Dog nose bleed - Answered by Dr. Lee

[hazelrunpack]

I'm so sorry about Tyson, AKALynzie Cherish every day!

[AKALynzie]

Yesterday Tyson lost his battle with Cancer. The cancer spread and I started questioning his quality of life...then he had a seizure and at that moment I made my choice. No more pain, no more Vet, no more medicine....it was not a battle that we were going to win. I let him go with dignity still in tact.
I made the choice and let him go. It was and is the hardest thing I have EVER faced.
Pray for a cure...

[hazelrunpack]

I'm so sorry, AKALynzie. You did right by your sweet boy.

Tyson

[Kooskia's Mommy]

Like many others I found this site looking for better news when my 14+ year Labrador Retreiver, Kooskia, was diagnosed with a nasal tumor. Even though the stories are all very similar, i will share mine in hopes that it helps someone else.
It started out about 2 months ago when she would sneeze so violently I thought she would fall over! Then a couple of times I found blood splattered on the walls and didn't have any idea where it was coming from. I decided to take her in thinking that she had a foreign object in her nose (courtesy of my 2 year old). Unfortunately, after the X-rays, scope and some tests of the mucous discharge(couldn't get a clean biopsy) she was just diagnosed (May 5th) with the tumor. Being almost 14-1/2 years old, I knew that aggressive treatment wasn't an option but I was going to make her as comfortable as I could. I also thought I may be able to slow the symptoms down and started her on some holistic herbs, supplements and also Piroxicam from the vet.
Kooskia seemed to react well to the supplements. She wasn't the typical 14 year old dog. She was in good shape, still enjoyed walks and eating. I thought for sure that I was keeping the tumor from affecting her. She did have mucous drip from her nose often throughout the day but I don't think it bothered her. It bothered her when I tried to wipe it with a kleenex.
When they say that this is a fast cancer they are not kidding. On Saturday, May 29th, I got up in the morning at 6am to feed Kooskia. She ate and went outside to do her business with no problem. Around 8am, Kooskia got up from her pillow and walked towards me...all of a sudden, there is blood pouring out her nose. I couldn't believe how much it was bleeding. Somehow, my husband and I were able to get it slowed enough to get her to the vet. In a matter of an hour, we were faced with the hardest decision, to let her go. There was no suffering for her but in talking with our vet, we couldn't predict when the next bleed would be. Would it be in a hour, a day, a month??? We were lucky to be home this time...would we be so lucky next time?
I do sit here and question if I did it too soon? Was I selfish in not wanting to come home to see my dog having bled out while I was at work? I have an emptiness that I have never experienced before. But in looking back at Kooskia' life I think I made the right decision. She lived an incredibly long life and I was blessed to have her.
Thank you for this forum. It has been a difficult road to navigate and reading others stories and knowing that I am not alone in the pain I feel has helped me.
Kooskia 12/01/1995 - 05/29/2010

[Chris21711]

Kooskia's Mommy so very sorry to hear of the passing of your precious girl...I believe you did the kindest deed considering her age. It is such a hideous disease, I hope one day that a cure is possible.

ALAlynzie...so sad to hear of Tyson's passing, he was one handsome boy

[hazelrunpack]

My heart goes out to you, Kooskia's Mommy! I know how difficult a decision this was for you. But Chris is right--it was a kind deed, and you're a loving angel.

Kooskia

[abs914]

Starting in September '09 my 11 year old Bichon Cody started with the nose bleeds. Generally they'd come around once a month and last a day or so. In Dec I took him to his vet (I waited so long because initially I thought the bleed was from my puppy knocking him around a little) and the guy ran a bunch of tests. White cell count came back fine, clotting fine, and I think there was another test that I'm blanking out on which also was fine. The one thing he failed was when the air flow coming from each nostril was tested. The nostril the blood always comes from wasn't producing much air. The vet said he didn't think it was a tumor and sent us home. His nose didn't bleed again until March and it was very minimal blood. It has yet to bleed since then.

He has been back to the vet since that appt and that one nostril continues to produce barely any air but the vet doesn't seem too concerned. In two weeks we have his regular physical appt so until then my family is trying to decide if we are going to wait this nose thing out and see what happens or if we should pay for all the testing.

He acts totally fine. Eats, drinks, plays with his 3 year old Bichon brother, etc. The one thing that gets super is annoying are these damn noises with his mouth that he makes ONLY in the middle of the night. He can hang out/sleep during the day and be super quiet, but when it comes to night time he makes these scary noises. I had told the vet about this and he just said "No biggie. All dogs make noises". He had me up half the night last night and most nights I'm generally woken at least 2-3 times.

There have been times where I've been really scared it's cancer but then the bleeds stop and I basically think "if it was a tumor...it would get worse, not better". At this point the only problems are the airflow and these noises (which for all I know aren't associated at all.)

