In epistaxis, it is the nose that is affected and bleeding. The causes of hemoptysis include lung cancer, pulmonary embolism, and respiratory infections such as pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, and tuberculosis. There are many reasons for epistaxis including trauma to the nose, bleeding disorders, liver cirrhosis, AIDS, and cancer. Hemoptysis is the condition where blood is coughed up from the lungs. Difference between Epistaxis and Hemoptysis? DefinitionĮpistaxis is the condition where there is bleeding from the nose. Where hemorrhage is extreme, the blood vessels may need to be sealed off. In the case of respiratory infections, the bleeding stops once the person recovers. With infections, steroids and antibiotic treatments help with inflammatory responses and in killing pathogens causing the illness. Where a person has a pulmonary embolism and in cases of extreme bleeding, the risk of shock and death is greatly increased. Pulmonary embolism, in which there is a blood clot in the lungs, is a dangerous condition that causes coughing up blood. Any traumatic injury to the chest can also cause blood to be expectorated if the lungs are injured. Sometimes vigorous coughing associated with these infections can cause small blood vessels to break resulting in hemoptysis. Often an infection in the respiratory system can lead to hemoptysis for instance, an active tuberculosis infection, cystic fibrosis, and pneumonia can all cause bleeding in the lungs. In some cases, a bronchoscopy, chest CT scan or chest X-rays can be helpful in diagnosing why a person is coughing up blood. Diagnosis:Ī physical exam and looking for blood in the sputum of a person helps diagnosis of hemoptysis. Symptoms of hemoptysis are a coughing up of either blood-streaked mucus from the lungs or coughing up bright and foamy type blood. Hemoptysis is the situation where a person coughs up bright red blood or blood-streaked sputum. Where epistaxis is due to an underlying condition, treatment of the illness may help to stop the bleeding from happening. Bleeding at the back of the nose can be difficult to stop packing gauze or placing a nasal balloon into the nose can help to stop the bleeding otherwise a special anticoagulant chemical or electrocauterization can be done. If the bleeding is in the anterior part of the nose, direct pressure usually causes the bleeding to stop. In very extreme cases, a person can lose enough blood to result in death. Hypovolemia may occur where bleeding is severe. The use of anticoagulant medication such as heparin and warfarin can sometimes cause nose bleeds. Cancer and AIDs can also cause nose bleeding in some cases. There are cases where epistaxis is due to other underlying conditions such as severe liver disease like cirrhosis or it is due to a bleeding disorder. Two of the most common reasons for nose bleeds are picking or blowing of the nose and if the nasal cavity is very dry. It is more common, however, for doctors to diagnose bleeding at the front of the nose at Kiesselbach’s plexus, an area that has many blood vessels. The diagnosis of epistaxis is done by noting the symptoms of the nose bleeding however, it is often important to diagnose why epistaxis is occurring, especially if there is bleeding from the posterior part of the nose or if there is a lot of bleeding since this can mean that there is some undiagnosed illness. Epistaxis thus can be confused with hemoptysis in some situations. Where bleeding is at the back of the nose, symptoms may be slightly different and may include hemoptysis due to blood leaking down the back of the throat. Symptoms:Īctive bleeding from the nose is the main symptom additional symptoms such as bruising on the body may indicate a bleeding disorder a low blood pressure and fainting may occur if bleeding is severe resulting in hypovolemia. Bleeding is most often from the front and bottom parts of the nose, with more serious bleeding occurring at the back of the nasal cavity. Epistaxis is defined as bleeding from the nose.
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