Monday, May 25, 2009

Monday, Bloody Monday

So I'm home sick today. Am I sick? Technically no. So why am I home?
This morning I woke up at 5.30am and about five minutes later I got a nose bleed. This wouldn't seem like a reason to stay home but let me assure you, after 45 minutes, a call to the health line, a whole box of kleenex, half a roll of toilet paper and having to decide wether or not to go to the hospital it most certainly is. 
I'm also going to take this opportunity to share a few other things I learned this morning. 

- When your nose gushes blood for 45 minutes it tends to get a little troubling. 
- The health line is unbelievably busy at 6am.
- Even while potentially bleeding to death, I'll still insist that I don't really need to go to the hospital.
- Losing a lot of blood at 6am will leave you weak, dizzy, light headed and with a serious headache.
- Blood thinners will actually thin your blood. It's not just something they made up. Thinned blood does not clot as well as one might hope.
- If your nose is bleeding enough, chances are good that a fair portion of the blood will run down your throat. This is likely to make you gag.
- Swallowing too much blood will probably make you nauseous. 
- If your nose is bleeding enough for you to be spitting blood, there is a problem.

So now you know and you can skip trying this yourself.
That's right, Kill the Body, doing stupid things and hurting ourselves to educate you - the unwashed masses.

10 comments:

Bluepaintred said...

My nephew had a sinus infection, then got on a plane, when they landed, his nose started bleeding. it bled for HOURS. by the end, he was puking up pure blood that had gone down his throat. his mom said there has never been a worse smell.

Usually when your nose bleeds for that long you need to go in and have a quick cauterization!

Gwenhwyfar said...

There was nothing about that last sentence I liked. The rest of the story was pretty awesome... but that last sentence... seriously.

Jason Doan said...

I had a couple of good ones last year thanks to one of the horrible pills I was on. I found rolling up some TP into what I referred to as a "nose tampon" and wedging it into the offending nostril usually took care of it.

Gwenhwyfar said...

That's exactly what I was doing. Unfortunately I was bleeding right through them.

Robin said...

i have never had a bloody nose, i just thought you should know this.

Gwenhwyfar said...

I think I could probably help you with that...

Robin said...

You really are a true friend.

Gwenhwyfar said...

It's something I take very seriously.

Janna said...

Accgghh!
Every now and then I have these phases where I'm nosebleed-prone.

Then I'll go a year or so with no nosebleeds at all.

Then the next year I'll have one every week/month/whatever.

Makes no sense.

Some of them last for 45 minutes at a time, just like you said in your Twitter the other day.

I know how it is.
Ugh.

Gwenhwyfar said...

I have a feeling that the biggest problem with this was the three different blood thinners I take.