prevention of Nosebleeds

Dark-green Leafy Vegetables

These types of vegetables are high in vitamin K.  Vitamin K is absolutely essential for proper blood clotting.  Foods rich in vitamin K include:  kale, spinach, mustard and beet greens, broccoli, and many others.  Chlorophyll capsules or liquids are an excellent way to supplement vitamin K.  Of course, consuming your vitamins in the form of fresh foods is always best.

Herbs containing high percentages of vitamin K include Alfalfa, Bee Pollen, Kelp, Nettles, Oatstraw, Plantain, Shepherd’s Purse, Yarrow.  As can be seen from this list, KNA is, as always, an excellent regimen for every single day.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is necessary for the formation of collagen.  Sufficient collagen production assures a moist lining in the nose.  Dryness in the bed where the tiny, fragile capillaries lie is, without doubt, one of the most common causes of nosebleeds.  Sufficient amounts of vitamin C will also create healthier blood vessels and capillaries.  Healthy blood vessels, of course, do not break as easily or as frequently.

Many vegetables and fruits are high in vitamin C.  Many herbs – in fact, most of them – also contain vitamin C.  Herbs containing large amounts of vitamin C are:  Alfalfa, Bee Pollen, Burdock, Cascara Sagrada, Cayenne, Chickweed, Comfrey, Eyebright, Fennel, Fenugreek, Ginger, Hops, Horsetail,Kelp, Mullein,  Nettles, Oatstraw, Peppermint, Paprika, Parsley, Pine Needles, Plantain, Raspberry Leaf, Red Clover, Rosehips, Skullcap, Violet Leaf, Yarrow, Yellow Dock.  Once again, KNA feels the bill.

Rosehips are and an especially good source of vitamin C.  In addition, Rosehips will add a pleasant taste to any herbal tea recipe.

Stay Hydrated

Most of us remember to drink a bit more during the hot summer months.  However, dry winter air and the air at higher altitude – where some of us live – dries out the nose.  Keeping yourself well-hydrated helps a lot.

Humidify

If the inside of your nose feels dry, consider sleeping with a humidifier.  You might want to keep one operating in your house even during the day.  Take every opportunity to breathe in steam.  Consider placing your head over a pan of boiling water with a light towel placed over your head.  Breathe in deeply – through your nose, of course.

Vitamin E

Some current medical literature claims that vitamin E increases bleeding.  This may be true of supplements of man-made, laboratory-produced, chemical vitamin E substitutes.  It is not true of naturally occurring vitamin E found in foods or in supplement produced from real foods.  How do you tell the difference when purchasing a vitamin E supplement?  Look at the labels!  Avoid those which say dl–alpha tocopherols.  Purchase those that say d-alpha – without the extra l.  Besides not being nutritious, the wrong ones will plug up receptor sites in your cells.  This makes absorption of vitamin E from foods difficult.

Alternative Remedies for Stopping Nosebleeds

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is an excellent way to stop a nose bleed.  Please purchase an all-natural, non-distilled brand.  Dip a cotton ball – or part of one – in the vinegar and place it in the nostril which is bleeding.  Leave it there for 5 to 10 minutes.  It is especially important to buy the “good” stuff mentioned previously, if you intend to take some internally for a few days, as well.  Apple cider vinegar changes the acid/alkaline balance in the body.  As a result, veins and capillaries will be strengthened.

Saline (Salt) Water

Dry nasal passages can be soothed and moisturized by the application of salt and water.  Simply add salt – a good sea salt or Himalayan salt is best – to a bowl of water.  Place a few drops of this salt and water solution into your nose.  This will serve to moisten the inner lining of the nasal passages.

Herbal Remedies

Yarrow

This herb was known in ancient times as “Wound Wort”.  It was given this name by Roman soldiers because of its ability to cauterize and constrict  blood vessels.  This constriction and closing of vessels and capillaries stops even heavy bleeding immediately.  A Yarrow tea-soaked cotton ball placed, loosely, in the nostril stops bleeding very nicely.  At the same time, the Yarrow will be strengthening those fragile capillaries and vessels.

Goldenseal/Oregon Grape

These two herbs are interchangeable in many ways.  I usually prefer Oregon Grape, which grows wild in the area in which I live.  A mild tea, used in the same way as Yarrow, would effectively stop the bleeding by constricting the blood vessels.  These are two of the most healing of remedies where tissues and blood vessels are concerned.

