What are the signs of a fractured nose or septum?

Question

I was closing the hatch to my car and hit it across the bridge of my nose. I had a gash and it hurt to touch my nose for a few days. I never had any bruising or any other pain. Two weeks later I went to an amusement park and road roller coasters. About a week after that I started to have problems breathing and have bleeding in one nostril.

Zoran Potparic, MD · Answer

Classical signs of nose fracture are severe swelling, deformity, difficulty breathing, bloody discharge from the nose. Swelling inside the nose may last for long time and that may be reason that you had an episode of bleeding while riding roller coaster. It is not very likely that you had severe nasal fracture based on your story. Facial and nasal bone x-ray would be the best way to see whether you had a fracture of nasal bones or septum. In person evaluation is recommended. Good luck.

Charles A. Pierce, DO · Answer

The most sensitive sign of a fracture to the nose or septum is pain.  However, many people that have pain after a nose injury do not have a fracture of their bone or their septum.  The pain can be due to swelling and bruising.  Other signs you may have a more severe injury are the amount of swelling or bruising of the nose or even around the eyes.  Bleeding after and injury is also a sign, but can also be due to small tears or injuries to the sensitive tissue within your nose.  More obvious signs are new contour deformities that are noted after the injury related to the abnormal position of the bones or septum.  Breathing difficulties can be related to this.  Ultimately the best way to know if you have a fracture is to be evaluated by a board certified Plastic Surgeon or Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon.  Hope this helps.

Parit A. Patel, MD, FACS · Answer

Thank you for your question.  The signs of a nasal bone fracture are pain, swelling, deviation, bony irregularities or step offs, bleeding from the nose and difficulty breathing.  The diagnosis can be made with a clinical examination and with imaging such as an x-ray.  I recommend having a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon to address your concerns.  Good luck and I hope this helps.

William Portuese, MD · Answer

Trauma to the nose can cause a variety of issues including a displaced nasal fracture, a nondisplaced nasal fracture, a deviated nasal septum, and a dislocation of the upper lateral colleges off of the nasal bones. X-rays and a thorough internal and external examination of the nose or required to make that determination. For more information and many before-and-after examples of nasal fracture repair  from our practice, please see the link and the video below

What are the signs of a fractured nose or septum?

Answers (4)

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