Home Articles Health advice

Nose bleeds are a quite common occurrence, especially in little kids. Almost everyone has experienced a bleeding nose at some point or the other, perhaps after a fall, a blow to the facial area or an injury. Depending upon the cause of the nose bleed, the flow of blood may be light or heavy. The bleeding may last for anywhere between a couple of seconds and a few hours.

Usually, most of us do not take a nose bleed too seriously and tend to treat it using simple home remedies. However, if a nose bleed is accompanied by dizziness, you may have a cause for concern. Therefore, it is absolutely essential for you to visit a medical professional if you happen to experience nose bleeds and dizziness on a regular basis.

Causes

Many people experience nose bleeds and dizziness simultaneously, when they suffer from loss of blood and lack of oxygen in the brain. You may feel lightheaded because of losing an excessive amount of blood through your nose. However, at times dizziness and nose bleeds could be symptoms of -

• Tumors: The presence of a tumor in your nasal passage or in the brain could cause you to suffer from both nose bleeds as well as dizziness.
• Trauma: A hard blow to the head may cause the skull to get fractured, which in turn could trigger off symptoms like dizziness and a nose bleed. If you feel faint and you notice that your nose is bleeding after a fall, do consult your physician immediately.
• High Blood Pressure: This health problem is quite a common one, especially in elderly people. Hypertension rarely causes any serious symptoms, unless it reaches a life-threatening stage. High blood pressure reaches an advanced stage when the arteries harden, which leads to symptoms such as headaches, nosebleeds and dizziness.
• Use of Certain Medication: If you are taking blood thinning medication such as aspirin, or heparin on a regular basis, your blood will not be able to clot properly. This may result in excessive bleeding from the nose and dizziness. However, never change your medication without first checking with your doctor.

Prolonged instances of certain diseases and infections like scarlet fever, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever and whooping cough also often result in nose bleeds and dizziness. In some rare instances, nose bleeds and dizziness could also occur due to:

• Migraine
• Anemia
• Dehydration
• Ear barotraumas
• Severe cold
• Sinusitis

At times, women also experience nose bleeds and dizziness during the course of pregnancy, because of hormonal fluctuations. It is also possible for you to experience these two symptoms when you are in a stressful situation.

Some of the causes of nosebleeds and dizziness are more serious than others and need to be treated by a doctor without any delay. Set up an appointment with your doctor as soon as you experience these two symptoms simultaneously. You will probably be asked to undergo a few tests to determine the exact cause of the problem.

The treatment path used by your doctor to stop nosebleeds and dizziness will depend upon the cause of the problem. If the dizziness occurs because of excessive bleeding from the nose, your doctor may advise you to use simple self-care steps like -

• Applying ice to the nose for around 10 to 15 minutes
• Pinching the bony ridge of the nose for about 10 minutes
• Breathing through the mouth for a while, to avoid any pressure on the nose
• Placing a soft and cold compress on the nose
• Avoiding any strenuous activity which could cause the bleeding to resume

In case the bleeding and dizziness are symptoms of a serious medical condition, your doctor may prescribe the appropriate medication or advise you to undergo a surgery.

References

1. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/ms/signs.html

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.