My nephew is 2 1/2. My sister said yesterday when she got him out of bed in the morning he was covered in dried blood. She totally freaked out and immediately put him in the bath to find the source. She said there was a mark across the top of his nose but she wasn't sure if he has scratched himself while wiping the blood away or if he had bonked himself in the middle of the night. She said he never cried or got out of bed to get them. When I was a kid I had terrible nose bleeds too, but not this young. Has anyone else had problems with this? I think the amount of blood is what threw her for a loop, she is debating about taking him in or not. What do you think?
She could call her doctor just for peace of mind, but my son has done that too. Sometimes if the air is really dry some people are prone to spontaneous nose bleeds. It doesn't sound serious, but it does freak you out to see a lot of dried blood like that. Tell her not to worry, but to check it out with her doctor to calm her nerves! Hope this helps.
A.
Don't take him in. It's dried blood, so the wound has scabbed over. Could've been a major bug bite that he scratched, could've been a bonk as you suggest. Lying down, there's more bleeding than when standing up, but there are a lot of blood vessels in the head and nose area so it's not surprising. He probably moved around and it smeared. He also could have picked his nose and had some bleeding from inside, but she can't see it.
She should relax, watch him, and not give him any aspirin products. If the mark heals over, he's fine.
Dry air will definitely contribute to nose bleed. I used to get this as a child, esp when the heater was going or if I got too hot. A humidifier could help. If it was just a scratch across the top of the nose, the face is very vascular and may bleed alot. If she is concerned he bonked himself during the night, then he may benefit from a xray. Call his pedi and see what they say.
My daughter used to get a bloody nose quite a bit when we lived up north. I can understand your sister's reaction as there can sometimes be quite a large amount of blood, and I have never had her wake up that way. I would start using a saline nose spray and spray it in his nose a few times a day. This will keep it moist and help heal whatever gave him the bloody nose. My daughter is now 14, and still gets them now and again when it seems to be dry around us and blows her nose too hard. But she is learning to be proactive and use the saline before this happens. Good Luck.
J.:
My daughter used to get TERRIBLE nose bleeds...they started when she was 18 months to 2 years...it was nasty - we would have to hold a CUP under her nose to stop it...
Turns out she was allergic caffeine - anything with caffeine in it would give her a bloody nose...chocolate, Coke, Pepsi, Tea...
She also sucked her thumb and stuck her finger up her nose - to the 2nd digit!!! OH MY!!!
In Florida - she shouldn't have trouble with dry air causing the nasal passages to be dry and cracked...there is humidity there...if they live in a DRY place (like Las Vegas) them humidity needs to be in the air...
Hope it's nothing serious!!
Updated
J.:
My daughter used to get TERRIBLE nose bleeds...they started when she was 18 months to 2 years...it was nasty - we would have to hold a CUP under her nose to stop it...
Turns out she was allergic caffeine - anything with caffeine in it would give her a bloody nose...chocolate, Coke, Pepsi, Tea...
She also sucked her thumb and stuck her finger up her nose - to the 2nd digit!!! OH MY!!!
In Florida - she shouldn't have trouble with dry air causing the nasal passages to be dry and cracked...there is humidity there...if they live in a DRY place (like Las Vegas) them humidity needs to be in the air...
Hope it's nothing serious!!
when in doubt take him in..my doc always told me she would rather me go in 100 times with nothing wrong then to not go in once and that be the time there is a problem!!
when my son turned 2, he started getting really bad bloody noses. it would gush out and pour all over the place. it would fill a hand towel. he still gets them. i talked to the Pedi and he said it was allergies. my son gets them often. we have a lot of pine trees around us, so i'm assuming that's what he's allergic to. he also sneezes every morning when he wakes up about 5 times. the pedi just tells me to put a cool mist humidifier in his room and should solve the problem.
I think she just needs to make an appt with the doctor to ask questions, but in the mean time it's getting hot and dry heat will bring on heavy nose bleeds in little children. She needs to make sure the room is cool enough for him while he sleeps. A cool mist humidifier will do the trick for dry heat and a fan or a/c will help with the hot air.
