Nosebleed Management Archives

Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old

My daughter is 10 years old -- for the past few years her nosebleeds (first diagnosed as allergies and treated w/claritin)have become more frequent. In May of this year I took her to an Ear Nose & Throat doctor where her nose (blood vessel in the right nostril) was cauterized. Just this past week I took her back to the ENT and they cauterized her nose again. She is averaging 1-2 nosebleeds a day and if this second cauterization doesn't work (which it already looks like it is not going to) what is the next step?? I ask lots of questions of any doctor I take her to - and have tried to research a condition that I cannot even get a clear understanding of... Is it allergies?? Neither the pediatrician nor the ENT can give me a simple answer--but I do not know aside from sinus surgery what the next step will be - and I believe she's too young for that. I have since taken her off of the claritin that possibly only aggravated and precipitated the nosebleeds and I just don't know what to do anymore...Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old Walt Stoll 09:20:02 6/27/01 (0)
• Check the archives... Roy 01:00:35 6/26/01 (0)
• Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old Denise 16:08:39 6/25/01 (1)
  • Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old Raisa 17:07:38 6/25/01 (0)
• Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old PeterB 13:19:49 6/25/01 (0)

In Reply to: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old posted by Marcia Mandel on June 25, 2001 at 11:31:50:

A possible reason for nose bleeds more likely than allergies, in my opinion, is copper deficiency. It's not the only possible cause, but it may be easy to rule out. Copper is required for both cartilage and membrane strength. Without adequate intake, connective tissue becomes weak and inelastic. My mother was chronically copper-deficient and she was having serious nose bleeds and also bruising.

Copper-rich foods are unpalatable to many people, so a deficiency in copper is easy to develop. Primarily, copper is found in nuts, raisins, whole milk, beef liver, and shellfish. A single serving of one of these provides up to 1/3 the daily RDA of 2mg. So a supplement can be helpful. It's cheap and safe at 2-3mg a day. I like Solgar brand chelated copper and take it daily. One caveat, if you supplement copper, be sure she also gets adequate dietary iron because either mineral depletes the other when taken out of balance and both are ESSENTIAL for hemoglobin activity. Some people with a copper deficiency are diagnosed with iron anemia simply because the iron they get is not metabolizing.

In Reply to: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old posted by Marcia Mandel on June 25, 2001 at 11:31:50:

I would try to find a better ENT doctor. My husband has suffered from serious nose bleeds since he was about 8 and he is 46 now. He just recently had a very serious one where he woke up at night choking from blood. They found he had an infection where there happened to be an overgrowth of blood vessels that actually formed into a small vein. The doctor gave him Neosporin ointment, swaps, and ocean nasal drops. He would swap the ointment up into his nose, believe me, it works, you only need a small bit. First he sprayed the saline in his nose, then an hour later, the cream. By God, he was fine in three days and has not had one nosebleed since and that was back in April. Your 10 year old may not have an infection, but it is possible that the nasal passage is so dry that the vessels keep breaking. Just a suggestion.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old Raisa 17:07:38 6/25/01 (0)

In Reply to: Re: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old posted by Denise on June 25, 2001 at 16:08:39:

I agree with you, Denise. One of my sons used to have nosebleeds which were very difficult to stop. Then finally he had one that wouldn't stop and we took him to the emergency room. They cauterized it, saying that it was a weak blood vessel and that it could happen again. He had a few after that but none that we couldn't stop. He is now 40 and is fine. Raisa

In Reply to: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old posted by Marcia Mandel on June 25, 2001 at 11:31:50:

Could be allergies or a congenital weakness known as Kisslebach's Triangle. Perhaps she should see a good clinical ecologist as well.

• Nosebleeds

In Reply to: Chronic Nosebleeds - 10 year old posted by Marcia Mandel on June 25, 2001 at 11:31:50:

Hi, Marcia.

Cautery tends to continue the problem in most cases even though it can stop individual bleeds. See the archives about nosebleed to give her an easy and non-messy way to control them herself AND about the allergies that commonly cause them.

Let us know how she does.

Walt