Hello everyone, how are you? I hope y’all had a great week. The question below was from someone who scheduled an online one-on-one appointment with me. His questions were very interesting and I thought I’d share the second part of it today. I hope this helps someone else! Remember that scheduling a one-on-one appointment is easy. Just go inbox to my facebook page (www.facebook.com/healthylivingwithdrketch) and follow the prompts 

Q: Hello Doctor good morning, may God continue to bless your efforts in promoting wellness and healthy living. I’ve been reading other people’s question but this time I have a very pressing need and please sought your help. It’s about a woman who bleeds from nose and mouth at the same time. And much amount of blood. It takes efforts to stop. It starts from the nose and when she tries to breathe in, it comes out from the mouth. And immediately after the bleeding she feels very dizzy and weak. 

A: Hello dear, thanks for your question. A nose bleed is called epistaxis and can happen from one or both nostrils. It can be heavy or light and last for a few seconds or a couple of minutes. It can be very frightening. A posterior nose bleed can lead to blood trickling down the threat and could be vomited. Perhaps this is the situation here. This situation is serious and should be suspected if bleeding lasts for up to 20 minutes or if the nosebleed happens after a head, nose, or face injury. Posterior nosebleeds are common in children between 2 and 10 years old and adults between 50 and 80 years old.Causes of nose bleeds include:

• Picking your nose

• Blowing your nose too hard

• Dry air as occurs in winter or harmattan.

• Common cold• Allergies

• Trauma to the nose…obviously 

• Alcohol use

• Pregnancy

• High blood pressure

• Use of drugs like cocaine, or drugs prescribed for thinning blood etc

Now, what should you do if you find your nose bleeding?

• Sit upright and pinch the bridge of the nose just above the nostrils for about 10 to 15 minutes. Sitting upright reduces the pressure in the nose vessels reducing bleeding

• Lean forward and breathe with your mouth. This prevents blood from draining down the back of the throat.

• Put an ice pack on the bridge of the nose to help prevent further bleeds.

To prevent bleeds, keep your nails short and trim to prevent scratching and hurting your nose. Then, keep your nostrils moist especially during the dry and cold seasons with some petroleum jelly, a humidifier to keep the air around moist or use a nasal spray to keep the tissue inside the nose from getting too dry.After the nosebleed stops, don’t pick or blow the nose for a few hours or longer to let the injury heal. Don’t smoke, which irritates the nasal passages, and don’t put any foreign objects in the nose, such as cotton swabs. 

If this nose bleed becomes frequent (more than once a week), is associated with any of the causes of posterior nose bleeds, please go and see your doctor even if you were able to stop the nosebleed. This is my recommendation for the lady referred to in this post especially as she feels dizzy after these episodes. This suggests that she is losing a significant amount of blood! Don’t delay. 

Have a great weekend, guys