Nosebleeds — advice after a nosebleed
How to stop a nosebleed, look after yourself afterwards, and when to get more help.
Most nosebleeds are not serious and stop with simple first aid. We have checked you and it is safe to go home. Please read this so you know what to do if the bleeding starts again.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
These need an ambulance.
- Bleeding that is pouring rather than dripping, or you are choking on it
- You keep swallowing or vomiting blood
- You feel faint, dizzy, short of breath, or your heart is racing
- Bleeding that will not stop after two full attempts at 15 minutes of pressure
- It started after a serious head injury or a hard blow
Contact the ED or the ENT service named above.
- You take a blood thinner — warfarin, a DOAC, or clopidogrel — or have a clotting disorder
- Bleeding that stops but keeps coming back over the day
- A child under 2 years old who has had a nosebleed
- Your packing falls out, slips, or you cannot breathe comfortably around it
- The nose becomes increasingly painful, smelly or swollen after cautery or packing
- You keep getting nosebleeds, or you are bleeding easily elsewhere too
How to do the pressure properly: sit upright and lean forwards. Pinch the soft part of the nose — not the bony bridge — firmly, and hold it for a full 15 minutes without letting go to check. Letting go early is the commonest reason it does not work. Breathe through your mouth. If it is still bleeding, repeat once more for 15 minutes; if that fails, get help. For the next 24 hours: do not blow your nose, pick it, bend down, lift anything heavy, or take hot baths or hot drinks. Sleep propped up on an extra pillow. After cautery or packing: a small amount of blood-stained crusting is normal. Use any ointment or spray exactly as prescribed, and keep the follow-up appointment written in Your care details above. Do not stop a blood thinner unless a doctor has told you to.
How to stop a nosebleed
- Sit up and lean forward — do not tip your head back.
- Firmly pinch the soft part of your nose, just below the bony bridge.
- Hold for 10–15 minutes without letting go to check.
- Breathe through your mouth, and spit out any blood instead of swallowing it.
- Put an ice pack or cold cloth on the bridge of your nose, or suck an ice cube.
For the next 24 hours
- Do not pick or blow your nose, or pick at any scab.
- Avoid hot drinks, alcohol, heavy lifting and hard exercise.
- Keep your head up, and avoid hot baths.
- If you need to sneeze, do it with your mouth open.
- A little petroleum jelly inside the nostril can soothe it.
What's normal afterwards
These are common in the first day or two and usually settle on their own:
Restart gentle pinching for 10–15 minutes if it bleeds again.