respiratory health

Blood from the Nose - Epistaxis

Causes

Also called rhinorrhagia, or more simply nose bleed, epistaxis can occur without apparent cause (essential epistaxis) or as a symptom of a local or general condition (secondary epistaxis).

Most often, especially in young patients, the bleeding is due to spontaneous rupture of the small vessels of the nasal mucosa, following irritation or small traumas (colds, clumsy maneuvers with fingers, rhinitis, hormonal changes typical of puberty, etc.). ).

More rarely, and especially in the elderly, nose bleeds can be a symptom of severe illness. In fact, there are innumerable pathological situations that can cause epistaxis:

  • vessel fragility,
  • arteriosclerosis,
  • heart disease,
  • hypertension,
  • infectious diseases (scarlet fever, typhoid fever, measles, etc.),
  • poisoning,
  • coagulopathies,
  • vitamin deficiencies,
  • renal and hepatobiliary diseases,
  • heat stroke.
  • More information on the causes of epistaxis is available by clicking here.

At the origin of bleeding there may also be more or less serious local factors (septal varices, nasal polyps, septum deviations, neoplasms, perforating septal ulcer, Rendu-Osler disease, nasopharyngeal fibroma, chemical irritation - see cocaine -).

What to do? First aid

โ†’ If the bleeding of the blood vessels present in the nasal cavities does not follow a head injury, it is necessary to place the victim in a sitting position, with the head slightly bent forward; this operation, together with the invitation to spit out any blood present in the oral cavity, has the purpose of avoiding the onset of nausea or vomiting with its ingestion.

Untie the clothes around the neck and compress the bloody nostril with a finger for a few minutes; useful, if possible, cooling with ice or cold water at the root of the nose.

It is also important, to stop bleeding, to avoid blowing or rubbing the nose; in the following days important physical efforts must be avoided.

โ†’ If the bleeding does not stop it is advisable to consult the doctor for a tamponade (introduction in the nasal fossa of a cotton cylinder soaked in hydrogen peroxide or iodoform gauze) or, in more severe and recurrent bleeding, by galvanocaustation. Medical consultation is a must even in the case of recurrent epistaxis, in order to carry out all the necessary checks to find out the causes.

โ†’ If the loss of blood from the nose is due to a craniofacial trauma, the fracture of the nasal bones should be suspected whenever the nose is swollen and painful. In this case it is advisable to avoid any maneuver, as improper or clumsy interventions could cause permanent cosmetic damage.

If the patient loses consciousness as a result of the trauma, he must be placed in a lateral safety position on the side of the bleeding (in order to prevent the blood from collecting in the backbore and going to obstruct the respiratory tract); this operation should be performed with the help of a companion to avoid inappropriate movements of the neck. Promptly alert 118.

Read also: Nose Blood Remedies ยป

Prevention

To prevent epistaxis, it is important to avoid sudden changes in pressure (typical of rapid ascent to the surface in scuba diving) and to monitor any diseases that cause bleeding from the nose.

If this occurs it is good to remain calm as anxiety appears to be an aggravating factor in bleeding.