This post is more about some ways to deal with nose bleeds and less about cayenne pepper itself. When I was about 4 years old, I was walking our Siberian husky, Prancer, down a gravel road when she gave me a strong tug and I dove face-first into the gravel. I didn't have cuts all over my face, as one might expect, but gravel going up my left nostril had a lasting effect. Right after that event, my nose bled for hours until the cold, damp rag looked like it was used to clean up after a murder or something. I continued to have severe nose bleeds that usual were resulting from trauma to the nose, but not always the case. I could just slightly bump into my nose, blow it too hard, or even just wake up with a nose bleed that resembled a profuseness of a nose bleed following a hard punch square in the nose. This was more of an inconvenience than anything else, but truly became a problem when I started driving and working.
Options:
There are lots of remedies out there and I've tried many, but there are some options available that I've seen more effective than others.
-Vaseline- Treating the area of the nostril that bleeds with vaseline does help if done regularly, but is by no means a cure.(if the location that bleeds can't be easily reached, this is not a helpful option)
-Salt water- I haven't tested sea salt, but regular table salt mixed with water (as saturated as possible) can help. This needs to be done almost daily and you can either spray it up the nostril or soak a tissue with it and apply it to the nostril (don't put raw table salt up your nose, please).
-Vitamin C- Great to carry on you to virtually halt a nose bleed in less than 30 minutes, but with that luxury comes a price- I consistently saw a rebound effect with my nose bleeds returning once I stopped using vitamin C, so it's rather imperfect as a long term solution unless you don't mind taking moderate doses of vitamin C very often.
-Cauterization- Most effective, long-term cure for regular, severe nose bleeds. But for those of you who recoil at having your nose treated with a tool that basically burns blood vessels, I have an awesome suggestion.
A little about cayenne pepper:
-Belongs to the nightshade family (probably best to avoid eating any other part of the plant)
-Benefits: circulation, metabolism, fat metabolism, blood pressure, digestion, and the list goes on.
-Contains vitamins A, C, and E along with other nutrients.
-Active ingredient for cuisine is capsaicin; also the active ingredient in many non-lethal, self-defense products.
-Can add zest to a variety of dishes, but the amount used in cooking won't be enough for treating nose bleeds (well, unless you don't mind burning your mouth and throat).
How to take:
- Capsules of cayenne pepper are available at a variety of stores and are inexpensive.
-With food- This can help prevent what often occurs with taking it on an empty stomach.
-On an empty stomach- If you simply can't take it with food for whatever reason, I would keep an antacid handy. I suffered from stomach ulcers and couldn't afford to increase risks regarding that problem, so taking a tums or two right when I started to notice a problem knocks it right out without causing the cayenne to be ineffective at preventing nose bleeds.
-How much? This depends on you... I see faster results when I take more, but because my stomach doesn't tolerate it very well, I had to take less at a time. I found that taking one (~500mg) capsule daily was effective. I also found that taking 2 capsules daily reduced the treatment time required to obtain lasting prevention of nose bleeds, but because I tolerated the 1 capsule/day regiment better, I stuck to it.
Side effects:
-Stomach complaints (ie- possible pain and reflux) that can be made worse with coffee.
-Increased metabolism- Generally not considered a side effect, but for some people it would not be welcome.
-Body temperature- Can cause a person to feel warmer, but this is more evident in high doses.
The fascinating part of using cayenne to treat nose bleeds is the long-term success. I am not dependent on dosing daily with cayenne for the rest of my life. When I first tried it, I took it for 2 weeks and had to stop because I couldn't handle my stomach's reaction. To my surprise, I simply didn't have a single nose bleed for almost 1 year! When my nose bleeds started to return, they were so minor in comparison to what I had when I simply accepted them as part of my life. They did get worse, but I decided to treat with cayenne again, but toughed it out for 1 month (during which, I figured out that tums helped to deal with it). I was nose bleed free for well over 1 year (almost 2 years) and when it did return, it was very minor (ie. bleeds stopped quickly and were slow bleeds). When they did return, I considered taking it daily, indefinitely because of the other health benefits of cayenne. This basically lasted for 2-3 months (1g/day for 1 month, 0.5g/day for the remainder of the treatment) and I didn't have nose bleeds for 3+ years. I'm fine with taking 0.5g/day of cayenne for a couple months every few years.
This is a general suggestion not a guarantee of being free of the bondage of nose bleeds. The cause of my nose bleeds might be different from yours, but even if that is the case, tolerating a pill a day for 1 month every 12+ months might be worth trying if you are simply fed up with living with that axe looming over your head. The only reason I knew of this solution to nose bleeds was during personal research project to test different ways to deal with the problem that didn't involve going to the doctor. I came across this personal website when a man lived with nose bleeds for almost all of his life until he discovered cayenne. Considering the variables involved, I wasn't hopeful, but to my surprise it was the most effective, natural option I have ever tried. Be practical, but don't lose hope!
Coming soon: myo-inositol and Sacred Lotus!
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