Things About Nose Bleed
What caused the Nose Bleed?
You have been treated for a nose bleed. Bleeding from your nose can occur from a variety of reasons:
* An injury to the nose that causes the small vessels to bleed
* Uncontrolled high blood pressure causing blood vessels to break and bleed
* Medicines that thin the blood
* Diseases involving the liver or kidneys
* Sniffing of certain street drugs or inhalants
What can be done to make the bleeding stop?
* The kind of treatment you received depends on where the blood is coming from.
* Squeeze both nostrils tightly closed for 5 minuets. Time the 5 minutes with a clock. When you squeeze your nostrils, apply enough pressure to make your finger nails turn white. Keep you head up in a normal position, not tilted up or back.
* If the bleeding site can be seen, the area is cauterized. Cauterizing is when heat is applied to stop the bleeding.
* A medicine can be applied to cause the bleeding vessels to shrink and stop bleeding.
* The bleeding also may be stopped by applying direct pressure to the area
where bleeding occurs. This may be done with gauze and petroleum jelly packed into your nose or with a small balloon filled with water.
Spread Of Pertussis
How is pertussis spread?
Pertussis is very easily spread. The bacteria are present in secretions (fluids) from the respiratory tract (nose and mouth) and can be spread by coughing or sneezing droplets near another person. The first sign of illness can occur 6 to 20 days (usually 7 to 10 days) after being around someone who has it. Pertussis is not known to be spread by contact with contaminated objects.
When and for how long is a person able to spread pertussis?
Pertussis is most contagious in the early stage of the illness before the onset of the explosive coughing spell. The spread of pertussis may be up to three weeks or more after cough onset. The spread period can be reduced to 5 days after the initiation of an appropriate course of antibiotics administered in the early stages of illness.
How can the spread of pertussis be prevented?
Treatment is recommended for well persons who are close contacts (especially household contacts) of the case to prevent or reduce the severity of illness. Any untreated contacts of a case that develops a persistent cough should be tested for pertussis. Confirmed or suspected cases of pertussis that do not receive appropriate antibiotics should be isolated for 3 weeks.
How Is Pertussis Diagnosed And Treated?
To help diagnose pertussis, a swab of the back of the nose will be done. It may take 1 or 2 days to get the results of this culture test. If pertussis is suspected, antibiotics will be started right away.
Children are admitted to the hospital if they have:
• trouble managing the coughing spells
• apnea
• cyanosis (sy-ah-noe-sis, or blue color to skin), especially around the mouth
• trouble eating or drinking because of coughing
• other complications
If your child is in the hospital, an intravenous line (IV) may be started to give fluids, calories, and antibiotics, until able to drink and eat without too many coughing spells.During the stage of illness when severe coughing can occur it is important to provide a quiet, comforting environment for your child. Infants are often most calm in the arms of their parents or other caregivers.
To prevent the spread of pertussis, all household members and other close contacts (such as at day care) will need antibiotic treatment. The following special precautions are needed until an infected child has completed 5 full days of effective antibiotic therapy. (If the culture test is negative these precautions are no longer needed.)
• Children in the hospital will be in a private room with special precautions. Your child must stay in precautions until 5 full days of treatment, or until discharge.
• Hospital staff members will wear masks when in your child’s room.
• Parents who have signs of infection should wear a mask when coming and going from the hospital, and must visit only in their child’s room until they have been on antibiotic treatment for 5 full days.
• Siblings and other household members should not visit.
• If not in the hospital, your child should stay home from school or day care.
What is Pertussis?
Pertussis, better known as whooping cough, is an acute respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Pertussis is a highly contagious disease that most commonly affects young children, however older teens and adults are susceptible to pertussis and many do catch it because their immunity from vaccination as a child has worn off. Though pertussis poses serious health risks, it can be treated if diagnosed in early stages and closely monitored throughout.
Pertussis has an incubation period ranging from seven to as many as thirty days. The disease has three stages of development. The fist stage, which is known as the catarrhal stage, develops in the first one to two weeks and is marked by symptoms common to other upper respiratory infections. Runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever, and mild cough are all early stage symptoms. Typically, because the symptoms mimic the common cold, diagnosis doesn’t come until the second stage.
During the second stage of pertussis, the lingering cough becomes gradually worse. It’s common for sufferers to experience bursts of coughing spasms triggered by the body’s failed attempts to dispel the mucus build up in the respiratory track. After coughing, inhalation is marked by a tell-tale whistling or whooping sound. Breathing can be difficult and even labored during this stage.
The final, or convalescent stage, is the recovery stage and may take an additional three to ten weeks. Coughing spasms become less frequent and breathing becomes easier, however lingering affects of pertussis can still cause some discomfort and fatigue. It is best if treatment is administered before this final stage.
Antibiotics are used to treat pertussis, and they are most effective at reducing the severity of the disease if administered during the earlier stages. Complications that can arise with pertussis, especially in young children, include further upper respiratory problems like asthma, malnutrition, and rarely seizures. The number one risk associated with pertussis is secondary bacterial pneumonia. The majority of deaths related to pertussis occur in infants and very young children. If you suspect your child has been exposed to pertussis or is exhibiting symptoms related to the disease, take them to a licensed pediatrician or family practitioner as soon as possible.
Eyesight Is Precious
Your eyesight is precious.
Here are five easy tips to prevent problems with your sight.
1. Get an eye test
Even though you might not need glasses an eye test is a crucial health check for your eyes. The early symptoms of sight loss often go unnoticed and are usually not painful so you may not realise you have a problem. Early detection is vital in the fight against sight loss – so visit your local optician to get an eye test.
2. Don’t smoke
Smokers are more than twice as likely to experience sight loss in later life as non-smokers.
3. Eat healthy
Eating fresh fruits and dark green, leafy vegetables may delay or reduce the severity of eye conditions like age-related macular degeneration.
4. Keep fit
Take regular exercise and monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
5. Wear 100 percent UV sunglasses
UV radiation and sunlight can damage your eyesight all year round.
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