Anyone's dog have similar symptoms? Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks for any help

[abs914]

Forgot to mention something. Even though he's not getting bleeds, there's always clear liquid coming from that nostril. Every morning when we wake up theres a million little dots scattered on my bed. Basically whenever he's laying down somewhere, he leaves either a dot of clear stuff or a bunch of it (depending how long he was in that one spot).

Also, his whole life he has been a sneezer. He sneezes when he's mad, sneezes when he's excited and sneezes when he wants something (so when he does get a bleed it's reallyyy hard to keep his nose calm lol) I haven't noticed more sneezing than usual but he can still sneeze like 15-20 times or more a day depending on what's going on around the house.

[hazelrunpack]

It almost sounds like something allergy related, abs914. Has your vet tried allergy meds to see if it makes a difference in air flow? It may be there's allergic inflammation in the nasal canals that might be both blocking the passages and causing the noise.

[abs914]

^ Nope, no allergy meds. The only medication Cody was put on was an antibiotic just in case it was an infection. He did do well for a few months but then he got the nose bleed in March so I doubt it was an infection. Plus, the white cell count was perfectly fine so the vet didn't think it was an infection anyways...he just prescribed the meds to try something. I'll bring up allergies at the appt. Could he first start to have allergies when he's 11?

[hazelrunpack]

Not sure about dogs, but people often begin to show hypersensitivities to environmental irritants as they get older--and sometimes they can develop allergies in later life.

It's worth a shot, anyway... Benadryl would certainly be an easy fix, if that's what's going on.

[fluffernutter]

We have a shepherd/golden mix who we adopted in late March. She is between 2 and 3 and is a rescue dog from West Virginia. She had nose bleeds overnight last night. Similar to others who have posted, our bed looked like a crime scene when I woke up. I took her to the vet this morning first thing and after running tests, they diagnosed her with ehrlichiosis and lyme. We started her on doxycycline this morning. The vet advised us that her nose bleeds should stop by Sunday (2 days from now). I was home with her all afternoon and evening today and have been keeping her quiet as best I can. She has had about 6-10 additional bleeds in the past 10 hours. Some were more watery than others, and some had clots. A few bleeds were brought on by sneezing, others when she got excited (she loves watching people and dogs go by the window but gets very excited). Twice she has coughed/choked on blood for a few seconds. The bleeds last between 2-5 minutes with a few being a little longer.

She has a normal appetite, is drinking water, is playful and normal as can be on her walks. The only thing I've noticed about her recently is that she's been fairly itchy all over (past 4-5 days) and the past two days, I saw her pawing at her nose a few times.

Has anyone else had experience with nose bleeds that are associated with ehrlichiosis? I'm wondering if the ongoing nature of her bleeds is typical of those brought on by the disease. I can't find much online besides the fact that nose bleeds can be symptoms of ehrlichiosis - no descriptions of what the bleeds are/aren't like.

Also any advice on how to best manage the overnight so that she and I can potentially sleep comfortably, at least for a few hours, tonight?

[hazelrunpack]

I've not had experience with nosebleeds from tick-borne diseases, but I do know that they can cause platelet counts to plummet and result in nosebleeds. Is her nose bleeding from both nostrils?

Our dogs respond quite quickly to doxy when they have tick-borne diseases and I would expect that her nosebleeds would be better quite soon. Cool compresses laid across her snout may help to stop the bleeding. If she's itchy, she might also have some seasonal allergies (our dogs are all itchy this week from the pollens and the mosquitoes). See if your vet thinks it's okay to give her some Benadryl while she's on the doxy.

Normal appetite and play is always a good sign! I hope she's better quickly, fluffernutter!

[fluffernutter]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

I've not had experience with nosebleeds from tick-borne diseases, but I do know that they can cause platelet counts to plummet and result in nosebleeds. Is her nose bleeding from both nostrils?

Our dogs respond quite quickly to doxy when they have tick-borne diseases and I would expect that her nosebleeds would be better quite soon. Cool compresses laid across her snout may help to stop the bleeding. If she's itchy, she might also have some seasonal allergies (our dogs are all itchy this week from the pollens and the mosquitoes). See if your vet thinks it's okay to give her some Benadryl while she's on the doxy.

Normal appetite and play is always a good sign! I hope she's better quickly, fluffernutter!

Her bleeds are from the right nostril, and I know single-nostril is more worrisome than if it were both. Any advice on how to approach the cold compress? So far I haven't been able to get her to let me keep it on for more than 30 seconds or so. Overnight was challenging as she slept on her side and a few times woke up choking and then would sneeze and we'd start all over again with a bleed. I finally got her into her favorite chair and that gave us 2 hours of quiet sleep with only a little bleeding.

