A recently published study has claimed that bacon can be an effective tool to combat and stop nosebleeds in patients who are prone to get them.

The study, which was conducted by; Ian Humphreys, Sonal Saraiya, Walter Belenky and James Dworkin from the Detroit Medical Center in Michigan was published in the Annals of Otology Rhinology and Laryngology.

As a result of the study the doctors found that "cured salted pork crafted as a nasal tampon and packed within the nasal vaults successfully stopped nasal hemorrhage promptly, effectively, and without sequelae."

The study cites an interesting case involving a four year old girl in which "two separate episodes of life-threatening epistaxis…were treated successfully by nasal packing with strips of cured pork because of special circumstances."

The bacon treatment was considered a success because the patient "had complete cessation of nasal bleeding within 24 hours, and was discharged within 72 hours after treatment."

The aim of using the cured pork was to help offset the effects of Glanzmann thrombasthenia, a disorder in which there is not enough platelets in the blood and can result in excessive bleeding and severe hemorrhaging.

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According to a report in The Guardian, a few physicians back around the 1950's disclosed the benefits and medicinal purposes of salted pork in effectively treating epistaxis also known as a nosebleed.

The doctors speculate that the practice eventually fell out of use 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."

While bacon may have an unconventional use as a cure for nosebleeds, consuming bacon regularly is considered unhealthy. A recent study in the British Journal of Cancer found that eating a single serving of bacon, sausage or other processed meat daily may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer.