“Mom! My nose is bleeding!”
If you hear this often, know you are not alone. Nosebleeds affect more than 60 million Americans every year1. One in seven people gets a nose bleed in their lifetime. It mainly affects children aged 2-10, and adults aged 50-80.2 Why? Well, there’s a variety of factors. Let’s cover those later. Let’s get to the easy, top-secret remedy that you probably are hoping is easily replicated.
Well, it is...very easily replicated.
There is an inexpensive remedy, likely already in your refrigerator or medicine cabinet that is a natural remedy to stop nosebleeds. I have used this treatment with my family and friends for many years with great success. Ready for this? Lemon oil. Yep, that’s it. Smelling lemon essential oil will typically stop a nosebleed in just a few seconds.
I don’t believe you.
Ok, yeah, I get it. Using lemon essential oil to stop nosebleed, It’s hard to believe, but lemon is a natural hemostatic, meaning it helps to stop bleeding by increasing the coagulation process. Coagulation is the process by which blood turns from a liquid to a semi-solid or gel state3. In a pinch, I have even cut a fresh lemon, smelled it and used it to stop a nosebleed. It is not as quick as using the essential oil, but it still does work.
Also practical in “away from the home” applications
The first time I had the opportunity to put this tip to the test was to help my niece, who has Behcet's disease. Behcet's Disease is a rare disorder that causes inflammation of the blood vessels.4 Due to this disease, my niece suffers from prolonged nosebleeds.
While my niece and her family were visiting out of state at my in-law’s, she suffered a spontaneous, middle of the night, nosebleed. It lasted for over two hours. My mother-in-law was very concerned, but the nosebleed finally stopped using other methods. However, the next morning, I received a call from her wanting to cancel the plans we had made with our family for that day. We had planned for all the cousins to get together at a local museum. I understand the difficulties of dealing with a nosebleed in a public setting but I encouraged and persuaded my mother-in-law to continue with the plans, by promising to bring with me something to stop a nosebleed if we needed.
Less than ten minutes into our museum experience, I looked up to see my mother-in-law and niece hurriedly walking towards me using a paper towel to catch her dripping nosebleed. I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out my bottle of lemon essential oil to stop her nosebleed. I had the bottle opened and as my niece approached I waved the bottle under her nose and had her breath in a few deep breaths through her nose. By the third breath, she stood up straight and shockingly exclaimed: “It’s stopped!” The awe on my mother-in-law’s face was priceless. She looked right at me and said, “What is that? I have to have that!” I was happy to share; we transferred a small amount of oil to a 1m bottle. Even though it’s been years, my niece still carries it with her to quickly and immediately stop her nosebleeds.
Let everyone in on the secret.
When our son was 5 years old, his nose started to bleed while out at recess. He was not pleased as he walked into the school office and sat in the nursing chair to be attended to by the school’s secretary. After a few seconds, he proudly exclaimed, “If my mom was here with her oils, we would be done by now!” Later, that day when I picked our son up from school, the secretary called me into the office and laughing told me the story and asked what oil he was referring to. I could not help but laugh and smile. Our young son recognized the effectiveness and ease of using this natural remedy. It should be something easy to keep in stock at schools.
Next time you or a loved one has a nosebleed, may I suggest reaching for the lemon essential oil. Your nosebleed could be stopped by the time you hunt for a tissue.
Have you tried using lemon essential oil? Tell us how you stop a nosebleed in the comments!
References:
1 - Vermont Urgent Care - https://www.vermonturgentcare.org/the-truth-on-why-people-get-nosebleeds/
2 - WebMD - How Common are Nosebleeds - https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/qa/how-common-are-nose-bleeds
3 - WIkipedia - Coagulation (clotting) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coagulation
4 - Behcet’s Connection - Behcet’s Disease - https://www.behcetsconnection.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpKbvsMip5wIVEfDACh225gVnEAAYASAAEgLW3_D_BwE
5 - The Aromatherapy Bible - The Definitive Guide to Essential Oils - Benefits of Using Lemon-https://books.google.com/books?id=nEYBCER-apYC&pg=PA322&lpg=PA322&dq=lemon+is+hemostatic&source=bl&ots=MO4kA7G3TT&sig=ACfU3U0Bj9US7ngcHT0VQWyxuLvUaGQ2xQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_g83dxannAhVGZc0KHSx3Ce0Q6AEwB3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=lemon%20is%20hemostatic&f=false
