What Causes Constant Nose Bleeding?

A nosebleed or epistaxis is described as a relatively common occurrence of hemorrhage from the nose, usually noticed when the blood drains out through the nostrils. The most common and generally harmless type of nosebleed is known as anterior which originate from the front of the nose; the second more severe type is called posterior, originating from the back of the nose and usually requires medical attention. In some severe cases blood can travel up the tear duct and emerge from the eye and travel down into the stomach. There have been very few cases of deaths caused by severe nosebleeds.

Most nosebleeds can be self-treated. A person suffering from a nosebleed should sit down and lean slightly forward. The head should be kept above the heart to lessen the blood flow. By leaning forward the blood will drain out of the nose instead of down the back of the throat. Lean backwards may result in the swallowing of blood. To stop the nosebleed the soft portion of the nose is held together between the thumb and index finger for a few minutes; applying an ice pack to the bridge of the nose can also help.

Causes of Constant Nose bleeds

Nosebleeds are generally caused from dryness, nose picking, blunt trauma or other injury, nasal infections and congestion, allergies and colds, dry or cold climate temperatures. The dividing wall at the front of the nose called the nasal septum, consists of thin, flat cartilage and bone, separating the nostrils and nose into its two sides. The septum easily bleeds when impaired in any way. If a person is constantly having nosebleeds it means that some factor may be interfering with the blood clotting or there is some form of constant irritation. In most cases frequent nosebleeds may be due to some underlying condition such as a bleeding disorder, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia or leukemia. Constant nosebleeds causes are

Medications

Consistent use of certain blood thinning medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen and warfarin will result in regular nosebleeds.

Nasal Conditions and Dry Nasal Passages

Continuous picking or irritation of the nasal cavity will cause nose bleeds and the irritated blood vessels may not get a chance to completely heal. As such persons with dry nostrils, colds and allergies will also have frequent nose bleeds; an injured nasal membrane will have constant nosebleeds. The use of cocaine (as in the case of drug abuse) will lead to regular bleeding in the nostrils.

Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a hereditary bleeding disorder that results from abnormal blood clotting. Persons with hemophilia will experience longer bleeding time from injuries and internal bleeding. People born with hemophilia have little or no clotting factor which is a protein need for normal blood clotting. These proteins work with platelets to help the blood clot.

Low Platelets

Platelets are one of the components of the blood along with white and red blood cells. They play an important role in clotting and bleeding. If a person’s platelet count is severely low for example less than 20 per micro liter, it can potentially manifest as increase bleeding when a person is cut or injured or during menstruation, or spontaneous bleeding.

Von Willebrand’s Disease

Von Willebrand disease is the most common hereditary coagulation abnormality. It is a bleeding disorder that affects the body’s blood clotting abilities. Person with the disease may have low levels of a certain blood clotting protein (called von Willebrand factor) in their blood, or the protein doesn’t work the way it should.