First, how urgent is this?
Go now
- Still bleeding after several minutes.
- Pale or white gums.
- Obvious effort to breathe, or open-mouth breathing.
- Weakness or collapse after heavy bleeding.
- Bruises or bleeding points elsewhere on the body.
Contact your vet today
- Repeated nosebleeds, each stopping on its own.
- Bloody discharge from one nostril for several days.
- Bloody sneezing, or a change in the shape of the face.
- A known clotting problem, or a medicine that affects clotting.
Record and observe
- A little bleeding after a sneeze or nose scratching, stopping quickly, with normal energy.
- Already under vet care: record how long and how much (photos), and bring it to the next visit.
Before you set off
- When the bleeding started, and roughly how much.
- One nostril or both, and whether there were clots.
- Any injury, foreign object, sneezing or facial swelling.
- The gum colour (photos).
- A list of medicines, including herbal remedies, supplements and painkillers.
- Keep the dog calm and do not tilt the head far back; do not pack the nose deeply or use a styptic yourself.
What your vet may ask and do
- Ask: when it started, and whether one side or both.
- Ask: any injury, sneezing, medicine or clotting history.
- Do: an exam of the mouth, nose and face.
- Do: blood tests (platelets, clotting).
- Do: blood pressure.
- Do: X-rays or CT of the nasal passages and sinuses.
- Do: endoscopy of the nose and control of the bleeding where needed.
Where to go in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong 24-hour vet list
- 24-hour emergency, Hong Kong Island
- 24-hour emergency, Kowloon
- 24-hour emergency, New Territories
- Clinics with CT
- Clinics with endoscopy
- Clinics with inpatient care
- What emergency and test fees look like
Call the clinic before you drive over, to confirm tonight's arrangements and the location.