Regardless of what starts a nosebleed-dry weather, allergies, trauma and too much nasal spray are the most frequent causes-pinching the nose and tilting the head back is not the ideal way to treat it.

Ut tam Sinha, M.D., associate professor and vice chair and program director for the Department of Otolaryngology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, says that pinching the nose closed at the base of the nasal bones for about five minutes is a good idea, but it is better to tilt the head slightly forward.

Tilting the head back, he explains, directs blood down the throat and into the stomach, which can become irritated and induce vomiting.

But tilting the head forward, Sinha says, drains the blood out of the nose so it is not swallowed. A somewhat grim bonus is that the person can tell just how much blood the injury is generating, which can help determine how serious it is.

Applying ice to the nose can help constrict blood vessels and staunch the flow of blood. And the over-the-counter nasal spray Afrin can help constrict the blood vessels further. (Ironically, over-use of the medication for more than two days can dry out the nose and cause nosebleeds.)

Sinha recommends that people who are susceptible to nosebleeds consider using saline nasal spray to keep the tissues moist as a preventive measure.

He also cautions that nosebleeds can signal serious problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and cancer, especially when the nose bleeds spontaneously and frequently.

"Nosebleeds that will not stop after about 10 minutes of pressure are probably w?rth a physician's evaluation," Sinha says.