[luckypenny]

Fluffernutter, among all the tests, did the vet do a nasal scope by any chance? Perhaps if the bleeding doesn't let up by tomorrow evening, it might be a good idea to have one done.

Hope she's much better by then though .

[hazelrunpack]

A nasal flush / scope would be a good idea

Glad she finally settled in her chair, fluffernutter. Is she better today?

[bectoplasm]

Thank you to everyone on this forum. I was away this weekend while my dogs were staying at a friends house. I recieved a call on Saturday afternoon that my 12-year-old Golden Retriever, Razi, had blood coming out of her nose. She was rushed to the emergency animal hospital where her vitals were fine, the bleeding had stopped and they couldn't see any obvious signs of trama. She was sent home. The next night, around 11pm she had another small blood clot come out of her right nostril. My father in-law did not want to risk anyhting and rushed her back to the emergency room. They put her first in line for a blood test, a full body xray and urine sample... all came out clear! I came back into town & went straight to the hospital to see her. I met with the doctor and they have no idea what is causing the problem is because they have ruled out internal bleeding, kidney disease & heart disease. The only obvious factor is she has high blood pressure almost 200. They are putting her on blood pressure medication & monitoring her overnight. They want to perform a scope but it will be $1000 to take a look $1500 for a biopsy. What should i do???? Could it just be her blood pressure? When i took her for a walk at the hospital, she was sneezing but no blood. She has had some form of blood about every 15 hours, but it's just the old scab (clot) coming out with little bleeding. I'm so confused. The one thing i haven't mentioned is that Razi has separation anxiety. Could her BP be high & the nose bleeds be coming from her anxiety from me being gone? That sounds too simple. Please help... I'm hoping it's not cancer. She's already survived a nerver sheath tumor 3 years-ago. The doctor thinks it may be one of skin allergies and either a wart or small pimple in her nose. Really??? I need help on what to ask the doctors! She should come home tomorrow. Please pray her BP comes down! Thank you...

[hazelrunpack]

Is she any better this morning, bectoplasm?

I think I'd be inclined to do a scope and flush--there may be something lodged in her nasal passages that is causing irritation and bleeding. Very often, though, even if there is cancer, it's difficult to get a biopsy.

Probably the high BP isn't helping to manage the situation any. Will you be able to bring her home as planned today? That might be as instrumental as anything in bringing down her BP if she has separation anxiety.

I wish you the best of luck, bectoplasm. Let us know what, if anything, the vet finds, k?

[bectoplasm]

thanks for checking on Raz! she is much better today. no bleeding in over 24 hours... i almost wasn't going to be able to bring her home, her blood pressure had spiked to 220. scary! however, with medication they got her back down to normal levels, 135/80. she's going on some new bp meds & i'm taking her back tomorrow for a follow-up appointment.

since the bleeding has stopped completely, the dr. believes it may have just been caused by a small ulceration that is inflamed right inside the right nostril. seems to good to be true! i'm keeping a close eye on her. she's right at my feet chewing on a bully stick. lil girl is happy to be home!

i'm wondering if i should still get the scope... the dr. didn't think the flush would do much. ?????

thanks again!

[hazelrunpack]

I'm glad she came home today--I'm sure both of you are much happier that way!

The vet can actually see an ulceration? That's great news!! If it's something fairly superficial like that, then the flush is unnecessary.

Occasionally a dog (especially hunting breeds, it seems) will inhale a grass awn that will get lodged in the nasal passages and cause inflammation and bleeding. In those cases, a nasal wash will sometimes dislodge the grass awn and fixes the problem. But if it's a wound, then you just have to wait for it to heal

I hope her followup tomorrow goes well!

[Matt J]

I read these posts with a very heavy heart. My four year old Rottweiler, Deacon, had a nose bleed last night that made a small puddle of blood and today he had another in one nostril after eating. I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow. Many of you said that both the scope and 3D scan were a good idea... any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! My heart's with all of you that have gone through this.

[hazelrunpack]

I hope Deacon just has something stuck up there!

If we were doing it over, I think the first thing I'd do would be bloodtests (to make sure the bleeding isn't from, say, low platelets) and a scope. If they can't see anything when they scope it, they can flush the nasal passages with a saline solution. If there's a grass awn stuck in there, the flush may work it loose.

Your vet will likely have other recommedations, as well. I hope all turns out well for you and Deacon!

[foofy]

Hi All
Found this thread hoping to find others in my situation, as I am soo upset as to my beautiful kelpie X. Fidel is 13 years old and like others who have posted, not in any way showing his age.

Back in May after returning home, Fidel was having a reverse sneezing episode. After taking him to the emergency vet his heart rate was up to 200bpm and he had a tranquilizer to calm him down. I took him to my vet the following day and after conducting blood tests, x-rays etc a black mark showed up on the x-ray in his nasal passage. The vet was quite matter of fact that this was bad news and suggested biopsy etc to confirm what she thought was a cancer tumour.

