Our nose is one of the few parts of our body that has a lot of nerves and blood vessels in it. It is often exposed to pollutants such as dirt and smoke. In response, the nose produces mucus to filter these pollutants before they reach the airways and the lungs. Aside from the mucus, the nasal passage also has tiny hairs (cilla) growing inside the lining of the passageway. Any dirt and mucus filtered would get stuck inside. This is what people call booger or snot.
When the snot dries up inside our noses, they will feel itchy and block our breathing. To get rid of the snot, we use our fingers, especially our fingernails, to scoop it out. If the fingernails aren’t cut short and kept clean, however, they can scratch the thin lining of nasal passage. This scratch can cause a litlle bleeding from the injured blood vessel.
What if my nose keeps bleeding?
Nose bleeding that lasts minutes may be caused by something more than booger scooping. The reason it bleeds is because blood vessels inside have ruptured through broken skin. The skin may be broken because of dryness inside. This injury can be caused by a lot of factors, including nasal sweling from colds and allergies such as rhinitis. The coldness in the air during winter can also dry up the mucus lining the nasal airway.
Children may stick small objects up the nose. Older people may have atherosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”), infections, high blood pressure and blood clotting disorders, or they may be taking drugs like aspirin that interfere with blood clotting.
Treating a nosebleed
If you get a nosebleed, sit down and lean slightly forward. Keeping your head above your heart will make your nose bleed less. Lean forward so the blood will drain out of your nose instead of down the back of your throat. If you lean back, you may swallow the blood. This can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Use your thumb and index finger to squeeze together the soft portion of your nose. This area is located between the end of your nose and the hard, bony ridge that forms the bridge of your nose. Keep holding your nose until the bleeding stops. Don’t let go for at least 5 minutes. If it’s still bleeding, hold it again for 10 minutes straight.
You can also place a cold compress or an ice pack across the bridge of your nose. This will hold back the blood flow for a while. Once the bleeding stops, don’t do anything that may make it start again, such as bending over or blowing your nose.
However, if the bleeding doesn’t stop on its own or with pressure applied, your doctor may cauterize the bleeding vessel or pack your nose to stop the bleeding. Cauterization involves burning the ruptured blood vessel to stop the blood flow.
Preventing a nosebleed
You can prevent nosebleeds from happening by keeping children’s fingernails short, discouraging nose picking, using a humidifier to counteract the drying effects of indoor heated air, quitting smoking, and opening the mouth when sneezing.
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