Symptoms of Broken or Bruised Nose
If you have suffered an injury to your nose and it is bruised or even broken, there are some treatments available to help alleviate some of the pain. It is important to be able to tell if your nose has been broken or if it is just swollen immediately after your injury. The following symptoms could show signs of a broken nose: a crooked or bent looking nose, swelling and/or pain around the nose, blocked breathing from one or both nostrils, bleeding from your nose, or if you can hear a crackling or crunching sound when you move your nose around. Please keep in mind that swelling can cause the nose to look crooked or bent. Those are some symptoms that can help you determine whether or not you have a broken nose. Now let us discuss a few treatments you can do at home to help heal your Broken/Bruised nose.
Home Treatments for a Broken or Bruised Nose
There are a few home treatments that you can do to help your symptoms. Applying an ice pack is the most common and effective way to help reduce swelling. If you do not have an ice pack, a bag of frozen peas or other frozen vegetables can be an alternative. You should apply the ice pack with a washcloth wrapped around it so the skin doesn’t get too cold. Place on your nose for about ten to fifteen minutes and repeat up to four times a day. You should do this for the first couple of days after your injury to reduce swelling. Taking nasal decongestants can help you breathe better. You can take an over-the-counter acetaminophen such as Tylenol that may decrease head and nose pain. Keeping your head elevated can also help reduce swelling and headache. Keep your head elevated at all times, even when sleeping. If any bleeding occurs you will also want to have your head up because you don’t want the blood to drain through your throat. Try these home treatments to help reduce the swelling and pain from your nose.
Signs of Recovery for a Broken or Bruised Nose
Typically when you have bruised your nose, you should heal without problems. You may experience stuffiness and a swollen nose for a few days but with time you should recover. If your nose is not out of position, resting and following the steps of home treatment should help you. There are many cases where no signs of recovery are showing. You should seek medical attention if your nose does not stop bleeding or if your nose looks crooked. If your swelling does not go down after a couple of days, you may have fractured your nose. If breathing through your nose does not improve, you may have a deviated septum. In these cases, you will need to speak with your doctor or a specialist for further treatment.
Treatments for a Broken Nose
If you broke your nose and it looks crooked or your breathing has not gotten better then you may need to have it straightened. Before any surgical procedure can take place, the swelling will need to go down which can take a few days. In some instances, your doctor can straighten a simple fracture in the office without going to the operating room. If the bones have not completely healed then they will be mobile and can be moved with simple pressure to the nose. By day 14 after breaking your nose the bones will probably not be able to be moved without rebreaking them. You would then need to wait a full 2 months and undergo a “rhinoplasty” with rebreaking of the nose to make it straighter. If you feel that you may have broken your nose please go visit a doctor or specialist.