An alternative use of the surgical mask for the protection of healthcare workers managing epistaxis.

Epistaxis has a reported prevalence of 10-12 per cent in the general population and is thus one of the commonest emergencies in Otolaryngology. We suggest that the patient uses a surgical mask to prevent blood spray during epistaxis management. Utilizing the described technique we have found that protective clothing worn by the healthcare professional is consistently 'blood-free' at the end of the procedure. This is in contrast to findings when no facemask is applied.