Cayenne

Cayenne heals veins and capillaries.  It quickly returns the cardiovascular system to a state of homeostasis – balance.  I have seen Cayenne, taken internally, stop even serious hemorrhages immediately.  I would NOT recommend putting Cayenne, no matter how diluted, into the nose!

Nettles

Nettles are a natural astringent.  Like Cayenne, they return the system to a state of homeostasis.  Nosebleeds in which irritation from allergies is the primary cause respond especially well to a mild tea of Nettles applied as suggested above for yarrow.

Horsetail

Horsetail is high in vitamin E and selenium.  It is certainly much cheaper to supplement with Horsetail herb than to take a supplement of vitamin E.  Other rather unusual nutrients found in Horsetail include both iron and iodine, as well as cobalt, copper, and manganese.  If I were suffering from repeated nosebleeds, I would take this herb every day for a time.  Either tea or tincture form would be acceptable.

Shepherd’s Purse

Shepherd’s Purse is one of the most potent styptic and astringent herbs that I have made use of during my years as a midwife and with my family over the years.  This wonderful herb is also anti-inflammatory.  This, of course, adds to its benefits in nosebleeds from several causes.  During World War II, when standard medicines and herbs to staunch bleeding became hard to find, Shepherd’s Purse was relied upon many times.

White Oak Bark

White Oak is one of the most valuable astringent herbs.  It is useful for both external and internal bleeding as well as for wound healing. White Oak heals damaged and inflamed tissues of the skin, mucous membranes, stomach, and intestines.  Incidentally, white oak bark is one of the few herbs I have even seen listed (and had any success with) as an antidote for the side effects of chemotherapy.

Wood Betony

I find the history of herbs fascinating in that so many of them were used for centuries for the same things.   Similar species are used in similar ways in different countries and in different cultures. Wood Betony was regarded in ancient times as a panacea for all ills.  Antonius Musa, physician to Emperor Augustus (63 BC to AD 14) the time of Christ) claimed that Betony would cure 47 different illnesses.

Wood Betony is known to staunch bleeding.  With nosebleeds, Wood Betony should be applied as a mild tea on a cotton ball inside the nostrils.

Essential Oils

Cypress

Put simply, cypress strengthens the capillary walls.  With repeated nosebleeds, this is a crucial element of healing.  Cypress is effective against infection.  In addition, it heals the tissues.  This is especially true of mucolytic tissues like those found in the nostrils and sinuses.

Helichrysum

Helichrysum is the very best essential oil that I know of for healing damaged tissues.  There is simply nothing else, except possibly Yarrow, to compare with it.  Nevertheless, Helichrysum is an extremely mild essential oil.  Helichrysum is not in the least caustic.  It is unlikely to cause any burning sensation at all when applied.  It should, of course, be diluted with water or carrier oil.  Calendula or Tamanu would be excellent choices here.

Myrrh/Opopanax (Sweet Myrrh)

One of the outstanding properties of Myrrh is astringency, which means causing tissues and blood vessels to contract naturally.  Like Helichrysum, Myrrh is not caustic.  It is sticky, however.  For this, as in other applications, I would probably choose Opopanax over regular Myrrh.  It is less sticky.

^LeAboutFace

This blend contains Opopanax.  It also contains three types of Frankincense and Palo Santo. Frankincense and Palo Santo have strong antibiotic and anti-inflammatory actions. Frankincense essential oils are also renowned for their action on the circulatory system as well as for the healing of tissues.

Cistus

This essential oil is antimicrobial, antiseptic, astringent, and anti-inflammatory.  All of these properties are just what is needed to stop a nosebleed.  Cistus has a beautiful aroma.  It is not an essential oil that is going to offend the olfactory system in any way.

Homeopathic/Blessed Waters

My homeopathic repertory has several pages of nosebleed symptoms.  Each particular symptom is followed by a list of recommended remedies.  From heat, when lifting, with vertigo, while sleeping are some examples.  I am discussing only some of the most common remedies for nosebleeds here.

Bioplasma

A combination of all 12 of the Schussler biochemic tissue salts.  Information about Schussler’s biochemic tissue salts is available on the web and in many books and booklets with excellent descriptions of each one.

