# If you got a nosebleed when asleep, could you bleed to death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584 "2017-06-22T03:26:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/1 "2017-06-22T03:26:34Z")
So let’s say a normal healthy person with no medical problems or disabilities suddenly had a minor nosebleed when asleep. Not a bleed from the great vessels, just a normal breach. Could they bleed to death, or would the stream either seal up or not be enough to kill the person within hours. Could it render the person unconscious until he died or support arrived? I’m curious because I once had some nosebleeds when asleep, which penetrated the pillows and sheets all the way through and actually completely drenched the sheets and blankets. Even when I woke up, they were actually wet and juicy to the touch. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/2 "2017-06-22T04:43:52Z")
You only lose a tiny amount of blood in a nosebleed. It can make a huge mess, but it only takes a little blood to make a huge mess. Incidentally, this is true of fake blood, too. I know from experience that a blood squib the size of a marble is enough to cover half of a stage in blood. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/3 "2017-06-22T04:49:37Z")
Death from a nosebleed is possible, but it is extremely rare, and the fatal cases usually involve some other issue like a clotting disorder, tumor, drug use, aneurysm, hypertension, injury, or some sort of anatomical deformity. Death by asphyxiation (due to the blood filling the airway) is also possible. If you truly are otherwise normal and healthy, then the chance of death isn’t quite zero, but then the chance of death from an airplane crashing and landing on you isn’t zero either. These types of things are so rare that they aren’t worth worrying about. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/4 "2017-06-22T10:19:56Z")
Depending on the position of one’s head, I wonder if there might also be a danger of drowning. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/5 "2017-06-22T11:31:33Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > Depending on the position of one’s head, I wonder if there might also be a danger of drowning. People tend to wake up when their breathing is interrupted, whether it’s by an accumulation of liquid in the airway or by a vengeful spouse’s pillow pressed over their face. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/6 "2017-06-22T13:23:12Z")
To qualify as a minor nosebleed there would be no danger of bleeding to death or asphyxiation. ---
**Author:** ![dude\_robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@dude\_robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude_robert)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/7 "2017-06-22T14:43:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > To qualify as a minor nosebleed there would be no danger of bleeding to death or asphyxiation. I mean minor as in easily manageable and very survivable if the person was conscious, even without any advanced medical aid at all. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > People tend to wake up when their breathing is interrupted, whether it’s by an accumulation of liquid in the airway or by a vengeful spouse’s pillow pressed over their face. I heard that also sometimes people might wake up if there is liquid trickling down their face, and that process is usually reliable. Do you think that you would wake up if that happened, and is there such a mechanism? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/8 "2017-06-22T14:46:40Z")
> [@dude\_robert](#): > > I heard that also sometimes people might wake up if there is liquid trickling down their face, and that process is usually reliable. Do you think that you would wake up if that happened, and is there such a mechanism? Some people can sleep through damn near any disturbance, so I wouldn’t label “liquid trickling down one’s face” as reliable. Nobody sleeps through “not being able to breathe.” ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/9 "2017-06-22T22:15:09Z")
Healthy people can donate a pint of blood and rarely suffer any major ill effects. A pint of blood is _a lot_. You could go Carrie all over your bed and probably be fine. Nosebleeds stop on their own. Sure, putting your head back/squeezing your nose/stopping the flow helps it stop a bit faster, but they’re not just going to keep flowing unless you are an untreated sufferer of severe hemophilia. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/10 "2017-06-22T22:18:50Z")
> [@dude\_robert](#): > > So let’s say a normal healthy person with no medical problems or disabilities suddenly had a minor nosebleed when asleep. Not a bleed from the great vessels, just a normal breach. Could they bleed to death, or would the stream either seal up or not be enough to kill the person within hours. Could it render the person unconscious until he died or support arrived? > > I’m curious because I once had some nosebleeds when asleep, which penetrated the pillows and sheets all the way through and actually completely drenched the sheets and blankets. Even when I woke up, they were actually wet and juicy to the touch. How do you know you haven’t already died from the nosebleeds and you are communicating to us from the afterlife? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/11 "2017-06-22T23:20:09Z")
> [@dude\_robert](#): > > So let’s say a normal healthy person with no medical problems or disabilities suddenly had a minor nosebleed when asleep. Not a bleed from the great vessels, just a normal breach. Could they bleed to death, or would the stream either seal up or not be enough to kill the person within hours. Could it render the person unconscious until he died or support arrived? > > I’m curious because I once had some nosebleeds when asleep, which penetrated the pillows and sheets all the way through and actually completely drenched the sheets and blankets. Even when I woke up, they were actually wet and juicy to the touch. I suppose if you are a hemophiliac, but normal person? if it could i’d have never lived through childhood. Damned sinuses used to dry out crack and bleed all over ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/12 "2017-06-22T23:29:44Z")
You can’t bleed to death, unless it’s an absolutely epic nosebleed. The vast, vast majority of nosebleeds will simply trickle or drip-drop-drip-drop for a while, then dry out of their own accord. What might be a hazard to you, if sleeping during a nosebleed, however, is that the blood might trickle back down your nasal cavity and into your windpipe and possibly lungs. That could cause all sorts of trouble. Source: I had frequent nosebleeds as a child, so frequently so that I had to undergo a nasal-cauterization procedure around age 7. I believe I have also had nosebleeds while sleeping, too. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/13 "2017-06-23T00:04:54Z")
Snorting meth can lead to nosebleeds. Go back to smoking it. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/14 "2017-06-23T00:26:11Z")
A friend’s father bled to death while napping in his recliner. A hemorrhoid burst while he was asleep. The chair and carpet soaked up so much of it that he was already pretty well bled out brfore the stain started to creep out. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/15 "2017-06-23T03:27:53Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > … > Nosebleeds stop on their own. Sure, putting your head back/squeezing your nose/stopping the flow helps it stop a bit faster, but they’re not just going to keep flowing unless you are an untreated sufferer of severe hemophilia. A year or so ago I was awakened thinking I had a really runny nose. It was – running with blood. It stopped after a while but started up again later that day and was gushing so much I went to the ER. They stuffed something up the nostril and sent me home. The next day blood was gushing right through the stopper, so I went back. While I was there in the ER, both nostrils began streaming. “We can’t send you home like this,” they said, as they stuffed some very uncomfortable devices up my nostrils. I was hospitalized for about 3 - 4 days. I am not a hemophiliac. This never happened before, or since, and I have no idea why the event occurred. I suppose it might have eventually stopped on its own, but then again, maybe it wouldn’t have. BTW, the ENT told me they now advice tilting your head _forward_, not back, and pressing the nostrils closed. The pressure of the blood helps the clot to form. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/16 "2017-06-23T07:17:46Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Healthy people can donate a pint of blood and rarely suffer any major ill effects. A pint of blood is _a lot_. You could go Carrie all over your bed and probably be fine. > . Babies are amazingly healthy. Which is good, because their existance is so marginal in some other ways. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-got-a-nosebleed-when-asleep-could-you-bleed-to-death/789584/17 "2017-06-23T12:42:51Z")
**Moderator Note** > [@snfaulkner](#): > > Snorting meth can lead to nosebleeds. Go back to smoking it. Accusing the OP of smoking meth is not appropriate in GQ. No warning issued, but don’t do this again.