Blood in nose

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on March 16, 2017 at 11:31

Sorry to hear you're suffering from this Karen and it can happen to people, normally when new to CPAP. The first thing we usually recommend is a humidifier so it's good to hear you have one. Yes, try raising the humidifier to see if it helps, but sometimes this can cause 'rainout' where condensation collects in the hose and ends up in the mask.  If this happens you can get a hose cover http://www.hope2sleep.co.uk/cpap-ventilator-hose-cover.html to insulate the tubing.  Also make sure your hose is elevated (the Hose Lift is a great gadget for this use).

I'm not sure what kind of mask you're using, but if it's one with nasal pillows inside the nostrils, this can also cause blood in the nose, and again is a bigger problem when people are new to CPAP.  Sometimes people revert to a 'normal' mask but find they can later go back to the nasal pillows ones when their body is more used to the pressured air.

After saying all the above relating to CPAP and a bloody nose, don't hesitate to contact your GP if you're concerned CPAP is not the cause.  Also as a warning, don't put anything in your nostrils when using your CPAP that contains petroleum jelly (such as vaseline).  See this article http://www.hope2sleep.co.uk/blog/petroleum-jelly-products-like-vase...

Hope you get this solved soon.

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Permalink Reply by Sleep2snore on March 17, 2017 at 13:12

Hi Karen, the most likely cause of blood at small levels is caused by small blood vessels in the nose taking a hammering from the air being supplied by the machine.  Some people are a bit more prone to this than others and some people are not bothered by it al all.  You can try putting your humidifier up a small bit at a time just to see if it will help.  If your nose feel dry in the morning after using CPAP/APAP you are needing to increase humidity.  However, do it a little at a time to prevent condensation in the tube/hose, if you do get this back it off slightly.  You might still get the odd night where condensation will occur, this is due to the air temperature.

You should get your GP to check blood in the nose out just in case there is something like a small polyp, but it is most likely that it just small veins near the surface that is taking a bit of a beating.  Normally this clears up after a while, but get the doctor to have a look, he/she might even see the area where it is bleeding from.  I wouldn't think it is anything to worry about.  I know quite a few that this happened to at the start of treatment, though it took quite some time for it to settle down with some, it did settle down eventually.

The doctor might give you something like a cream to put in your nostrils.

Make sure it will be ok with silicone if you use nasal pillows.

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Permalink Reply by Karen Hamer on April 29, 2017 at 16:15

Thanks for the advice. Things are much improved after introducing a few suggested changes.  I did increase the humidity slightly, only from 3 to 4,  but it seems to have helped. I also started using a salt water spray up my nostrils at night and a tiny bit of the CPAP Moisture Therapy cream. After a few weeks of this I can happily report there seems to be no more problems with blood in my nose and I am actually sleeping much better at last.

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on May 2, 2017 at 18:41

That's great news Karen

Karen Hamer said:

Thanks for the advice. Things are much improved after introducing a few suggested changes.  I did increase the humidity slightly, only from 3 to 4,  but it seems to have helped. I also started using a salt water spray up my nostrils at night and a tiny bit of the CPAP Moisture Therapy cream. After a few weeks of this I can happily report there seems to be no more problems with blood in my nose and I am actually sleeping much better at last.

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