Foley Catheter to Stop Nosebleed???

A foley catheter, as shown above, is normally used to drain urine from the bladder, but it can also be used to stop severe nosebleeds... albeit under dire circumstances and when there is no other suitable alternative.

Normally, for a severe nosebleed, the nose can be packed with a tampon like packing material. The packing material I like best is a rapid rhino which is illustrated below.

Nasal packing like the rapid rhino exerts pressure within the nose to the point whereby the bleeding stops (like putting direct pressure on a leg wound to stop bleeding).

However, if there's no nasal packing around and the person is having a severe life-threatening nosebleed which almost always is due to a posterior bleeding site, and all you have is a foley catheter...

Use the foley catheter!

Insert the foley through the nose on the side that is bleeding just like an naso-gastric tube...

Once inserted so the catheter can be seen in the back of the mouth, inflate balloon with saline. After inflating the foley balloon, pull the foley catheter back out as if to take the foley catheter out. However, given the foley balloon is inflated, it will snug up in the back of the nose such that it can't be taken out.

Pull on the foley catheter with enough pressure to equal the amount of pressure desired to stop the nosebleed. Once at the correct tension, clamp the foley at the nasal entrance to prevent it from falling back into the nose. Packing with gauze in the front of the nose can also be performed to prevent bleeding coming out the front.

Of course, this is a TEMPORARY measure and should be replaced as soon as possible with appropriate nasal packing material.

But, it certainly works when in a bind.

Bacon Can Stop Nosebleeds! No joke...

When I saw this research, I had to re-read it to believe it... Nasal packing with good-old fashioned bacon stops nosebleeds!!!

Yes... you heard me correctly... and it was actually published in a reputable ENT journal in Nov 2011. AND, it was conducted here in the USA (Detroit, Michigan).

"Cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon and packed within the nasal vaults successfully stopped nasal hemorrhage promptly, effectively, and without sequelae … To our knowledge, this represents the first description of nasal packing with strips of cured pork for treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia."

The current standard of care for nasal packing to treat nosebleeds is using synthetic hemostatic products that appear similar to tampons used for menstruation.

However, this publication in 2011 wasn't the first to document use of bacon for nosebleeds.

There have been reports on use of bacon since 1940 sporadically (see references below).

In this day and age of cost-cutting and finding cheaper alternatives, bacon is pretty much as cheap as one can go to address nosebleeds. Compare this to synthetic nasal packing which costs on upwards of $50 or more.

Read more about nosebleed management.

Another unusual nosebleed management includes the application of female hormone estrogen (vaginal premarin cream) to the nasal mucosa.

Traditional nosebleed treatment includes nasal emollient application, humidification, nasal cauterization, septoplasty, and eventually nasal packing.

References:
Nasal Packing With Strips of Cured Pork as Treatment for Uncontrollable Epistaxis in a Patient With Glanzmann Thrombasthenia. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 2011;120:732-736.

Rendu-Osler-Weber Disease— Is Embolization Beneficial? Arch Otolaryngol. 1976;102(6):385.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN TREATMENT OF NASAL HEMORRHAGE. AMA Arch Otolaryngol. 1953;57(1):51-59.

USE OF SALT PORK IN CASES OF HEMORRHAGE. Arch Otolaryngol. 1940;32(5):941-946.

Septal Stapler for Septoplasty Surgery

Septoplasty is a surgical procedure whereby the septum, which is the wall that separates the right and left nasal cavities, is straightened out. Read more details of the surgery here.

During this surgical procedure, it is not uncommon for ENT surgeons to place splints and/or packing to bring the septum back together after the procedure is performed. Other surgeons avoid placing splints/packing by suturing the septum together.

A relatively new device called the ENTact Septal Stapler is yet another way to get the septum back together after straightening. I tried this device a few years ago, but stopped due to some instrument shortcomings. However, the company has made a few improvements that has made me reconsider trying it.

Check out this video animation on how this device works.

Watch how septoplasty is performed.