A nosebleed or nosebleedage, medically known as epistaxis, is the relatively common occurrence of hemorrhage (bleeding) from the nose, usually noticed when it drains out through the nostrils.
The cause of nosebleeds can generally be divided into two categories, local and systemic factors.
- Anatomic deformities
- Chemical inhalant
- Inflammatory reaction (eg. acute respiratory tract infections, chronic sinusitis, allergic rhinitis and environmental irritants)
- Foreign bodies
- Intranasal tumors (Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in adult, and nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in adolescent males)
- Nasal prong O2
- Nasal spray
- Surgery (such as septoplasty and endoscopic sinus surgery)
- Trauma
- EndometriOSis
- Drugs - Aspirin, Fexofenadine/Allegra/Telfast, warfarin, ibuprofen, clopidogrel, desmopressin and others
- Alcohol (due to vasodilation)
- Allergies
- Blood dyscrasias
- Heart failure (due to an increase in venous pressure)
- Hematological malignancy
- Hypertension
- Infectious Diseases
- Malnutrition (especially anemia)
- Narcotics
- Vascular disorders
- Nose-picking (especially in children)
- Muscle tightness as caused by scoliOSis (the tightened muscles cause blood vessels to become constricted, resulting in nosebleeds from the same side as the tightened muscles).1
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_nose
