Sudden nose bleed! Now scared I have a brain tumour. Here we go again :(

[CorneliusRuperTravis]

Hey everybody, I'm kinda freaking out right now. I was just sitting at my computer, with one hand on my face, when I noticed a large spot of blood on my finger. I put my hand up to my nose and all of a sudden a large trickle of blood oozed out from my right nostril and down my hand. I ran to the bathroom to try and clean it up. It continued to bleed for about 5 or 6 minutes before stopping.

But now I'm just worrying again. What if I have a brain tumour? I haven't had a nose bleed in YEARS, I can't even remember the last time. I've been having some funny headaches the past few days, some of them have been quite bad, feels like somebody is stabbing me in the side of the temple.Sometimes it is just one side, sometimes it is both.

On top of that, my eyes are hurting when I move them, especially when I look up or to the side, like it hurts a lot when I stretch them. And I SWEAR my vision seems blurry to me. I wear glasses, but even with them I don't think I can see as far as I used to remember.

I dunno, I'm probably just stringing insignificant things together and coming to a terrible conclusion...but it's really worrying me, I'm panicking right now, just waiting for me to have a seizure or something (isn't that what happens next, after the nosebleed? You get a massive headache and have a fit?)

I'm just really scared. Somebody please tell me i'm being irrational with this, what if I have a tumour in my head and I don't know it?

[sophiethestar]

If you had a brain tumour you'd be in extreme pain. My mum had brain cancer and it was so painful she collapsed. You'd have frequent headaches on and off all day that would be realllllly painful. Everyone gets nosebleeds. As for your eyesight, just visit the optician, you might need some new glasses. x

[CorneliusRuperTravis]

Thank you, Sophie.

I was considering another trip to the opticians, although I only got new glasses last July, that hardly seems like a lot of time for my prescription to change. Or maybe it is, hmm..

I do feel so bad for being stupid and worrying about having a serious illness when other poor souls, just like your mum, have actually been through such a thing. Makes me feel like a complete coward. I really try to appreciate the good health that I probably have, but, I dunno...I don't think I am scared of dying...but dying young in and in a painful way, that terrifies me =/

Thank you for your post. I appreciate it. xx

[shoegal]

Nosebleeds are not a symptom of a brain tumour! I have them all the time and it's because a tiny blood vessel has burst inside my nose (this can happen if you sniff a bit too hard or have a runny nose due to hayfever or rub your nose a bit hard or whatever). Nosebleeds are nothing to worry about but if they happen a lot you may need to have the blood vessel cauterised - and don't even start worrying about that! I've had it done 3 times and it's really nothing.

And just so you know, to stop the bleeding pinch the bony part of the centre of your nose (it will feel tingly and numb) and lean FORWARDS. You should never tilt your head back as you can choke on your blood.

[sophiethestar]

I think you're eyesight can most certainly have changed since last July. That's almost a year ago. And that's why it's recommended to get your eyes checked regularly. So don't be worrying about it. You'll be fine. x

[CorneliusRuperTravis]

Nosebleeds are not a symptom of a brain tumour! I have them all the time and it's because a tiny blood vessel has burst inside my nose (this can happen if you sniff a bit too hard or have a runny nose due to hayfever or rub your nose a bit hard or whatever). Nosebleeds are nothing to worry about but if they happen a lot you may need to have the blood vessel cauterised - and don't even start worrying about that! I've had it done 3 times and it's really nothing.

And just so you know, to stop the bleeding pinch the bony part of the centre of your nose (it will feel tingly and numb) and lean FORWARDS. You should never tilt your head back as you can choke on your blood.

Hey shoegal, I honestly can't remember if I had accidentally scratched my nose or something, I was having an IM conversation with a friend at the time, I kinda wasn't noticing what I was doing. I guess that just goes to show how wrapped up in our own little world we can sometimes be, we don't even notice what we're doing or what's going on around us. And then suddenly we're in panic mode and we're over-analyzing everything. Bizarre how the mind works sometimes, hehe.

Oh yeah, I already knew you should always hold your head FORWARD instead of back, as commonly believed. In fact I'm well known for berating people who are having a nosebleed, saying stuff like: "stick your head FORWARD, not back! You're going to choke!" XD xx