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Frequent nosebleeds - causes, therapy and symptoms
contents
- The anatomy of the nose
- What role do the mucous membranes play??
- How common is nosebleed?
- Two nosebleeds
- causes
- In which diseases does the nose bleed??
- symptoms
- Nosebleeds during pregnancy
- Which cancer causes nosebleeds?
- When do you have to call a doctor?
- The treatment of nosebleeds
- Home remedies - washing with hot water
- What they do and are not allowed to do
- Prevent nosebleeds
Blood in the nose can look horrible, but can usually be treated with home remedies. Everyone can be affected, but it is most common among young children, old people, pregnant women, people taking aspirin or blood thinners, or people with blood disorders.
Chronic nosebleed: When the nose bleeds frequently. Picture: drubig-photo - fotolia The anatomy of the nose
The nose consists of cavities in a skeleton of bone and cartilage plates. In it lie the two nasal cavities, separated by a septum and connected to the frontal sinus, the maxillary and sphenoidal sinuses.
The nasal turbinates, three bone strips protrude into one of the two nasal cavities. The upper pharynx begins at the back of the nose.
The sensitive olfactory mucosa covers the upper turbinate to the nasal septum. Here we take up the smell stimulus, the mucous membranes send the information further to the olfactory bulbs. These in turn are connected to the olfactory brain via the olfactory cord.
What role do the mucous membranes play??
Inside is the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, covered by hairs that bring mucus and foreign matter into the throat.
These mucous membranes are heavily supplied with blood. Your glands but liquid off to moisten the breath. Blood vessels supply the mucous membrane and it swells quickly. If these vessels are injured or irritated, bleeding will result.
How common is nosebleed?
Nasal bleeding is the second most common spontaneous bleeding. Every third child under the age of 5 years is bleeding at least once, every second to 10 years has had nosebleeds. Rarely, however, does the nose bleed in toddlers and irregularly after puberty.
The nose bleeds more often in the late autumn and winter months when the home heating systems provide dry air. Nosebleeds are also more common in children who live in dry climates.
Two nosebleeds
The blood comes either from the front or the back of the nose. Bleeding in the front part is the most dangerous and common, especially in children: colds, allergies, abrupt changes in temperature and dry heat damage the mucous membranes. Repeated sneezing and whining causes small blood vessels to burst.
This slight bleeding can be easily stopped by holding the affected person's nostrils or pressing a tissue onto his nose.
Blood in the upper area can be more serious and is also harder to locate and control. Most of the elderly are affected and diseases such as arteriosclerosis can be the cause.
causes
The most common cause of a bleeding nose is violent injury. People with allergies, hay fever and sinus infections swell the nasal membranes, they become more sensitive and therefore bleed easier.
Damage to the nose caused by falls, sports or fighting also leads to bleeding. Beware if the nose is bleeding after being injured on the head: It may be a fractured skull.
Chemical substances such as detergents, sprays and dyes can irritate the nose and cause nosebleeds. This also applies to some drugs such as cocaine: If they are snorted, the nose gets infected and it bleeds.
Switching from cold to warm air or from dry to wet places strain on the nasal mucous membranes and makes them vulnerable. Older people are more likely to be affected by nosebleeds in winter because their mucous membranes are no longer elastic and dry air causes the blood vessels in the nose to burst.
Colds and other diseases that affect the mucous membranes are also more common in winter. They stress the nasal passages and therefore also promote injuries.
In which diseases does the nose bleed??
Bleeding the nose, it may also indicate a disease, for example, hemophilia. High blood pressure, liver disease, leukemia and tumors in the nose and brain are also associated with a bleeding nose.
Liver diseases that bleed the nose are hepatitis, liver dyspepsia or cirrhosis.
Also, some medications trigger bleeding. Blood thinners such as warfarin and heparin, aspirin and ibuprofen sometimes lead to blood in the front and back of the nose. Nasal spray in excess triggers nosebleeds.
Common drug suspects include: platelet aggregation inhibitors such as acetylsalicylic acid and anticoagulants, coumarin derivatives and heparins.
Alcohol abuse also causes nosebleeds: alcohol prevents blood clotting and damages the walls of the blood vessels.
Children often bleed their nose because they drill in the nose and thus directly injure the blood vessels. Sometimes children also introduce themselves to objects: they can not only hurt the nasal mucus, but also make it difficult to breathe. Sometimes a doctor has to remove these objects.
On the other hand, nasal tumors, leukemia or deformity of the nose are very rarely the cause of bleeding infantile neoplasms - as are various blood disorders. Deformations occur, for example, when the nasal septum deviates from the normal position, or has holes.
Chronic sinusitis also causes nosebleeds such as malformations of the blood vessels or polyps in the nose.
In general, internal diseases that inhibit blood clotting also show up as blood in the nose.
The "Wegener's granulomatosis" usually affects men over the age of 30 years. It starts with inflammation in the nose and throat, chronic nosebleed is one of their symptoms.
