How not to get a bleeding nose

I was reading one of those doctor advice columns about a man who had lots of bleeding noses over the years.
The good doctor rattled off several possible causes (including picking), but the last one seemed so obvious I didn't expect it to be mentioned.
Dr. Columnist said bleeding noses can be caused by trauma to the nose.
You don't say.
Actually I already knew that and the closest I have come to attending medical school is watching Quincy and ER.
He offered lots of doctor speak on how to prevent bleeding noses, but he did not discuss the trauma situation.
The answer for that scenario is simple: stop getting hit in the nose.
Problem solved.
I have had a few bleeding noses over the years. One was caused by my face and a baseball attempting to occupy the same space at the same time.
Just so you know, in this scenario the ball always wins and the nose always bleeds.
The last bleeding nose I  had was about a year ago when my nose hit a guy's knee in my martial arts class. Much like the ball scenario, the knee wins, the nose loses.
I have had three bleeding noses since I started training at this particular club, and all three have come from the same person.
They were all accidents (or at least he claims they were) and are part of the game, but I must admit to being a little more cautious when I train with him.
It is amazing how much a nose can bleed actually, mind you there are two exits so the blood can flow and flow.
The first time one of my children had a bleeding nose was at my parent's house. Junior was around five years old and on the deck when suddenly I heard him wailing like a pack of wolves had grabbed him and were carting him off for a little wolf dinner party.
I ran onto the deck to see him bawling his eyes out with blood running down his face. I looked around and there was no one else on the deck so I had to wait until he calmed down before I could find out what happened.
It would seem Junior was running across the deck with his eyes closed and ran straight into the railing.
He learned running with your eyes closed are not a good idea and I learned how to stop a bleeding nose while not smirking too much at the antics of a kid.
Personally, I prefer blood to stay on the inside of my body – where God intended it to be.
It doesn't always work out that way of course and I do not know anyone who has not bled the red at some point in time.
Often it is a sudden accident that is over before you know it. One moment you are fine, the next you are bleeding.
Such is life I guess.

copyright 2014, Darren Handschuh