In 1858, the now-famous idea was postulated that the body is merely a collection of cells, and that medical treatment should be directed towards the individual cell.  Dr. Schuessler recognized that certain “cell salts” were of paramount importance to the overall health of individual cells. His work led to the making of these 12 homeopathic, or biochemic, remedies. The study of them is both fascinating and informative!

I can find no indication in the literature that Dr. Schussler ever combined all 12 of his remedies into one combination remedy.   Nor do I know who first tried this or marketed it  I don’t even know who first gave this remedy to me.  I only know that over the years I have used this combination for many things with great success.

Of particular note is Bioplasma’s ability to coagulate the blood.  This aid to coagulation occurs even in a serious, deep cut where bleeding is profuse. Bioplasma is nearly miraculous in its ability to stop a hemorrhage in women.

Bioplasma is the first thing I would reach for in any type of bleeding situation.  I would expect and have seen, great results from this remedy with nosebleeds.
Bioplasma is useful in stimulating the body to uptake and utilize the trace minerals that are so necessary to optimal health of muscle, nerve, organ, and tissue cells. Bioplasma also has a stabilizing influence on nerve and nerve tissue and promotes healing in any type of wound or injury.

Rescue Remedy

Rescue Remedy is composed of five Bach Flower homeopathic essences.  It is most effective when used following trauma and injury.   Rescue Remedy brings immediate calm and helps with both the physical and emotional aspects of shock.  A nosebleed as the result of physical trauma or an emotional event will respond very well to this remedy.  In addition to coping with trauma, Rescue Remedy is effective in stopping bleeding.

For Mental (and basic physical) Symptoms Accompanying Nosebleeds

Borax veneta

Keynotes are dry scabs in the nose.  Bleeding after blowing the nose.  The person is sensitive to sudden noises.  Easily startled or frightened by sudden noises.  Fullness in the head and pressure above the eyes.

Lachesis muta

Laches has a very complicated mental picture.  Deep depression or depression with manic states intermingling.  Jealousy, suspicion, and maliciousness prevail throughout this remedy’s symptom picture.  Of course, when this person is well-balanced, they display all the positive opposites of these characteristics.

Offensive, bloody discharges from the nose.  These discharges create irritation which corrodes the nostrils. Nosebleeds follow blowing the nose.  The nosebleeds are thick and black.  The entire head feels congested and full.  Headaches preceding nosebleeds.

Remedies Also Appropriate for Children

Ferrum metallicum

Nosebleeds in anemic children.  The child’s face becomes very pale.  Small clots of blood continually form in the nose.  Rushes of blood to the head.  Flushes of heat in the face.  The child may be oversensitive to pain and to noise.

Ferrum phosphoricum

This remedy is always useful for anemia with great weakness and fatigue.  Nosebleeds with bright red blood.  The person often spits blood when the nose bleeds.  Any anemic person may suffer this sort of nosebleed and find this remedy useful.  However, Ferrum phosphoricum is particularly useful for children who have frequent nosebleeds.  The child will also have a strong tendency to catching colds and sore throats constantly.

Hamamelis virginiana 

This remedy is made from witch hazel.  The principal action of this remedy is on the veins and capillaries.  The nosebleed requiring this remedy is always profuse but passive.  This means that it isn’t gushing or even, necessarily, heavy.  It is just continual and persistent.  Coagulation just doesn’t seem capable of happening.  Quite frightening, really.  Especially with children.  The child (or adult) complains of fullness in the head or headache.  A nosebleed follows this fullness.  The nosebleed relieves the headache or feeling of fullness.

Phosphorus

This remedy has a very definite mental and emotional picture.  The child, or older person, will be over-sensitive, easily excitable, and very impressionable.  Sadness for others is extreme.  The need for sympathy for themselves is just as extreme.

Physically, the Phosphorus person is often pale, with a sickly complexion.  Pronounced blue circles under the eyes at all times.  This remedy is very specific for nosebleeds in children and teens.  Especially those who fit the physical profile.  Constant light weeping of blood from the nose.  Heavier nosebleeds interspersed with the lighter constant bleeding.  An unusual keynote:  a young woman who sometimes suffers a series of nosebleeds instead of a regular menstrual cycle.

Silica terra (Silicea)

The Silica terra person is often cold, even when exercising or exerting themselves.  There is a tendency to easy exhaustion.  Difficulty uptaking nutrients.  Ulcers occur high up in the nose.  Nostrils crack inside.  Dry, hard crusts form.  Crusts bleed profusely when loosened.  Silica is often the perfect remedy for nosebleeds in infants.

