Symptoms of Nosebleeds
Most of the time, the only symptom you’ll have is blood pouring out of your nose. Some blood may go down the back of your throat and into your stomach if you have a posterior nosebleed. You can feel queasy and get a nasty taste in your mouth as a result.
Additional symptoms could indicate a medical condition if you experience them.
Causes of Nosebleeds
The majority of nosebleeds only affect one nostril, but they occasionally do. Epistaxis can have numerous causes. Thankfully, most of them aren’t serious.
Dry air is the most frequent reason for nosebleeds. Dry air is a result of hot, low-humidity environments or warm interior air. Your nasal membrane, which is the fragile tissue inside your nose, dries out and becomes crusty or cracked in both settings. This increases the likelihood that it will bleed when touched, picked, or when you blow your nose. Epistaxis can also occur as a result of putting anything in your nose or suffering a nose or face injury.
Other causes of nosebleed may include:
- Infections: Colds (upper respiratory infections) and sinusitis, especially episodes that cause constant sneezing, coughing and nose blowing.
- Allergies: Allergic and non-allergic rhinitis (inflammation of your nasal lining).
- Blood-thinning medications: Drugs include aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), warfarin and others.
- Chemical irritants: Chemicals I’m cleaning supplies, fumes at workplaces, and other strong odors.
- High altitudes: The air is thinner (lack of oxygen) and drier as the altitude increases.
- Recreational drugs: Cocaine and other drugs you inhale through your nose.
- Deviated septum: An abnormal shape of the wall that separates the two sides of your nose.
- Nasal sprays: Frequent use of nasal sprays and medication to treat an itchy, stuffy or runny nose. These medications include antihistamines and decongestants, and can dry out your nasal membranes.
Other less common causes of nosebleeds include:
- Alcohol use
- Bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia [1] or von Willebrand disease [2]
- High blood pressure
- Atherosclerosis
- Leukemia
- Facial and nasal surgery
- Nasal tumors
- Immune thrombocytopenia
- Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia