Bleeding of the ENT

[Sonialei77]

My daughter - age 10, suffers from Nose bleeds every now and then. Lately she complains about the blood running down her throat, which makes me believe that the problem is not as superficial as her pedia. believed.

Just yesterday I had to take her in to see her pedia. because she bled from her ears over the weekend. What causes this, and is this severe?

She has mild allergies, but the bleeding out of the ears worries me, her pedia gave her ear drops, and an antibiotic and asked she go back in on thursday... where he will discuss the results to her bloodwork.

[tomsant]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Your observation and description are amusing. Wish all mothers were as wise as you.

Don't panic, but this is a situation the ENT has to see. This is to see from where and why she is bleeding, and to treat the same. Even if it is a from a general cause (bleeding from two anatomical areas is a pointer), he can try to stop loss of blood from his area. If it is a true local, it is the ENT's field.

Have you noticed blood in urine or motion ?(Motion will black in colour if blood is swallowed) May be the paediatrician has already checked on this.

Best rgds,
Thomas Antony

[Sonialei77]

Hi Thomas,

I never let (nor do I) pick at her ears, I usually let the wax drain out on its own or with the help of drops. Sometimes her ear wax is a rusty orange, but this time it was bright red blood (smelled like blood too). It was running out and even clotted. I removed the excess blood with a cottonball... this was Sunday evening. Then Monday morning comes and she wakes up with the pillow stuck to her face, as the blood had dried. It was surely enough blood to get me at the Pedias office by 8a.m.

When she bleeds from her nose, it usually just comes without warning (regardless of climate,season) and will take a while to clot... if it does clot, I usually have to remove clots from her nose, because then it starts running down her throat. Sometimes the amount of blood from the nose and throat varies, but it's no more than 1/4 of a glass (estimating)

The doctor has talked about cauterising the blood vessels but never did it as Tyzine does help some, but now we're seeing her bleed from the ears, and the amount of blood does worry me as the stain on her pillow was the size of a dinner plate!!!

Her platelet count is normal, so we've covered that, we will just see what he recommends us do tomorrow. I'm going to insist she be seen/referred by an ENT specialist as this has become a daily thing (either ears or nose) and the amount of blood seems to increase as the bleeding out becomes more frequent.

[tomsant]

How long has the bleeding been going on? Each time how much blood does she loose? (drops, one teaspoon, half glass), Is it from one nose always? Some children (and adults too!) have the habit of nose picking. Does it bleed during summer or winter? If so, just vaseline application should suffice, to keep the nasal mucosa from drying.

Bleeding from the ears is not easy to be believed. It might have been wax rubbed out with an ear bud? Or did the ear bleed just so? How much did she bleed? What caused it?

If the child is not otherwise sick, and if the paed has said there's nothing to worry, your daughter should be okay. The paediatrician may ask for some basic blood tests.

An ENT will look into the nose, and if necessary with a scope. If need be, he may burn (cauterise) some point in the nose. There is a 'junction' of small 'blood vessels' in the nose, where it usually bleeds.

If it is a 'real' bleed from the ear, it is a different issue. But usually such things are just a loving mother's worry.

Best regards,
Thomas Antony