What causes this?  And is it something that I should
be concerned about?  Should I take her to a doctor?

I recall that my older brother experienced a * lot *
of {*filter*}y noses when he was a child, and (I guess)
grew out of it.

Again, it's not the result of physical contact.  One
day, my daughter was tying her shoes and her nose
started bleeding.  

Thanks in advance for any information.

Peg Kempe
  ***
(Concerned Mother)

Debra Bacon
mother of 4 nose bleeders (amongst other things)

 >
 >Our family has the same problem.  Our doctor said that it was because we
 >have veins that are very near the surface in the nostrils, then when the
 >tissues dry out and there is any increase in {*filter*} pressure (bending over
 >to tie your shoes would certainly do it) a nose bleed starts.  Also, it can
 >happen spontaneously when the nose is too dry.  

Fortunately, Debra, this "condition" can go away as your children grow up.  As  
a child, I used to have frequent node bleeds, some of which required a quick  
trip to the emergency room to get the bleeding stopped.  The peak period seemed  
to be when I was 7-10 but by the time I reached puberty the incidences stopped.  
Haven't had a nose bleed since I was 24 (and that one was cause by a bar brawl!  
;-))

BTW, how old are your kids?

--  
Uucp: ...{gatech,ames,rutgers}!ncar!asuvax!stjhmc!348!6.0!Chris.O'Neill

As an intermittent sufferer from them myself, though, I do have two
suggestions to make.  The first is simple: more humidity in the air.
This could mean a humidifier; it could also mean simply moistening the
nostrils directly with a wetted fingertip from time to time.

The second suggestion is for what to do when you get one anyway.  The
problem with all the measures that I have seen described -- ice, pinching,
etc. -- is that they result in a lot of {*filter*} clotting in the nostril.
After a day or two this leaves a hard mass, held in place by nose hairs,
but mobile enough to cause itching, which tends to lead to rubbing the
nose, which presses the mass against the nostril, which can restart the
bleeding -- and in any case it's uncomfortable.  For that matter, so are
some of the treatments.

What I do is to apply both cold and pressure directly to the site of
bleeding.  I twist up the corner of a {*filter*} tissue so it's just the
size to fill a nostril firmly, dip it in COLD water*, and insert it
up the nostril.  After maybe 30 seconds, I change it for a fresh one,
not pulling it out until the fresh one is wetted and ready to insert.
And repeat until it stops, plus a couple more changes to make sure.
I usually go through about 10-25 changes.  (I usually use the two opposite
corners of each tissue, squeezing the {*filter*}y water out of the first before
using the second.)  The only clotted {*filter*} left in the nose is that at
the actual bleeding site, and it feels better quite fast afterwards.

*In Toronto, water from a tap left to run for a while is about 3 degrees C
 in winter, which is cold enough, and 8 degrees in summer, which is barely
 cold enough.  Ice water is of course good, if you have some handy.

--
Mark Brader                             "I shot a query into the net.
SoftQuad Inc., Toronto                   I haven't got an answer yet ..."

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