massive nose bleeds in 4 year old

[Kayode Modeste]

Hi, my name is Mr. Kayode and I had a strange heart breaking experience last night with my 4 year old daughter. Monday morning I woke her to take her to school and I noticed dry blood stains on her nose and all over her bed, so I casually passed it off as a "nose bleed". However she never had those before. Last night while she was sound asleep she suddenly awoke with massive amounts of blood pouring out her nose. I was shaken out of my clothes and panicking as my wife took control of my daughter. My wife tried to stop the bleeding but it continued for over 20 minutes through arguments of me shouting "PLEASE LETS TAKE HER TO THE ER!".

Finally when my wife gave in, she took her to the ER but by then her nose stopped bleeding, so they (the doctors) sent them back home. An hour after returning home my daughter's nose started again, but by then (while they were at the hospital) I had already gathered some info on Nose bleeds over the internet, so I had an idea of what to do. Well I pinched the soft part of her nose bridge at the bottom and held it for 15 minutes, and it stopped bleeding.

My daughter has never experienced this before, she recently had a few changes in her life with regards to school. She just came out of pre K and is now attending Kindergarten at an elementary school 5 blocks away from the house. I opted to walk her to and from school everyday instead of driving. She has complained to me about being tired while walking from school. She has been going (walking) there for the whole of last week including yesterday, (Tuesday). I also place some pressure on her when it comes to school work, for example, reading and writing and even counting, as well as playing the piano. But she's been doing these things with me for 2 years so I'm inclined to think that that's not the problem. Can someone please help me and suggest a solution? I'm sorry to give you a "book" for a question but I feel like I need to express what happened in it's entirety.

Thank you in advance for your help.

God Bless

[Debbie Miller, RN]

Hello,
Some children are just more susceptible to these and they are not usually serious. Of course a bleeding child always causes alarm in those around her. But, you should be able to get the bleeding to stop and even teach her what to do when they happen. If you are in a dry climate, add some humidity to the air - especially in her room at night. I have known some people with this problem to benefit by adding salt to their diet. I know that sounds weird but it's one of those folk remedies that can help.

If the bleeding is frequent and profuse, of course you should take her to the doctor to see if there is a cause and to make sure she is not becoming anemic due to excessive blood loss. Chances are this is just within the normal range.

Best wishes.