- Putting a penny on your forehead to treat a nosebleed won't help at all, unfortunately.
- Stop a nosebleed by leaning forward, putting gauze on your nostrils, and gently pinching under the bridge of your nose for up to 10 minutes.
- Prevent nosebleeds in the future by keeping your nostrils moist, running a humidifier, and treating your allergies.
What’s the penny trick?
The penny trick is an old wives’ tale that supposedly stops nosebleeds. When your nose starts to bleed, you put a penny on your forehead between your eyes and lean your head back. Hold the penny for 1-3 minutes and your nose will supposedly stop bleeding. Some versions of the trick claim you can use any old coin, but a penny tends to be the most popular recommendation.
Does it work?
There’s no evidence that a penny will do anything for a nosebleed. Nosebleeds occur when blood vessels in your nose burst, so putting a coin on your forehead is unlikely to help you there. As cool as it would be if it worked, the penny on the forehead trick isn’t going to help with a nosebleed. Tilting your head back during a nosebleed may stop the blood from flowing out of your nostrils, but it will not stop the nosebleed. The blood will simply travel down your throat and into your stomach, which can cause further problems. Cold temperatures can help blood vessels constrict so a freezing coin might theoretically help a tad, but it will by no means cure a nosebleed. Nobody knows where the penny trick comes from for sure, but it’s a well-documented myth from the American Midwest that goes back at least to the early 1900s.
Stopping a Nosebleed
Sit upright and lean forward a little bit. Lying down or tilting your had back doesn’t help to stop bleeding; all it does is cause blood to flow down your throat. Sit down and tilt your head forward a bit to stay comfortable.
Pack your nose with gauze to soak up the blood. Your nosebleed will clot on its own once the broken blood vessels empty a bit. While you wait for the clotting to start, stuff a piece of gauze gently into the opening of the bleeding nostril. This will soak up the blood. If you don’t have gauze, use a crumpled-up paper towel, tissue, or bunch of toilet paper. Other absorbent materials (such as diapers, pads/tampons, or hand towels) work in a pinch, but they are less effective and often uncomfortable to use. Replace the gauze every minute or so if the blood keeps flowing and the fabric soaks through. Don’t stuff the gauze into your nostril super far—just keep it in the opening.
Pinch your nose and breath through your mouth for 5-10 minutes. Gently pinch the soft portion of your nose near the bottom of your nostrils. This will speed up the clotting process and help your nose stop bleeding. Wait up to 10 minutes and release your nose once you feel the bleeding has stopped. Don’t blow your nose like you would for a stuffy nose. If there is a chunk of clotted blood, you can carefully and gently blow that out, but don’t overdo it. Wipe your nose softly with a wet cloth to remove any blood and clean up.
Prevention
Keep your nose moist when you feel it drying out. Nosebleeds are almost exclusively caused by your nose drying out. If you feel like your nose is irritated or dry, dip a cloth in cool water and wipe your upper lip and nostrils. This will keep your nose moist and prevent a potential nosebleed. You can also take a warm shower or boil some water and put your head over it to breathe the steam
Keep the air humid by running a humidifier in your home. A humidifier will keep the air moist, which is ideal if you or your child get nosebleeds at home often. Leave the humidifier running in the bedroom at night and you’ll prevent a good number of nosebleeds going forward. Allergies can occasionally cause nosebleeds in children. In that case, treating your child’s allergies in addition to keeping the air moist will help dramatically.
Avoid blowing your nose excessively. Blowing your nose super hard or more than a few times a day can irritate the blood vessels in your nose. If your nose is stuffy, blow it softly, take a decongestant, or use a saline spray to clear your nose out.
When to See a Doctor
Your nosebleed continues for more than 20 minutes. If the nosebleed won’t stop after 20 minutes or so, it could indicate that you’ve seriously harmed the vessels in your nose or that you’re experiencing a clotting issue. Go to the emergency room if you nose won’t stop bleeding after you’ve pinched it close for roughly 10 minutes. If the bleeding feels like it’s slowing down dramatically but it’s just taking a little long, you probably don’t need to see a doctor ASAP.
The blood fills your throat or pours heavily out of your nose. If the blood flow is so extreme that it’s starting to overflow into your throat while you’re sitting up, or it flows out of your nose like it’s coming out of a faucet, go see a doctor. A nosebleed can cause an alarming amount of blood to appear, but it shouldn’t be so dramatic that you can’t control it with a chunk of gauze.
You experience other symptoms, like dizziness or weakness. Unless you have a cold or allergies, a little irritation in your nose and bleeding should be your only symptoms. If you start to get dizzy, you feel weak, or you experience any other symptoms outside of a bloody nose, seek medical help immediately. If you have high blood pressure or anemia and you get a nosebleed suddenly, go the emergency room.
Your nose bleeds multiple times a week. A nosebleed should be a once-in-a-while kind of thing. If you’re getting them regularly though, it’s worth investigating the underlying cause. It could be something as simple as allergies or dry air in your home, but it’s still worth getting it checked out. Make an appointment with your doctor to get your nose checked out.
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