After much deliberation, I decided against any further tests as it would only be academic and didn't want to put Fidel through any more discomfort having another general anaethestic for the test. There has been lots of sneezing with mucus and an occasional reverse sneezing episode, but I kept telling myself that everything was ok. I went to another vet who also confirmed that any tumour in the nasal cavity was likely cancer.

I have been telling myself that Fidel was okay and was 'just getting on with it'. That was until today - this morning there was blood everywhere - it looked like a crime scene! The light in his eyes is going and I rang my vet this morning, completely beside myself. He stated that there was nothing to be done and the inevitable is nearing. I can't seem to get a grip on my emotions and am just devastated that I will have to say goodbye to my favourite friend.

From reading these posts I see that I should know when the time is right, but I just can't help feeling that I am either robbing Fidel of time or that I am being selfish keeping him alive for my own purposes.

Anyway thanks for reading, I just had to unburden myself of this. Just wish I could stop crying and maybe think with some clarity.

[Rgeurts]

My heart breaks for you
Saying goodbye to such a trusted and loyal friend is one of the hardest things you will ever do, whether they go on their own or you make that decision for them.

[hazelrunpack]

I'm so sorry, foofy How is Fidel doing otherwise? If he's happy, still eating and eliminating normally and is enjoying life, then there's still time. Let him tell you when it's time. If you make your decision with Fidel's best interests in mind, you can't go wrong.

Meanwhile, cool compresses on the muzzle can sometimes help to staunch a nose bleed and if he's got some discomfort, pain meds can help.

My heart goes out to you and Fidel, foofy. Best wishes.

[foofy]

Thanks Rgeurts and Hazelrunpack for your kind words.

That is part of the problem, Fidel is seemingly still ok. There was another 'crime scene' this morning, but he is still eating and responding well.

I am just trying to give him as much quality time as I can. I went to buy him some extra special treats this afternoon at the supermarket, but found it too hard. Standing in Aisle 6 crying is not a good look! And why do they have cute puppies on toilet roll packs?

I have asked him to tell me when it is time and I firmly believe that he will let me know. He is not his usual exuberant self by any means, but the fact that he can still get excited over mealtime and wag his tail shows me his time has not yet come.

Thanks again

[hazelrunpack]

One day at a time. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

[abs914]

I posted back in July about my now 12 y/o dog Cody. Three weeks after that post it was discovered that he had a tumor in his lung. On Aug 10th, he had surgery to remove the tumor and part of his lung. He is completely recovered from that surgery and just a week ago had a check up x-ray and everything still looks great.

Two weeks ago, I came home to blood splattered on the wall, couch and floor. I don't know when it started since I wasn't home, but it ended maybe 15 minutes after I got back. The following day he sneezed and had a small one for maybe 5 mins. Last night when we returned from our nighttime walk, he started eating his food, and he randomly started this intense sneezing. Then the blood came. It only lasted for a few minutes, and luckily since it was nighttime, he went right to sleep.

This has been going on for over a year now with the sporadic bleeds. There has been one bad one which actually started while we were at the vet's office. The vet tech was following Cody everywhere he went with a mop lol. The rest have been pretty manageable. He still ALWAYS has clear liquid in his left nostril...I'm constantly getting dripped on or slipping on the stuff when he's on my wood floor.

Our vet said the only way to know what's really going on is to do a CT scan and scope. But the thing is...we've already chosen to not put Cody thru chemo/radiation for the lung cancer, and we wouldn't put him through it for nasal cancer. He has had 4 surgeries (bladder stones, two cruciate ligament repairs and the lung cancer) in the past 5 years so we don't want him to have to be put through another procedure when we wouldn't even try to treat the disease. Plus, on average, he has less than a year left before the lung cancer comes back and then well, I don't even want to say it.

I'm just SOOO curious as to what could be causing this, but I guess I'll never really find out.

Oh, and when he went in for the check up xray, I learned that he dropped 2 pounds in the past month. Not sure how that happened. We have to go back in a week or two to get an update. If he's still dropping weight, he'll have to go through bloodwork.

It never ends.

[hazelrunpack]

I'm sorry things aren't going so well for Cody. Sounds like you've all been through the ringer.

I hope the weight-loss isn't from anything serious. Our dogs' weights fluctuate from season to season depending on their activity. I hope that's all it is for Cody, too!

[abs914]

^ Thanks! We are going in on Friday for a weight check up.

I'm sure one of the vets we've seen over the past year has told me, but...is it possible to learn ANYTHING from just a plain old xray? We did get estimates on CT scans/endoscopy, but it's not cheap. In August alone we spent about ten grand on the little guy...so the cheapest way to learn about what's going on in that nose the better.