I have a regular appointment with my doctor coming up so I’ll ask her then (I’m not super worried about this…yet), but thought someone might have a similar experience and have something to contribute.
I have been under a lot of stress in the past couple of months, including a busy job, graduate school, starting the process of IVF, and now in the last three weeks my marriage seems to be falling apart (though we’re working on it and will hopefully stick it out).
As you can imagine, I’ve been doing a lot of crying. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been getting a bleeding nose randomly, but especially when crying. I’ve had a good cry two times in the last three nights, and both times I had a bleeding nose from it. The bleeding is not really just a drip, drip, it’s more of decent flow, and it lasts about 20 minutes. The air is dryer now that it’s winter, but I’ve never had this problem in previous winters. Could stress and sinus pressure from crying burst a blood vessel in my sinuses like this?
I’m otherwise healthy, and just had a bunch of testing done for the IVF, all of which came back normal (except I have to get my Rubella vaccination, as I am apparently not immune anymore).
I think the combination of stress, crying, and Calgary’s extremely dry air is plenty to explain it - I get the odd nosebleed here, too, just from the dry air, I think.
It sounds gross, but try vaseline in your nose to help moisturize it - see if that helps.
20 minutes is a long time for a nosebleed. You could be having a platelet problem, such as thrombocytopenia (not enough of the lil’ buggers).
Even though you got lots of tests for your IVF procedures, which I assume included a CBC – complete blood count – tell your doc at your upcoming appointment about the duration of your nosebleeds and insist on another CBC.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I agree that it’s probably a combination of a few things. I’ll turn up the humidifier at home and see if that makes a difference too.
I’ll talk to my doctor about getting a platelet count done, as well as whatever else she thinks might be necessary. Actually, now that I think of it, clotting factors may be an issue, and I have had three miscarriages, so…hm. I should talk to the fertility clinic too, maybe.
Another vote for blood pressure. Have you been having frequent headaches?
Lady, you are under a TREMENDOUS amount of stress. The hormones can aggravate blood pressure, and can also affect the blood vessels in your nose. (When I was a kid, I got nosebleeds about the same time as my periods, TMI I know…)
~VOW
Actually, I have been having regular headaches as well, enough that I’m having to take a Tylenol Migrane for it. Headaches can be caused by high blood pressure? Interesting.
My systolic and diastolic can jump 40 and 30 points respectively when I am under acute anxiety (when I am not anxious, plus with the meds I am on my BP is only slightly elevated). So that could be a factor.
This product helps me a lot with blood in my nose due to dry winter air.
