Frequent Nosebleeds in Teenagers: Causes, Relief & When to See a Doctor

Question
Hi,
My almost 16 year old son has been having severe nosebleeds lately.  Like on Sunday on the way home from visiting it just started pouring.  Now this evening he blew his nose (he says, not hard)and it started pouring blood again.  It bled about a half an hour.  He said it hurts to pinch the bridge of his nose to shut it off, so he just hung his head over the basin.  Now he has a gross blood clot hanging out of his nose and he doesn't know how he can even sleep.  What I wnat to know is: Is this something I can and/or should take him to the doctor for and is there anything to do for it?  And do you have any suggestions that could help stop it when it starts?  Thank you.
Kathleen

Answer
this may be due to allergies or an infection, assuming he hasn't had any trauma to his nose.  He should clear the blood out of his nose and use a couple good sprays of Afrin nose spray to get it to stop.  Then, use nasal saline nose spray multiple times a day to keep that tissue moist so it heals quickly..... this almost always helps....  it will stop on it's own eventually but this will speed it up.....