What to do if you get a nose bleed while you're sitting at your desk at work

Friday afternoon. Yes, it's true: I was sitting here, minding my own business, wishing I weren't here because I'm well and truly fed up, when I realized my nose was bleeding. (Thankfully I caught it before it ruined my beautiful salmon-y pink cashmere sweater!) I haven't had one in so long that I couldn't remember what you're supposed to do, so I got up and went next door to one of my team members who's a mom. (Moms know everything, right?) Well, she wasn't there, so I kept walking to the next office where two team members (both non-breeders like me, alas) were working on a product together. Neither of them knew what to do but they knew who would, so they Google'd it! By this point, several team members who had been walking by stopped to find out what was going on because they'd pulled a chair out into the hallway for me and had me tipping my head forward (NOT backward - you could choke) while they compared WebMD to the University of Maryland as far as how long I needed to sit there with my nose pinched shut. (One said 5-10 minutes and the other said 10-20, so we went with 10.)

At this point, someone opened the medicine cabinet and started pulling things out. One thought we ought to use the "bodily fluid disposal kit" and the other found something called a "stop bleeding kit". I told them both to back away slowly. As I'm sitting there with ice across my nose, eyes, and cheeks and my nose pinched shut with a napkin, someone decided to take a picture. For the department web page. If I find out who that industrious soul is, they're mine.

After 10 minutes, I removed the pressure and found that it had stopped. I folded up the WebMD printout and put it in the medicine cabinet (next to the kits) for future reference.

Mom says I need to get my blood pressure checked because high blood pressure can cause unexpected nose bleeds. Swell. (I am getting old.)

Comments

Well, I'm a mom and I'm afraid I wouldn't have been much help, either. My kids have never had a tendency to nosebleeds. From my own childhood I seem to remember my mom putting a cold table knife on the back of our neck. Probably an old wive's tale (but it was the cold, not the knife part that was supposed to help).
I wouldn't have had a clue what to do either ... and I've taken a first aid course. Ha!
Lori G. said…
This whole post made me laugh; I can just picture all of this.

I suppose the picture taker is holding the photo for blackmail purposes...

Now, there's a post for you, when is Google appropriate? :-)

Sometimes people get nosebleeds b/c the air is dry, they had sinus problems or other reasons. I've never heard of high blood pressure being an issue but I'll go see what the U of Maryland/WebMD/Mayo clinic has to say about this....

Have a great weekend!
M@rla said…
Damn! I'm glad you didn't ruin your sweater, the description of it made me envious.

On familydoctor.org, it says causes of nosebleed include dry environment, booger-picking, and pushing small objects up your nose. I'm betting on #3 for you.
Jenny said…
Just to add... if it is high blood pressure, it doesn't mean you're old. High blood pressure has a lot to do with genetics, weight, and the physical shape you're in, and can happen to slim fit people in their teens if they have the wrong genetic makeup. Here's hoping it's just the winter dry air!

JB
Jenny said…
Just to add... even if it turns out to be high blood pressure, it doesn't mean you're old. High blood pressure has a lot to do with genetics as well as age, weight, and the shape you're in, and can occur in slim fit people in their twenties if they have the wrong genetic makeup. Here's hoping it's just the dry winter air!

JB
Jake Silver said…
One thing I've always liked about your Blog is you mix in life stories and everything and, even though you have the goal of weight loss and being healthier, you have a balnce.

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