Repeated Bloody Nose

[Skuba Kat]

Hello all,
A few months ago I did one of my first dives by myself, after getting a basic cert. We had a great first dive, 35 minutes down to 50 ft, 2 hr SI, then went back in, part way through at no more than 35 ft I noticed some blood in my mask so I surfaced. The bleeding continued a lot, there was a lot of coagulated globs and a bit of flowing blood, but I experienced no discomfort or pain. A month later I dove again and had no problems at 35-40 ft.
Recently I took a cruise and did only snorkeling, first two stops I went no deeper than 10 ft and had no problems at all, at the 3rd stop in Cozumel I freedove to about 20 ft and experienced blood again, this time it was only coagulated, no free flow. I got out and waited until there was no more blood in my spit and tried to go in 2 more times, every time blood appeared but only in coagulated form. During all this I encountered only minimal trouble clearing my ears and very little if any pain. Has anyone ever experienced or heard of anything like this before? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cacia]

Are your sinuses healthy?

do you have allergies?

do you use any steroids in your nose?

My son's nose bleeds all the time, I have no idea either.

 

[Bobyjimmie]

First off it sounds like your not drinking enough water, which makes your mucous membranes in your nose dry and more susceptible to breakage which would cause a bloody nose. With that said the pressure of the depth on the compromised membrane is causing the initial breakage and then possibly your just reinjuring your already compromised nose. With all that said Id see a Dr before diving again and let them know what you are going through.

 

[stevewirl]

it happens to divers all over the world . its a build up of mucus in the sinius or breaking small blood vessels in the nasel passage . no need to get worried but if it persists get it looked at by a dive doc

 

[dschonbrun]

Steve... not a Dive Doc, patient should see an ENT.

There was a recent thread on this.

 

[stevewirl]

didnt see the tread . what is an ENT .

 

[magicwanz]

I'd definitely see a Dr. That would scare me, this doesn't seem right. :11:

 

[Cacia]

might have a nasal polyp, but probably not.

hey, I told my son's doctor and also his father (an MD) and they both shrugged it off.

It's easy to say "see a doctor" but sometimes it isn't practical. My advice (ya'll are gonna hate this) Google the causes and try and rule out things. WEB MD has lists of causes, drug interactions, a whole host of things. Then, if it persists see an ENT and rule out the big things like tumors, etc.

I even have one forum that has MDs fielding simple questions that I like. (A yearly fee thing) I know there is a lot of backlash abot this stuff, but some of the MDs on the forums I know from Baylor and UCLA...so I like being able to get answers/ideas from well trained doctors in situations where I know I wouldn't bother going in.

Now, seeing a doctor and having an exam is better, assuming you get a quality physician. At my HMO in Hawaii, you might not get somebody too great.

I did notice dry mucus membranes is a common cause.

I think if half the country is uninsured we might have to get more creative with health care than telling everyone to see a doctor right off the bat. People can often rule out the simple causes with information.

 

[DiveMaven]

I get a bit of a bloody nose when I try to equalize too hard. If I slow down, I have no problems.

 

[BTravlin]

didnt see the tread . what is an ENT .

Ear, Nose & Throat doctor