Continuous nosebleed: Beware of nasopharyngeal fibroids

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Continuous nosebleed is considered an emergency of otolaryngology, it should be treated to stop bleeding quickly to avoid blood loss. There are many causes of nosebleeds, but if the nose bleeds continuously, it should be noted that the cause is nasopharyngeal fibroids. This is the most common cause of persistent nosebleeds.

1. What is a persistent nosebleed?

Continuous nosebleed is not a disease but a sign that can be encountered due to many causes.
Normally, the nasal mucosa has a lot of blood vessels and a dense capillary system, so it is easy to bleed from many causes. Nosebleeds are divided into anterior nosebleeds and posterior nosebleeds.
For anterior nosebleeds, most often due to benign causes, the bleeding is usually mild and may stop on its own. Anterior nosebleeds account for the vast majority of nosebleeds. Possible causes of anterior nosebleeds include:
Due to the dry climate, congestion of the nasal mucosa leads to bleeding. Due to the impact of nose picking, blowing strongly leads to nosebleeds. Deviated nasal septum. Have a cold or flu. Foreign body in the nose.

Posterior nosebleeds account for about 10% of nosebleeds. Posterior nosebleeds are usually cases of higher and deeper bleeding, often associated with dangerous diseases. Not only that, but it's often more difficult to control bleeding.
High blood pressure : People with high blood pressure also put pressure on the blood vessels of the nose and lead to bleeding. Nasopharyngeal tumor pathology such as nasopharyngeal fibroma, nasopharyngeal cancer ... Injury to the nose area. Systemic diseases such as blood diseases such as blood cancer, blood clotting disorders...; liver failure, kidney failure... these systemic causes also cause anterior nosebleeds. There are many possible causes of nosebleeds. However, if you have a continuous nosebleed, you should pay attention to the cause of nasopharyngeal fibroids.

2. Is continuous nosebleeds dangerous?

There are many causes of nosebleeds, most of the common causes are benign. But in case of continuous nosebleeds, it can be a warning sign of many dangerous diseases that need treatment. It is especially important to note that the cause is a tumor, because persistent nosebleeds can be a sign of a benign tumor or a malignancy such as oropharyngeal cancer.
When there is a continuous nosebleed, it can also cause the patient to lose blood, if it can't be controlled, it can also endanger the patient's life; When nosebleeds or recurrences cause anxiety affecting quality of life and if nosebleeds that the patient accidentally swallows blood can cause stomach irritation.
Thus, continuous nosebleed is a dangerous condition that requires medical intervention to avoid uncontrolled bleeding that affects the patient's health and the cause of the disease can be resolved if possible.

3. Continuous nosebleeds due to nasopharyngeal fibroids

As we know, nosebleeds have many causes, however, frequent nosebleeds can be a sign of nasopharyngeal fibroids.
Nasopharyngeal fibroids are common in children, especially boys between the ages of 6-15.
Signs to recognize nasopharyngeal fibroids include:
Initial symptoms of the disease are stuffy nose, runny nose, accompanied by a little blood along the nasal discharge. After that, the child often bleeds from one or both sides of the nose and occurs many times, can bleed a lot in one time, causing blood loss. Other symptoms such as headache, decreased sense of smell or loss of smell, ear pain, bulging eyes... Nasopharyngeal fibroma is a benign tumor but it has the ability to spread very quickly, it can spread to locations such as the nasal cavity, sinuses, down the throat, mouth and into the eye sockets. From there can cause many complications such as:
Frequent nosebleeds, if heavy bleeding will be accompanied by nasopharyngeal infections. Blood loss affects the patient's overall health, causing anemia, fatigue, insomnia, making the patient thin and pale. Nasopharyngeal fibroids are benign, but when they spread to the base of the skull, patients will experience more serious complications and can lead to death. The treatment of nasopharyngeal fibroids should be carried out early to avoid serious complications. When the tumor is small, if detected, the doctor will use surgical methods to remove the tumor, at this time the operation is usually easy and the risk of bleeding is very little. But when the tumor is large, the risk of bleeding is high, it cannot be operated by endoscopic methods like when the tumor is small, but must cut the facial bones to enter the nasal cavity to remove the tumor, so it is easy to have scars on the face after surgery. , or replace it with radiation therapy combined with hormones to help shrink the tumor.
Therefore, when there are signs of continuous nosebleed, it is necessary to think of nasopharyngeal fibroids and need to visit a doctor for timely treatment, to avoid dangerous complications.

4. How to deal with nosebleeds

When you have a nosebleed, how to handle it is very important. Here are some notes when dealing with nosebleeds at home:
When you have a nosebleed, you need to stop the bleeding in a sitting position, absolutely do not lie down, let your head slightly bow forward, do not tilt your head back because to Avoid blood flowing down the throat, don't know the amount of blood flow and irritate the throat, do not swallow blood into the stomach, it will cause vomiting and possible poisoning. Then determine the side of the nose that is bleeding. Press firmly with your finger on the side of the nose that is flowing or both sides if the nosebleed cannot be identified for 5 to 10 minutes. Usually after this time the bleeding stops. But if the blood is still bleeding after that, continue to squeeze the nostrils on both sides and immediately go to the nearest medical facility for timely treatment. Be careful not to insert cotton or other instruments into the nose because the ingredients of the cotton or other tools can irritate and cause further bleeding. Note that when the blood shows signs of stopping, the patient should sit in a comfortable position. Avoid blowing your nose for the next 24 hours for the purpose of clearing your nose or any other purpose. Because this movement can further damage blood vessels and cause bleeding again. Persistent nosebleeds can have many causes. But you need to pay attention to the cause of nasopharyngeal fibroids. Because although it is benign, it can cause many dangerous complications, if detected early, treatment is easier and highly effective.
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