Avoided a Doctor Visit

[TromboneAl]

A perfect storm of low temperatures (low humidity), a cold, and taking Mucinex resulted in DW having a nosebleed that wouldn't stop.

I'll spare you the details, but it was an on-again off-again thing that just wouldn't respond to any of the standard Internet remedies. Finally after two days, she called the doctor who was not in. She was told that if she couldn't stop the bleeding, she should go to the emergency room. She didn't want to go to the ER for a nosebleed, so she toughed it out, and today she's out of the woods.

I wonder how much of the blame lies with Mucinex. Note that she never takes aspirin, and never has nosebleeds.

 

[W2R]

I used to get nosebleeds easily when I was younger, though for some reason I no longer do. I guess the tissues in my nose are no longer as fragile as they were in my youth. But who knows. Anyway, my sympathies to Lena.

She might want to check with her doctor. I know nothing about Mucinex (don't even know what it is for), but it could be that or some other medication, or maybe even a nutritional issue.

 

[Goonie]

A perfect storm of low temperatures (low humidity), a cold, and taking Mucinex resulted in DW having a nosebleed that wouldn't stop.

I used to occasionally get nosebleeds in the winter for basically the same reason...cold temps, very low humidity, and some sort of cold relief medicine. So for home I got one of those little tabletop vaporizer/atomizer things to put moisture in the air, and at work in the lab I had a 4 gallon stainless steel pot that I'd fill half way up with water and put it on an industrial grade hotplate to add moisture to the air. As long as I can keep the indoor humidity around 45% or higher I'm OK and never get nosebleeds.

 

[W2R]

I used to occasionally get nosebleeds in the winter for basically the same reason...cold temps, very low humidity, and some sort of cold relief medicine. So for home I got one of those little tabletop vaporizer/atomizer things to put moisture in the air, and at work in the lab I had a 4 gallon stainless steel pot that I'd fill half way up with water and put it on an industrial grade hotplate to add moisture to the air. As long as I can keep the indoor humidity around 45% or higher I'm OK and never get nosebleeds.

That would explain why I never get nosebleeds any more - - I have been living in SE Louisiana for 14 years, and the humidity here is so high it's almost legendary. Duh!

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I used to have a lot of nosebleeds as a kid, had to have my nose packed with this stupid string hanging out...always the right nostril. My old family doc, the one who had me on liver once a week due to being so thin, said "she'll outgrow them" and I did. Occasionally I'll get one in winter due to the dry heat and this usually happens when I wake up in the morning. Another reason to retire and move south I guess. But a very minor one.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

A common cause of nosebleeds that go on and on for hours or days is the "peek-a-boo" technique where people apply firm but gentle pressure on the outside of the nostril (correct) and then every two minutes or so they stop applying pressure, take a look or maybe a dab to see if it's still bleeding, which it does, and they repeat the cycle. Better to apply pressure for a good 5-10 minutes without peeking so the thing can plug itself up before you "peek."

 

[W2R]

Not meaning to threadjack, but Rich - - if you are ESR'ing in 110 days, as your signature indicates, does that mean your ESR is scheduled for April Fool's Day?

 

[TromboneAl]

Did you count out the days on a calendar W2R?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Not meaning to threadjack, but Rich - - if you are ESR'ing in 110 days, as your signature indicates, does that mean your ESR is scheduled for April Fool's Day?

Did you count out the days on a calendar W2R?

Well, at least you haven't filled all your retirement hours just yet . (Actually, in all fairness, the link also shows the target date.)

But an April Fool's Day retirement might be cool. Labor Day would be too obvious. Independence Day has its merits. Arbor Day - naaah.

 

[W2R]

oh, oops!! Sorry - - I did not see the date and was just estimating from 110 days. As for retirement days, I retired two days before Veterans Day but that was just because it was the third day of my retirement eligibility, so there would be no question. Anyway, thanks, and sorry for the temporary hijack.

NOW - - back to nosebleeds. I am amazed that so many people prefer low humidity when they consider possible ER locations. When I visit low humidity areas, my lips and face get all chapped and bleed, and now I learn that is probably why I used to get nosebleeds. The extremely high humidity here is very good for my skin. I will miss it when we move north, although southern Missouri is more humid than some places.

 

[Goonie]

NOW - - back to nosebleeds. I am amazed that so many people prefer low humidity when they consider possible ER locations. When I visit low humidity areas, my lips and face get all chapped and bleed, and now I learn that is probably why I used to get nosebleeds. The extremely high humidity here is very good for my skin. I will miss it when we move north, although southern Missouri is more humid than some places.

