BiPap and Nose Bleed

I've been on CPAP (now BiPap) for a while now and have never had to deal with a nose bleed before, however tonight I had a bit of a gusher happen. I'm not sure if it has stopped bleeding, but it has at least slowed significantly. I'm wondering if using BiPap tonight (full face mask, pressure: 17 inhale, 15 exhale) is likely to restart the bleeding. I will probably need to go to bed in another couple of hours. Does anybody have any experience with this to give me some tips on what I need to do to minimize the chance of restarting the bleed? I really have difficulty sleeping without my BiPap, so I really don't want to skip using it tonight.

HairyReasoner wrote:I've been on CPAP (now BiPap) for a while now and have never had to deal with a nose bleed before, however tonight I had a bit of a gusher happen. I'm not sure if it has stopped bleeding, but it has at least slowed significantly. I'm wondering if using BiPap tonight (full face mask, pressure: 17 inhale, 15 exhale) is likely to restart the bleeding. I will probably need to go to bed in another couple of hours. Does anybody have any experience with this to give me some tips on what I need to do to minimize the chance of restarting the bleed? I really have difficulty sleeping without my BiPap, so I really don't want to skip using it tonight.

I see you have a full face mask in your profile. You could hedge your bets and try mouth-breathing in it.
You didn't say what your humidity setting was........could try turning it up a bit, if that's an option.
And, finally.......do you have a tube of Preparation H ointment? An emergency room doctor told me once that if you take a little of that on a Q-Tip and smear it around inside the nostril(s), it's supposed to help stop nose bleeds.


Den

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Wulfman... wrote: I see you have a full face mask in your profile. You could hedge your bets and try mouth-breathing in it.
You didn't say what your humidity setting was........could try turning it up a bit, if that's an option.
And, finally.......do you have a tube of Preparation H ointment? An emergency room doctor told me once that if you take a little of that on a Q-Tip and smear it around inside the nostril(s), it's supposed to help stop nose bleeds.


Den

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That reminds me of the time I accidentally brushed my teeth with Preparation H. The doctor said I'd be okay, but I had the smallest darn tonsils he ever saw. . .

The prep H advice may be a good idea. My guess is it constricts blood vessels. I was reading Afrin can do that, too. Unfortunately, I don't happen to have any prep H around. I'll see if I can get my mouth to stay open a bit more than usual.

I'm using the PR system One humidity control system. I usually start the night on 3, and then at some point move up to 4 and sometimes 5. At my pressure, I tend to have a lot of dry mouth problems.

Thanks for the advice. . .

I'm glad you asked that one, because I've had chronic nosebleeds my entire life. I have had one small nosebleed since I started using CPAP, when I hadn't had a nosebleed in 3 years. That upset me. But it didn't cause another one the next night. But I can understand the concern after having a large bleed.