Also known as epistaxis, a nosebleed is when the nose bleeds uncontrollably. This is chiefly caused when a blood vessel ruptures in the nose but also may result from injury, allergies or other medical issues, such as kidney or liver disease, hemophilia or nasal polyps. While it is important to seek treatment for a nose that bleeds uncontrollably for 30 minutes or more, herbal remedies may help to reduce the occurrence or severity of a nosebleed.
Cayenne Pepper
Add 1/8 tsp. of cayenne pepper to a glass of warm to hot water and drink it when your nose is bleeding. The pepper helps to relieve the pressure on the nose, allowing your blood to coagulate more easily, therefore stopping the bleeding. Cayenne pepper has healing properties when circulating inside the body as well as when placed outside the body. If you don't mind the stinging sensation that comes from applying the pepper to the nosebleed site, the pepper may help to slow or stop the bleeding.
Supplementation
A number of natural herb supplements have been shown to prevent future nosebleeds, including taking 200 to 300 mcg of grape seed extract, 1 tsp. or three capsules of lactobacillus acidophilus, bilberry capsules or vitamin K. Reishi mushroom capsules also have been linked with increasing the brain's ability to better regulate blood flow in the body.
Topical Applications
Herbs such as agrimony, witch hazel or yarrow can be applied to the nose in order to decrease or cease bleeding. Other herbs that may have a practical application for nosebleeds include black snakeroot, lycium, peony, scurvy grass, knotweed, mouse-ear or cinquefoil.
Other herbs can be applied as nose drops, such as castor oil, vitamin E (which helps to increase moisture in dry, cracking airways) and zinc oxide (a natural wound healer), to prevent nosebleeds. Soaking apple cider vinegar in a cotton ball, then packing it in to the nostril helps the blood to solidify and therefore cease bleeding. Mixing a solution of salt and water and spraying this solution into the nose also may help to stop a bleeding nose (but also may burn slightly).
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