Pork: The Cure for a Nosebleed

Shoving pork up one's nose is a folk remedy for nosebleeds in some cultures. Now medical researchers think that it may be an effective and safe treatment. The Guardian quotes a recent medical journal article:

"Cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon and packed within the nasal vaults successfully stopped nasal hemorrhage promptly, effectively, and without sequelae … To our knowledge, this represents the first description of nasal packing with strips of cured pork for treatment of life-threatening hemorrhage in a patient with Glanzmann thrombasthenia."

They acknowledge a long tradition of using pork to treat general epistaxis, ie nosebleed. The technique fell into disuse, they speculate, because "packing with salt pork was fraught with bacterial and parasitic complications. As newer synthetic hemostatic agents and surgical techniques evolved, the use of packing with salt pork diminished."

Link -via Dave Barry | Photo: Flickr user TheDeliciousLife

In case of emergency, just poke a sausage up each nostril.

An appropriate response to all emergencies, natural and man-made.

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"Cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon" is not something you'd ever want to see on a restaurant menu. In case of emergency, just poke a sausage up each nostril.

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Cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon.....they could of picked a better word than tampon. when i hear that word i think of....okay...never mind,i will keep this comment clean.

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Bacon: is there anything it can't do?

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Cured meat starts the clotting reaction almost immediately. The fat coats the inside of the nose much the same way as petroleum jelly.

Another effective treatment is placing and ice cube between the top lip and gum directly under the nose.