Dr. Harihara Murthy | Appointment booking no:9886026602
Consultant ENT Surgeon | Murthy Health and Research Center,Bangalore
Nasal bleeding or epistaxis in pregnancy is a common feature. It is said that at least 5 to 10 % of people during pregnancy may encounter this kind of a problem. While the numbers seem to be large it may not be so in all populations. Nonetheless it is a feature that is noted the reason for that is the increased blood volume in the mother because that's a requirement for the fetus and sometimes these people can also develop what is known as Pregnancy Rhinitis. Pregnancy Rhinitis is a problem wherein there is an edema of the tissues in the nose running nose and congestion in the nasal cavity . Automatically that means that there can be friable tissues and the repeated attempts to clear the nose can cause a rupture and bleeding. Why so because the nose itself has got a very rich supply of blood vessels in different layers. As a result of which they are susceptible for this kind of a bleed because of trauma caused by blowing the nose. Stuffy nose and crusting can also lead to clearing of the nose and trying to pick the nose to clear the nose can also cause trauma and bleeding . Hypertension in pregnancy is a known feature and in pregnancy induced hypertension patients can have rupture in the blood vessels causing bleeding. So there are multiple reasons why you can have bleeding from the nose . What can be done about it is also very important. The best thing is not to be sitting or lying down better is to stand up so that your head be in a higher position than the lower body and the gravity effect reduces to some extent, the pressure that is felt in the nasal cavity . The second thing to do is to bend forward not to sit straight or lie down but to bend forward . When you're bending forward you can have the blood flowing outwards rather than backwards . The reason being the anterior most or the front most portion of the nasal cavity is the one that normally bleeds . Very rarely you have bleeding coming from the back of the nose so for that reason it is better to lean forward, let the flow out. The third thing is to pinch the nostrils by keeping both the forefinger and the thumb on the facial bones and pitching it tight pinching the nostrils tight for about 10 to 15 minutes is more than sufficient that stems the bleeding. At home this can be done very simply you can also put a cold pack over the forehead, a cold pack over the nose. That constricts the blood vessels which are in that region thereby reducing the blood flow into the front of the nose. These are the things to be done. Most importantly don't panic because when the panic happens with the people around the person who's having a nasal bleed it augments its effect on the person having the nasal bleed. As it is they are traumatized by the bleed and they are worried about the child . As a result making sure that the people around stay calm makes a big difference to calm the person down there by even reducing their blood pressure a little . So don't panic, do what's required and I’m sure it will be settled meet a physician immediately once you got that.
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