Nosebleeds from Trauma to Face

Arnica montana

Arnica is, of course, the first remedy to reach for whenever an accident has occurred.  Nosebleeds following an injury are no exception.  Arnica is especially appropriate for an injury to the nose that occurred from above.  Something dropping on the head and face, for example.  Arnica reduces swelling.  It is also appropriate when swelling is already present.  Arnica is also indicated for nosebleeds that begin after a bout of coughing or laughing.

Elap corralinus

This is a snake remedy.  All remedies made from snake venom profoundly affect the blood.  Sharp pain in the forehead with heavy feeling in the entire skull.  Sudden, profuse nosebleed.  The blood will be nearly black, especially if it comes on after a blow to the nose or face.  Sudden profuse nosebleeds that occur after walking or exercise.  Keynote:  the person often feels cold.  Cold drinks and foods disagree with them.

Millefolium achillea (Yarrow)

Please note how often plants are useful both as herbal remedies and as homeopathics.  Millefoliuim homeopathic, just like the herb, act on the capillaries.  This remedy – both plant and homeopathic – is suited to both profuse hemorrhages and continually oozing of blood.  Pain from the eyes to the root of the nose often accompanies these nosebleeds.

Nosebleeds with Fever

Nosebleeds with fever often respond to Ferrum phosphoricum and Phosphorus.  These two remedies are discussed above.  Two additional remedies will be highlighted below.

Bryonia alba

Mucous membranes, including those in the nose, are exceptionally dry.  So dry, in fact, that the nostrils become inflamed and ulcerated.  Small boil-type eruptions subsequently occur in the nose.  Bursting, splitting headaches are common.  The headaches are worse from even slight motion.  There is great irritableness.  Easily angered.  Nosebleeds usually occur in the morning.  These nosebleeds relieve the severe headache that has been going on all night.

Like the Phosphorus remedy, the nosebleed might be vicarious.  In other words, the nosebleed takes the place of the regular menstrual cycle.  According to Chinese medicine, this indicates a rising of Chi.  Acupressure points, discussed below, would prove useful to these types of nosebleeds.  This remedy is also indicated for nosebleeds during pregnancy.

Carbo vegetabilis

Carbo vegetabilis acts strongly on the venous circulation and on the capillaries.  Nosebleeds happen daily, or nearly so.  The person tends to bleed heavily, to the point of hemorrhage sometimes, from any mucous surface.  The blood is unusually dark.  Moreover, it continues to ooze even after the heavy bleeding has stopped.  Generally, the nosebleeds are accompanied by a very pale face.  Varicose veins on the nose with accompanying vein weakness inside the nose is seen.  A strong keynote for this remedy is that the person has never fully recovered from a previous accident of illness.

There are a lot of mental/emotional symptoms.  Confusion which, oddly, improves with mental exercise such as counting backward.  Peevish, irritable, easily angered.  Anxiety in the evening.  Difficulty sitting or lying still.  Anxiety again first thing on waking.  Indifference to everything about them.  Sudden loss of memory is also listed.

Acupressure for Nosebleeds

Eastern medical philosophies look at nosebleeds – every condition, really – much differently than does Western Medicine.  It is a complicated topic, generally.  Where nosebleeds are concerned, there are three main contributing factors.  I will try to word them simply – in English and according to Western thinking.

Yin and Yang are the terms used for energy opposites, in the body and in the world.  Yang is a more aggressive sort of energy.  Yin is more nurturing.  Now, that is really summing things up simply!

(1) Yang Rising

Congestion in the head leading to either headaches or nosebleeds results when too much Yang rises into the head.  This “yang rising” sometimes originates in a stressed liver.  There are many other possible causes.

(2) Heat in the Digestive System

In chronic nosebleeds, the person may be suffering from too much heat in the stomach and digestive tract.  Frequently, this condition is related to an unbalanced diet (too much greasy, spicy and sweet food) leading to excess yang (hot energy).  Heat from the stomach rises.  Symptoms are bleeding gums, bad breath headaches, and nosebleeds.  In addition, many patients are restless, very thirsty and crave ice-cold drinks.

