Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Good Idea: Blood When You Blow Your Nose?

Do you see blood when you blow your nose on the tissue? Yikes! Is it serious? Is it a sign of some serious illness? I used to get nosebleeds when I was a young girl. It seldom happens today. But it happens. Does it happen to you?

As I jump into retirement, I do want to make sure that I avoid serious illness that can cost me and my honey money out of our pocket. More medicine, doctors and hospital stays are on my mind to avoid. So I pay a lot of attention when something happens to my body that shouldn't.
The Mayo Clinic says that the nose can bleed from two spots inside the nose: the front (anterior) of the nose, and the back (posterior) of the nose.

The inside of the nose is covered with moist, delicate tissue (mucosa) that has a rich supply of blood vessels near the surface. When this tissue is injured from trauma such as pressure from blowing your nose with too much force, these blood vessels tend to bleed. This is generally referred to as an anterior nosebleed.

If you've been blowing your nose with too much blowing pressure — you've probably given yourself a minor nosebleed by rupturing the blood vessels near the surface wall of your nose. It's no big deal. It heals on its own. It usually stops with some local pressure and a little patience.

Posterior nosebleeds are much less common. They tend to occur in older adults. The bleeding is usually from an artery in the back of the nose and almost always requires medical attention.

How to Blow Your Nose

1. Use a soft tissue, such as one with aloe vera or lotion. The more ply the tissues have, the softer it will be.

2. Press one nostril with your finger, while you gently blow the other nostril for 10 seconds. Do not blow hard. Rather, blow gently two or three times. Do the same for the other nostril.

3. When done, it's common sense to check that you can breath through your nose freely and that you feel less clogged up.

Do not blow through both nostrils at the same time. Don't forget to wash your hands with soap after blowing your nose.