Nosebleed Health Video

Video Transcript

CLIFFORD SEWELL, MD: Hello. I'm Dr. Clifford Sewell. A message about the nosebleed. Nosebleed or the official term is epistaxis is bleeding from the nasal cavity. I believe we all probably had a nosebleed at sometime through a trauma or through seasonal changes. The most common cause of nosebleed would be dry air causing friability or bleeding of the mucous membranes in the nose. Also, illness such as of mild upper respiratory tract infection can lead to drying of mucous membranes of your nose therefore causing bleeding. There are some underlying serious conditions which can manifest with the nosebleed such as bleeding disorders, cancer, so if the nosebleed is not self-limiting or one or two episodes or more frequent then seek medical attention for more further diagnostics of a possible underlying condition. Nasal carcinoma, more common in Asian ancestry people, is another possibility and should be evaluated by a physician. Overall, nosebleeds are very common and the treatment is simply to apply direct pressure to the area, to the nostril which you believe is bleeding, and over a period of a few minutes, the bleeding should stop. If it doesn't stop, you should obviously seek medical attention right away.