September 25, 2006
it was a bloodbath! a bloodbath, I tell you!
Charlie woke me at 2:00 am with my Least Favorite Middle-of-the-Night Proclamation Ever, which goes like this: “Mama. MAMA! I have a bleedy nose.” He says it in a very calm, very peaceful middle-of-the-night-appropriate whisper, which means that I stay entirely calm (if mostly asleep) until we get to the bathroom and turn the lights on and I am faced with a four-year-old who looks like an extra from CSI: Miami. (Is it just me or does the Miami version of that series seem to be the most gory? I mean, I know they’re all pretty gross, but Miami seems to be awash in blood and body parts, more so than either Las Vegas or New York City.)
Last night’s bloody nose was a Comedy of Errors and Crankyness unlike anything seen around here lately. I got up with Charlie, cleaned him up, assessed the nose (still bleeding!) and started to apply pressure. The nose stops bleeding, Charlie sniffs hard to see if he can breathe, the bleeding starts again. Charlie gets mad and starts crying. Wade gets up and makes a suggestion; I counter with another suggestion. Neither suggestion is offered in what we like to call a Nice Voice, if you get my drift. I go off to consult with Doctor Google, which involves finding my glasses which are . . . hmm, where ARE my glasses? Doctor Google says to do this but not that, and this OTHER thing but not THAT other thing. All in all, Wade and I were each half right about what to do, which seems to prove that mostly we don’t know what the hell we’re doing. We follow Doctor Google’s advice, the bleeding stops, Charlie and I get into his bed, Wade tucks us in and we all say I love you and we fall asleep.
The end.
Until this morning, when I’m carrying Charlie to the breakfast table and he is snuggling his sleepy head against my shoulder (and the WHITE SHIRT encasing it) and he says sadly, “Look, Mama, I’m bleedy again.”
Dammit.
Posted by Susan @ 1:08 pm • Uncategorized
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September 25th, 2006 at 1:53 pm, Jenorama Says:
My friend Carol’s son had “bleedy” noses for years and years. And it was just his nose membranes and dryness. But still a bit disconcerting.
September 25th, 2006 at 1:57 pm, daysgoby Says:
We had that here last weekend.
I have broad shoulders. Blame me.
(At least it’s not strep, right?)
September 25th, 2006 at 2:09 pm, Laura Says:
I had this so often as a kid that they finally cauterized the blood vessels in my nose. It pretty much took care of the problem.
Sorry about your long night and pending laundry. Personally my least favorite thing is “Mom, I threw up.” Give me blood anyday over that.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:04 pm, Arwen Says:
Noodle sleeps in the crook of my arm (some call it the armpit). One morning I woke up with blood all over my armpit. That was kind of gross. What was worse was that I never noticed until I woke up. Pix of the fam over at my place.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:15 pm, wordgirl Says:
Bleedy nose plus white shirt equal funny looks at the grocery store. Poor little nose!
September 25th, 2006 at 4:36 pm, Karyn Says:
Sumbitch.
See, this is why I don’t wear pure white clothes.
Well…that, and the fact that I spill everything in Christendom on myself. And that white makes me look like the StayPuft Marshmallow Man.
Poor kid. Poor you.
Oxyclean? Tide with Bleach Alternative? All of the above?
September 25th, 2006 at 4:37 pm, lynsalyns Says:
“Bleedy.” O, the pathos! Hope the kidlet is better.
September 25th, 2006 at 5:32 pm, Melissa Says:
My whole life is a comedy of errors and crankiness. Except without the comedy.
Poor Charlie! Poor shirt! Poor sleepless mommy and daddy! And poor bottle of hydrogen peroxide, which will get poured out to remove the blood stain. Except I don’t know why ‘poor’ that one.
September 25th, 2006 at 6:07 pm, Velma Says:
I went through the nose cauterization as a child, and STILL get bloody noses all the time in the winter. One of my children seems to have inherited my delicate nasal membranes. Unfortunately, it is the more emotional and dramatic child, whose reaction makes mopping up the carnage the easy part.
September 25th, 2006 at 6:31 pm, Candace Says:
Christopher used to have bleedy noses all the time. We had him checked out for everything on God’s green earth and it turns out he was picking his nose in his sleep, causing the membranes to tear.
Ew.
September 25th, 2006 at 8:46 pm, Granny Says:
Not an excess of bleedy noses around here but we’ve had our share.
Miami is definitely gorier than L.V. or NY and I’ve never been fond of David Caruso, even in his NYPD days.