The "Osler disease" has a genetic basis, thereby expanding the skin vessels in the nasal mucosa. The dilated vessels tear quickly and the nose bleeds.
symptoms
The main symptom of nosebleeds is blood that runs from the nose. The blood comes either from both nostrils, or mostly from one. When the blood flow is strong, it fills out a nostril and runs across the region connecting both sides of the nose into the other nostril. The blood can also flow back down the throat or down into the stomach. Those affected then spit or vomit blood.
If those affected lose a lot of blood this leads to confusion and dizziness. This is very rare in nosebleeds.
Nosebleeds during pregnancy
Nasal bleeding is common during pregnancy, especially after the first few months. One in five pregnant women bleeds their nose, but only one in sixteen women who are not pregnant.
Pregnant women are so often affected because during pregnancy, the level of the hormones progesterone and estrogen increases, and this causes the blood vessels to continue to open. At the same time, the increased blood pressure drives more blood than usual into the sensitive veins of the nose.
Especially during pregnancy nosebleeds are common. Image: Syda Productions - fotolia Pregnant women can prevent nosebleeds by taking a lot of fluids. The more fluid they consume, the less dry the nasal mucosa, and thus lower the risk of blood vessels bursting. Breathing through the mouth is also a way to take pressure off of the nose.
Gels for the nose moisten the nasal mucous membranes, and is the best way to prevent nosebleeds during pregnancy.
A bleeding nose during pregnancy is annoying, but not a cause for concern.
Which cancer causes nosebleeds?
Recurrent or chronic nosebleed may indicate a far more serious problem - cancer. If your nose bleeds once a month, it's still no warning.
Constant nosebleed, on the other hand, is one of the symptoms of a tumor in the nasal cavity. The nasal cavity consists of bones and cartilages, blood vessels and connective tissue as well as a skin that covers the cell vessels. Each of these cell types can genetically change into the form of a tumor.
Blood in the nose is an early symptom of nasal cancer, so people with constant bleeding should consult a doctor - in this phase, the cancer can heal relatively well. In nasal cancer, the blood usually flows from a nostril.
Nasal cancer also often blocks a nose, the nasal mucus becomes more fluid and runs out of the nostril. As the cancer progresses, sufferers also suffer from vision problems and headaches.
Constant nosebleed may also be a symptom of a very different type of cancer - leukemia. Leukemia damages the white blood cells. In particular, the lyphatic leukemia leads to severe and constant nosebleeds.
Cancer of the lymph nodes causes lymph nodes in the body to swell. Often, the lymph nodes in the neck and elbows are the most swollen. This cancer is caused by abnormal white blood cells floating in the lymph nodes. Patients suffering from this cancer bleed heavily from the nose. An important clue is additional blood disorders in other parts of the body.
When do you have to call a doctor?
If you drill hard in the nose and see blood on your finger anytime, that's no reason to tell a doctor. But if your nose is bleeding suddenly and you feel violent, call the ambulance immediately.
Those affected need rest, because every arousal aggravates the bleeding.
If someone is constantly suffering from a bleeding nose, a systematic investigation is pending. Doctors should not handle it negligently because nosebleeds are usually harmless. However, if the blood flow is strong, it indicates serious illnesses.
The treatment of nosebleeds
Bleeding in the front part of the nose can usually be remedied by direct pressure. Medications such as oxymetazoline or neosynephrine help as well as vaseline, which inject the affected person daily with a Q-tip in the nostril. In addition, patients should keep their noses steady and avoid any pressure - this includes heavy whining.
Nosebleeds in children. Image: Henrie - fotolia Although sponges and similar absorbent material in the nose stop the bleeding, those affected feel this as unpleasant. However, drugs such as warfarin must also be introduced into pads in the nose to develop their effect. Those affected then spend a few days in the hospital until the doctor removes the pads and stops the bleeding.
Today, doctors can use modern technology to find and close the wound in the nose. This direct treatment quickly topazes the nosebleed.
Home remedies - washing with hot water
Preventing nosebleeds helps to keep the nostril under a tap and wash it out with warm to hot water. This is even more effective than the "tampons" that absorb the blood.
Even doctors treat heavy bleeding of the nose with this hot flush. First anesthetize the area around the nose, then insert a balloon catheter and rinse the nasal cavity for three minutes with 50 degrees Celsius hot water. Most bleeding then stops after about ten minutes.
What they do and are not allowed to do
1) Do not rest your head but lean over a sink to catch the blood.
2) Do not swallow the blood, this can lead to nausea
3) Cool the neck, for example, with damp envelopes
4) Press the nostrils together with light pressure.
5) Rinse the bleeding nose with warm water.
Prevent nosebleeds
Nosebleeds can be prevented by carefully blowing our nose, drilling our nose gently and avoiding brawls that could injure our nose.
In addition, in winter, when the heater dries out the air and thus the mucous membranes, we should set up humidifiers in the room.
How to use nose oils, nasal rinses and nasal ointments that keep the nasal mucosa elastic. With nasal sprays and nose drops, however, we should cautiously deal, since both can dry out the nasal mucous membranes in the long term. If we drink a lot, we indirectly moisten our mucous membranes. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)