Bloody noses are common and can be caused by a variety of factors including dehydration, cold, dry air, sinusitis, allergies, blood-thinning medications, and trauma.

Causes that may be triggered by stress Headaches, sometimes triggered by stress, can result in or be accompanied by a nosebleed. If you tend to pick your nose or blow your nose frequently when you feel stressed or anxious, that could also trigger a nosebleed.

People may experience phantom smells for many reasons. They may be related to the nose, when the condition is known as peripheral phantosmia, or to the brain, which is called central phantosmia. Problems with the nose or nasal cavity are the most common causes of smell-related disorders such as phantosmia.

Nosebleeds aren’t usually serious. However, frequent or heavy nosebleeds may indicate more serious health problems, such as high blood pressure or a blood clotting disorder, and should be checked. Excessive bleeding over a prolonged period of time can also lead to further problems such as anaemia.

Take them to an ER if: They’re bleeding heavily and/or they feel dizzy or weak. It happened because of a fall or an injury. The bleeding won’t stop, even after two attempts to put pressure on their nose for 10 minutes at a time.

The most common cause of nosebleeds is dry air. Dry air can be caused by hot, low-humidity climates or heated indoor air. Both environments cause the nasal membrane (the delicate tissue inside your nose) to dry out and become crusty or cracked and more likely to bleed when rubbed or picked or when blowing your nose.

Immediate causes of nosebleeds include trauma to the nose from an injury, deformities inside the nose, inflammation in the nose, or, in rare cases, intranasal tumors. Any of these conditions can cause the surface blood vessels in the nose to bleed.

DON’T: Lie flat or recline during a nosebleed. Blood could run down your throat; swallowing blood can upset your stomach and cause vomiting. Pick or vigorously blow your nose.

Most of the blood comes from the area right inside the nostril, which is where most of the blood vessels in the nose are located. A small amount of blood in your mucus isn’t anything to worry about, but if you’re seeing large volumes of it, call your doctor.

Call your doctor if you’re coughing up blood. He or she can determine whether the cause is minor or potentially more serious. Call 911 or emergency medical help if you’re coughing up a lot of blood or if the bleeding won’t stop.

Signs and symptoms Other symptoms may include: Nasal congestion. Nasal discharge (which may be yellowish, greenish, or blood-stained if infection is present) Post-nasal drainage (drainage of mucus down the back of the throat)

Hemoptysis is when you cough up blood from your lungs. It can be a sign of a serious medical condition. Infections, cancer, and problems in blood vessels in your lungs can cause it. Unless you have bronchitis, you need to see a doctor if you’re coughing up blood.

Also known as hemoptysis (he-MOP-tih-sis), coughing up blood, even in small amounts, can be alarming. However, producing a little blood-tinged sputum isn’t uncommon and usually isn’t serious.

How can you care for yourself at home?

1. Make a note of when and for how long you cough up blood.
2. Drink plenty of water.
3. If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed.
4. Do not take cough medicine without your doctor’s guidance.
5. Do not smoke or use other forms of tobacco, especially while you have a cough.

Coughing up more than one teaspoon of blood is considered a medical emergency. Coughing up 100 cubic centimeters (cc) of blood—only 1/3 of a cup—is called massive hemoptysis and has a mortality (death) rate of over 50 percent.

Coughed up blood often looks bubbly and is mixed with mucus. It may be red or rust-colored in appearance. It is often small in amounts, unlike vomiting blood where a large amount of blood is expelled or vomited from the mouth.

The most common causes of vomiting blood are inflammation and infections, such as the stomach inflammation called gastritis. Other conditions that can cause vomiting blood include bleeding ulcers, inflammation of the esophagus, cancers, or ruptured blood vessels or tears in the esophagus.