I watch it for the rest of the cast.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:38 pm, Cmommy Says:
Does Dr.Google have advice regarding the white shirt/blood?!
Bless you and Charlie!! No bleedies tonight. C
September 26th, 2006 at 5:35 am, Anonymous Says:
As the daughter of an ENT, I was always instructed to pinch just below the bridge of the nose, and keep my head down (not up) until the bleeding stops. Putting an ice bag on the nose helps speed things along, as well.
Sounds like Charlie might need a humidifier in his room already, perhaps?
September 26th, 2006 at 6:08 am, Amy W Says:
My night was sort of the same…don’t you love sleeping in a twin bed with a little one? I got smacked in the face multiple times…
September 26th, 2006 at 6:52 am, Misfit Hausfrau Says:
Ugh! This confirms my theory that my wardrobe should probably remain drab gray, black and brown.
What a night for you!
September 26th, 2006 at 7:33 am, melynda Says:
OK, I just can’t resist laying some assvice on you. My father is a high school basketball coach. Has been for 40 years. His remedy for a bloody nose is to put a dime just between the upper lip and teeth. In order to hold the dime in place, a blood vessel is restricted in some form or fashion. (Of course, putting money into a small child’s mouth might not be the best idea, but putting pressure on the upper lip might just have the same effect.)
He has stopped countless bloody noses on the sidelines of a basketball game using this technique. Only recently did a mother complain, because the dime hadn’t been washed. But, my dad is old school. Dime washing is for wusses.
September 26th, 2006 at 8:04 am, Susan Says:
Melynda, I LOVE that! I suspect that it will come in handy around here, because I seem to be looking at a lifetime of bleedy noses.
No bleeding last night. My white shirt (and Charlie’s special binkit) both came clean. We have the humidifier running in his room, we’ve clipped his little nails as short as possible, we’re trying to get him to let us stick some Vaseline up his nose (no luck so far) and we’ve stopped giving him Claritin (because we think the antihistamine may be drying him out TOO much–theories, Internet?). We’re also pushing lots of water and juice (for the Vitamin C).
We are NOT, however, watching CSI. Too much gore.
September 26th, 2006 at 8:30 am, Candace Says:
I wouldn’t necessarily cut out the Claritin. My understanding of antihistamines is that they’re different from decongestants. The antihistamines stop the chemical histamine (released when an allergen is introduced) from working in the body. Decongestants narrow the blood vessels to relieve nasal congestion.
Oh, it just occurred to me that maybe he’s been taking the Claritin that has a decongestant in it? Yeah, that might not be so good. But there are versions of Claritin without decongestants; Christopher and I both take that kind and our mucous membranes are just fine, thank you very much.
And yeah, the gore in Miami is reaching epic proportions. Make sure you don’t get killed there.
September 26th, 2006 at 11:57 am, Kristen Says:
Hey, at least Charlie uses a peaceful, polite night time voice. My kids come and stand by my head, staring at me creepily until I wake up. *shudder* It’s bordering on Children of the Corn over here.
September 26th, 2006 at 1:40 pm, Rachel Says:
Maybe if (big if) you could convince him to let you use a saline spray on his nose to moisten the membranes it might help.
September 26th, 2006 at 1:43 pm, The Daring One Says:
Oh, poor baby. And poor Charlie too.
September 26th, 2006 at 2:29 pm, Laura Says:
As a big allergy sufferer, I do know that nasal sprays completely dry out my nose if they have any alcohol in them. The saline spray sounds like a great idea.
And I completely cracked up at the Children of the Corn comment.
September 26th, 2006 at 10:15 pm, graceful Says:
My little guy has a tendency for this to happen also at night. He lets me know that “Maw-mee, I bwoody!” He’s got thin nasal membranes, just like my sister and my daughter did at this age.
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:07 am, Nire Says:
Aren’t bloody noses so much fun? I used to get them all the freakin’ time when I was little. And by “used to” I mean “still do”.
I don’t know what Google says about it, but the only thing that ever works for me is to blow the clot out. According to the school nurse ten years ago (ie, the only person in any sort of medical profession with whom I’ve ever talked about this), this doesn’t work and makes them worse.
Which, uh, would make sense if, yanno, she didn’t make me sit in her office for two hours doing everything you’re “supposed” to do for a bloody nose before calling my mum and getting told “Jesus Christ, Betty, just let her blow her fucking nose.” and that stopped it cold in its tracks.