A fracture of the nasal bone (nasal bone fracture) is a very common fracture in the facial region, as the nose protrudes slightly forward and is therefore particularly at risk in the event of a fall or a blow to the face. In addition, the nasal bone is very narrow and thin and therefore can withstand only little stress. The symptoms of a nasal bone fracture can vary greatly depending on how much the bone has been displaced in the fracture and on the extent of the damage that the nasal bone carries away with the fracture.
Pain
In general, a fracture of the nasal bone usually results in a displacement of parts of the nose. For example, if a person was hit on the nose from the right side, the affected part that was hit moves to the left while the rest of the nose remains “straight”. This leads to a tilted nose, which is a typical symptom of a nasal bone fracture and can be helpful as a self-diagnosis.
Another symptom is severe pain when the nasal bone is broken. The pain is caused by the many nerve fibers running through the nasal bone, which are stimulated by the fracture. The information about the fracture is passed on to the brain in the form of pain stimuli.
Nevertheless, it is possible that in the case of a smooth and minor fracture, the pain is not as severe and can be immobilised with the help of a cooling pack. Some patients may even be able to “bend” their nose back into shape themselves. Although this usually does not lead to cosmetically perfect results, the nose can be fully functional again afterwards. Severe pain is therefore not a compelling symptom for a fracture of the nasal bone, but a fracture of the nasal bone is not completely painless.
Swelling and bleeding
Since it is an injury, it is always accompanied by swelling. This swelling is caused by the escape of fluid from the demolished tissue and lasts for several days. The swelling is a classic symptom of a nasal bone fracture and is always visible, only the extent of the swelling depends on the severity of the fracture.
Sometimes the swelling around the nose is so severe that the patient does not even notice that the nose is crooked at first. The swelling in the area of the nasal mucous membranes and the surrounding skin of the nose also makes breathing more difficult. A typical symptom usually long after a nasal bone fracture is that the patient breathes through the mouth a lot, because the swelling constricts the nose so much that it is almost impossible to breathe through the nose.
It is also possible that, especially in winter, the cold air can irritate the swollen nose or cause additional pain. Depending on the severity of the fracture, there may even be a bruise, which turns green-yellowish after a few days. Bruising as a symptom of a nasal bone fracture usually occurs only in more severe fractures, but it is one of the most obvious symptoms.
In most cases, the eye sockets are also affected by such fractures, so that the patient also has problems with vision and also has other symptoms such as bruising around the eye or bloody eyeballs. Since the nose is hit directly, it is not surprising that most patients suffer from sometimes severe nosebleeds. In the nose itself there are tiny vessels, which are particularly sensitive in some people because they are particularly thin-walled.
Sometimes patients already have a nosebleed if they blow their nose strongly just once. Accordingly, a broken nasal bone causes nosebleeds in almost all patients. The severity of the bleeding varies from patient to patient, as it depends on the structure and extent of the injury to the vessels.