A couple of years ago we were in Las Vegas for a few days, and while I enjoyed the visit, I HATED the low humidity...4%-5%. I was never so glad to get away from a place, as I was to get out of there and back home to a more realistic humidity level!!! My skin and lips were so dry it was awful, and I sinuses were like a desert...couldn't hardly breathe. We hung wet towels in our room to try to increase the humidity level during the night so we could sleep. I was just waiting for a nosebleed to erupt!

Ain't no way on earth I'd ever even consider living somewhere with low humidity..no way, no how! (of course I don't really want to live in a rain forest (or NOLA) either.)

 

[W2R]

Ain't no way on earth I'd ever even consider living somewhere with low humidity..no way, no how! (of course I don't really want to live in a rain forest (or NOLA) either.)

Other than hurricanes, I kind of like the weather here, which I admit is a pretty bizarre attitude to have. I absolutely LOVE the fact that it rains so much (when it isn't flooding, anyway). It really cuts back on the summertime heat and makes everything clean and lovely. However our legendary humidity gets oppressive sometimes and at times like that I am thankful for A/C.

 

[TromboneAl]

The nosebleed started again last night, but she got it stopped with one 15-minute squeeze-the-nose session. She's singing in a choir concert today. Fingers crossed.

Actually, the low point of our humidity was 45%. It's usually around 60-80%. Perhaps that wasn't one of the precipitating factors.

 

[TromboneAl]

And it just started again.

 

[calmloki]

Many decades ago my Mom had persistent nosebleeds which were stopped via cauterization - one visit, don't recall there ever being a problem again...

The gal's Mom has special nose pincher device for nosebleeds - kinda looks like miny headset speakers, earpads pinch the nose.


or: " Traditional care of these patients includes a stepwise process initially using topical anesthetics and vasoconstrictors such as 4% cocaine alone...." for medicinal use only, of course.

or less fun: 4. If the nosebleed continues, put some Afrin nasal spray on a small cotton
ball and place it inside your nose for a few minutes. Afrin makes the
blood vessels clamp down and is good for stopping nosebleeds.
However, you should not use the Afrin more than three times each day
and not more than three days in a row.

 

[travelover]

A couple of years ago we were in Las Vegas for a few days, and while I enjoyed the visit, I HATED the low humidity...4%-5%. I was never so glad to get away from a place, as I was to get out of there and back home to a more realistic humidity level!!! My skin and lips were so dry it was awful, and I sinuses were like a desert...couldn't hardly breathe. We hung wet towels in our room to try to increase the humidity level during the night so we could sleep. I was just waiting for a nosebleed to erupt!

Ain't no way on earth I'd ever even consider living somewhere with low humidity..no way, no how! (of course I don't really want to live in a rain forest (or NOLA) either.)

When I was w*rking for Megamotors we used to have to stay in Phoenix during the winter for weeks at a time, in motels. Soon all the engineers were suffering from cracked skin and other low humidity realted issues. I invented the motel humidifier which was a waste basket full of water and a towel draped over the HeVac unit. The towel wicked moisture up and the blower distributed it around the room. I'm sure the motel staff thought we were crazy, but it w*rked great.

 

[TromboneAl]

I told her that because the concert is Christmasy religious music, then if she gets a nosebleed in the middle of it, and she yells out "Oh, Jesus!" people will just think she's taking a solo.

 

[SarahW]

I have had nosebleeds every winter for most of my life. Seems that as soon as the heat goes on, the dry air causes nosebleeds. Ugh. It's yucky. When the bleeding stops (a clot forms), you feel like you need to blow your nose. Naturally, any attempt to relieve the "stuffy clot" feeling results in MORE BLEEDING. I sympathize with your wife, Al. I have resisted the cauterization since as soon as the humidity rises, my nosebleeds go away.

Get her one of those drugstore humidifiers and see if it helps.

 

[Goonie]

Many decades ago my Mom had persistent nosebleeds which were stopped via cauterization - one visit, don't recall there ever being a problem again...

There is a very nice older lady that used to travel with us a lot over the years, and she was prone to nosebleeds. On one occasion the nosebleed wouldn't stop, so we took her to the local emergency room and they cauterizided the offending blood vessel or vein or whatever in her nose (I ain't no doctor!). Anyway, the bleeding stopped instantly, and she's never had the problem since. That was about 3 years ago!