Monday, September 21, 2009

Ref. 3 - Nosebleeds or epistaxis

        Most common caused by nose picking and injury. Some people may get them more often. The cold and dry weather will likely cause nosebleeds. People who make take aspirin or other drug s that interfere with the blood’s ability to clot commonly and develop nosebleeds. If prevention or treatment not been done and continues longer than 10 minutes, it will considerer as serious as losing great amount of blood(1 litres/hour in adults) and than causing shock.

First Aid Treatment:
       Important step to treat nosebleeds including elevating the patient's head 45 degrees, avoiding picking up nose upside down to let the blood flow back to nose. Make sure the patient breathe through his month.

       After that, firmly compress the sides of the nose together and not let go 10 minutes. Release the compress for a while and repeat the step again until the bleeding stop. Place ice packs or cold towel on the nose to increase effectiveness.

        Monitor vital signs and skin color of the patient. If the bleeding does not stop, bring the patient to the doctor.

         Eat lots of fruits and vegetables build a stronger resistant to infections.


References:
M. H. Beers, A.J. Fletcher, T V. Jones, R. Porter, J. L. Kaplan. 2003. The Merck Manual of Medical Information 2th home edition. Merck & Co., Inc.