(3)  Yin Deficiency in Liver and Kidneys

The third condition which might be responsible for nosebleeds is a yin (cold energy) deficiency in the kidneys and liver.  With insufficient yin in these areas, the person develops dry skin, eyes, and nose.  Dryness within the nose, of course, often leads to nosebleeds.  Other symptoms include night sweats, insomnia, and dizziness.

4)  Anger and Liver Heat

When a person is constantly angry, frustrated, or bitter, liver energy flares upward.  The result is high blood pressure, congestion in the head and nosebleeds.  The gallbladder is sensitive to even more intense feelings of anger.  The emotions of an over-heated spleen qualify as rage.  This is more intense and longer lasting than anger.

5)  Spleen Meridian and Network Deficiency

The spleen and its accompanying meridian have a very unique connection to blood.  In fact, the entire spleen is a sea of blood.  The tissues of the spleen are, literally, designed to be saturated with blood.  During the last days of pregnancy, both the mother’s and the baby’s spleen swell with the inclusion of additional blood.  This blood acts as a reservoir in case of emergency.  For the baby, if the cord should become compromised, blood will dump from the spleen.  This brings oxygen to the baby.  It also gives the doctor or midwife crucial minutes in which to resolve the cord issue or bring the baby into the world.  For the mother, it is a “second wind” after a hemorrhage.

While this information about pregnancy may be interesting – at least to the midwife in me – it hasn’t explained the spleen’s connection to nosebleeds.  One part of that explanation is that weakness in spleen energy and function can make a person deficient in bioflavonoids.  Bioflavonoids are crucial to vein and capillary health.  Therefore, a deficiency in spleen energy places a person at risk for weakened and easily ruptured blood vessels.  As a result, nosebleeds occur more frequently.

Emotions of a well-balanced spleen meridian include confidence and faith in the future.  Out-of-balance emotions include anxiety about the future and a lack of faith and hope.  Grief may trigger these negative emotions and resultant physical health issues.

Acupressure – Easy, Effective, Inexpensive

Of course, there are many other causes of nosebleeds.  Dry nasal passages, trauma to the face and head, and lack of humidity in the air, to name just a few of the ones that were mentioned previously.

Acupressure is an effective – and inexpensive way – to cope with nosebleeds.

Ten Potent Points Related to Nosebleeds

Spleen Endpoints

Putting a little bit of pressure against the beginning and ending points of the spleen meridian will help to balance it.  The beginning points are located on the medial (inside) of the nail bed of the big toe.  The ending point is found on the side of the body, 4 inches or so below the armpit, between ribs 7 and eight.  If you take off your shoes and top your feet just right, you can use the floor to apply pressure to the beginning points.  Then you can hold both of the endpoints with your hand (with a finger of each hand).  A few minutes of this every day for a few days should prove helpful if you suffer from chronic nosebleeds.

GV 26

Governing Vessel 26 is the first and most important pressure point to remember for nosebleeds.  It is effective for both adults and children.  Often, this point brings immediate results and is the only point needed.  I particularly like this point if the person is dizzy, pale, or looking as though they are about to faint!

This pressure point is often referred to as Middle of a Person.  It is located above the upper lip, directly under the nose.  For nosebleeds, it is best to press the upper lip firmly while breathing deeply.

St 3

Stomach 3 relieves head and nasal congestion.  In other words, excessive energy in the head.  Other than for nosebleeds, these points are useful for problems in the head ranging from eye problems through facial paralysis due to stroke or palsy.

Called Facial Beauty, these points are located directly under the eyes along the ridge of the eye socket.  In fact, there is a tiny little notch in that spot under each eye.

B1

The Bladder 1 points are excellent as first aid acupressure points for stopping severe nosebleeds in adults and children alike.  Known as Eyes Bright, these points are located in the indented spot at the inner corner of the eye.  Your fingers will be directly over the tear ducts.

These points are also recommended for blurry vision, color blindness, poor night vision, early-stage cataracts, and glaucoma.

LI 4

Large Intestine 4 is located in the web between the thumb and the index finger.  Perhaps, points so far from the nose seem an odd choice for stopping nosebleeds.  Remember, that I said above that Eastern Medical philosophy believes that many nosebleeds are caused by problems in the digestive tract.  Because the digestive tract is the source of so many health problems, this point is one of the most important points in acupressure therapy.  In fact, it is widely used in the treatment of chronic pain as well as a host of other health issues.

Pregnant women should not use this point as it may induce labor.

 

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post.  If you would like to check out additional blogs please click here.