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Sick Bay News

 

Sick bay has recently been busy with blood noses. This is certainly nothing to be concerned about, however I have noticed some interesting variations that children have used to stop the bleeding. This ranges from having their head tilted back, sticking rolled tissue paper into the nostril, and surprisingly using their fingers to block the flow of blood.

 

Nosebleeds happen when one of the blood vessels in the lining of the nostril bursts. This can be caused by a range of factors and at school the most common reasons are.

 

A bump and or fall

Nose picking

Extreme heat and

Exercise

 

The First aid team at Malvern Primary manage nose bleeds using the following steps.

 

1.  We don’t go digging around in a nostril, but we do ask the student to remove from their nose, the fingers that are blocking the nostril entrance and or the rolled up tissue paper.

2.  We encourage the student to sit and then repositioned the head from being tilted back to being tilted slightly forward.

VOMIT WARNING: Tilting the head forward prevents blood going down into the stomach which makes the child nauseous and start to vomit, which then starts the nose bleeding again.

3.  We then ask the child to use their own finger and thumb to add pressure on the soft part of nose below the bridge for at least 10 minutes. (How much pressure? Well both nostrils should be touching in the middle) A tissue is also used to catch the blood.

4.  After 10 minutes, we release the pressure on the nostrils and check to see if the bleeding has stopped. If not we use a cold pack on the neck and start the pressure count again.

5.   At school, nose bleeds tend to stop quickly, and we send the student back to the classroom with strict instructions not to sniff, blow, pick and or rub their nose.

 

As the nurse at Malvern Primary School one of my many aims is to ensure that the students have some first aid knowledge before they leave for the bigger world. I will always correct them in the hope that they are able to pass on their knowledge confidently to others.

If you have not participated in a first aid course, please maybe consider it as it is such a valuable skill to have.

 

Have a great month