How To Treat Anterior Epistaxis With Cautery - How To Treat Anterior Epistaxis With Cautery - MSD Manual Professional Edition (2024)

FAQs

How To Treat Anterior Epistaxis With Cautery - How To Treat Anterior Epistaxis With Cautery - MSD Manual Professional Edition? ›

If using electrocautery, place the tip of the instrument on the area of bleeding mucosa and apply coagulation current for a few seconds until charred mucosa is visible. If using thermal cautery, place the heated tip of the device on the area of bleeding for several seconds until the mucosa is charred.

Anterior epistaxis may be treated with digital compression by applying firm sustained compression of the lower one third of the nose for 15 full minutes. Pressure can be applied by the treating clinician or by patients and caregivers under the direction of the clinician.

Nose cautery can help prevent nosebleeds. The doctor uses a chemical swab or an electric current to cauterize the inside of the nose. This seals the blood vessels and builds scar tissue to help prevent more bleeding. For this procedure, your doctor made the inside of your nose numb.

Fortunately most nose bleeds can be stopped by applying pinch pressure to the soft part of the nose with the patient's head in a slightly forward position while sitting upright. Some services have a clothespin-like disposable device for this purpose.

Nasal cautery, or nasal cauterization, is a procedure used to treat nosebleeds (epistaxis). Nasal cautery is where a chemical or electrical device is applied to the mucous membranes in the nose to stop bleeding.

Generally, the procedure is exceedingly safe with minimal side effects or risks. The biggest concern is rebleeding, which may require recauterization or a different procedure altogether. If the septum is damaged too much by cauterization, a septal hole or perforation can occur.

A retrospective study by Newton et al of emergency department (ED) management of 353 adult cases of primary anterior epistaxis found silver nitrate cauterization to have the highest treatment success rate (80%).

Initial management includes compression of the nostrils (application of direct pressure to the septal area) and plugging of the affected nostril with gauze or cotton that has been soaked in a topical decongestant. Direct pressure should be applied continuously for at least five minutes, and for up to 20 minutes.

With your gloved hand and a sterile dressing, apply direct pressure over the site that is bleeding. Use an appropriately sized dressing that will cover the site. Elevation of the bleeding extremity should be done secondary to and in conjunction with applying direct pressure.

How is cauterization done? ›

Cauterization methods include burning the affected area with acid, hot metal, or lasers. Such a procedure is naturally quite painful. Sometimes, a physician uses liquid nitrogen as a less painful alternative, though it is less effective. A physician may apply cocaine in the few countries that allow it for medical use.

No heavy lifting, straining or vigorous cardiovascular exercise for 1 week following the nasal cautery. Any activity in which the nose may be manipulated could cause re-bleeding from the cauterized area during the first 7-10 days.

Nosebleeds may sometimes need to be cauterized (a procedure to close up the leaking blood vessel) or be packed with special material that puts pressure on the bleeding to encourage it to stop. Your primary care doctor or an emergency or urgent care physician can perform these nosebleed treatments.

Typically, anterior epistaxis is a benign self-limited event or resolves by applying direct pressure. Pediatric and elderly populations are most commonly affected by epistaxis, frequently due to direct trauma from nose picking or foreign body insertion, friable mucosa, or anticoagulant use with or without hypertension.

There are two main types of nosebleed, and one can be more serious than the other: Anterior nosebleeds originate toward the front of the nose and cause blood to flow out through the nostrils. This is the most common type of nosebleed and it is usually not serious.

Based on one study, chemical cautery (silver nitrate sticks) can be used for simple anterior epistaxis because it has efficacy and complication rates similar to electrocautery.

You can spray an over-the-counter decongestant spray, such as oxymetazoline (Afrin®, Dristan®, Neo-Synephrine® or Vicks Sinex®) into the bleeding side of your nose and then apply pressure to your nose. You shouldn't use these topical decongestant sprays over a long period.