Blood vessels in the nose can easily break and cause a nosebleed, a common disorder in children. Know what it can be due to and what to do when our nose bleeds.
Most people have had a nosebleed on occasion, a reasonably common problem, especially in children. However, anyone can suffer it because there are so many blood vessels and capillaries with very thin walls in the nose, so they can break easily and leak blood.
The nosebleeds draw attention because it impresses seeing someone covered in blood, especially the smaller ones, but in general, do not cause alarm, and you can easily manage it from home. By definition, hemorrhage is understood as the exit of blood from the blood vessels, in this case, the vessels found in the nostrils. In medical terminology, this phenomenon is known as epistaxis or rhinorrhagia.
Two types of nosebleeds can be differentiated that we will call anterior and posterior, depending on where the bleeding origin is. In previous bleeds, the point is in an area of the nose where many blood vessels meet, which is right in forming the nasal septum in the upper part of the nose. These are the most common, while subsequent bleeds are rare, and instead of leaving the nose, the blood falls through the pharynx into the throat and is swallowed.
Signs and symptoms of a nosebleed
The obvious sign of a nosebleed is dark blood coming out of the nose, although subsequent bleeds are not always so easily seen. To detect them, the mouth is opened, and the tongue is retracted until it covers the throat, so the blood that falls behind the bell can be observed.
If the bleeding is very abundant, weakness and dizziness may be experienced, with paleness in the face and hands. In any case, it is convenient to know how to act so as not to be alarmed and know the basic first aid to implement when our children or we get blood from the nose.
Causes of a nosebleed
The nosebleed is more common in children aged three to ten years, possibly because the veins and capillaries are not fully developed and break more easily. But some people are more prone to nosebleeds than others, perhaps for this same reason or because of the nasal structure itself. In general, the causes of a nosebleed are usually:
- Sneezing or blowing your nose very hard, causing some of the small vessels to break with the consequent loss of blood.
- Manipulation of the nose is more common in young children, especially curious to see what they can remove with their finger.
- Direct trauma to the face that fractures the nose. Skull base fractures can also cause blood to flow out of the nose.
- Irritation of the mucosa. This is common with colds and allergies when we are constantly blowing our noses.
- Rise in blood pressure. In the case of arterial hypertension, as the walls of the blood vessels in the nose are the thinnest and most delicate, they can break due to the blood pressure.
- Inhalation of gases and chemicals that irritate the mucosa. This also includes drugs such as cocaine, which weakens the nasal structures, or medications such as decongestant sprays, which eventually damage the nose’s inner lining.
- Extreme heat causes blood vessels to dilate, and sometimes they bleed. This is one of the reasons why there are people more prone to this type of bleeding.
- The hot air dries out the mucous membranes, making them break more easily.
- Anticoagulant medications such as aspirin or heparin “thin” the blood have less resistance to escape from the vessels. The same happens with high alcohol consumption.
- Certain vitamin deficiencies can weaken the vascular walls, so people with this problem bleed more easily.
