Blood, Sweat, and No Tears (Yet)

So, I've been doing this running thing for a couple of months thanks to a family bet with Joyrun.  I decided to start with Richmoond's Monument 10K and eventually work my way up to the Marathon level.

I haven't posted anything on here about my training as I thought it was rather uneventful.  Well a couple of days ago I got my EVENT!

I was going on mile 4 and started to notice extra drippage from my nose.  At first this didn't really bother me that much, as the weather it was a little chilly so I figured I just had some basic sniffles going on.  Then the streams came.  I had a FREAKING BLOODY NOSE while running. So, I had to kill the rest of my run and do a quarter mile walk of shame home, with blood dripping all over my clothes and shoes.

Now I have to give up my favorite sweats! I've had these for over 10 years.

Thankfully, this didn't happen on race day. But it led me to think, what does one do when this happens? I'm not medical expert, but I think you pretty much have to stop your run and get the nose to stop bleeding. But there is no guarantee it won't start up again. Considering that none of us want to stop a run, the best bet is probably to prevent this kind of thing from happening with a little preventative medicine

According to Dr. Cunha in his article on nosebleeds [Medicine Net]:

Nosebleeds can occur spontaneously when the nasal membranes dry out and crack. This is common in dry climates, or during the winter months when the air is dry and warm from household heaters...  The incidence of nosebleeds is higher during the colder winter months when upper respiratory infections are more frequent, and the temperature and humidity fluctuate more dramatically. In addition, changes from a bitter cold outside environment to a warm, dry, heated home results in drying and changes in the nose which will make it more susceptible to bleeding. Nosebleeds also occur in hot dry climates with low humidity, or when there is a change in the seasons.

So for those of us that live in good old Virginia we're pretty much screwed as the temperature and humidity fluctuate all the time.  I mean how do we get 8 inches of snow and 70 degree weather in the same week?!

The good news is the fix is simple.  Dr. Cuhan states that

If you are prone to recurrent nosebleeds, it is often helpful to try lubricating the nose with an ointment of some type. This can be applied gently with a Q-tip or your fingertip up inside the nose, especially on the middle portion (the septum). Many patients use A & D ointment, Mentholatum, Polysporin/Neosporin ointment, or Vaseline.

So how about it runners, what would you do?

UPDATE:  I was able to salvage my favorite pair of sweats by using a combination of hydrogen peroxide and laundry detergent to take the blood out.  I mean they've survived winter storms, undegrad, grad school, ex girlfriends, hurricanes and flag football.  What's a little blood going to do?