Is Bloody Nasal Discharge Dangerous?

The lining of the nose is comprised of thin and highly vascularized tissue, making it more prone to bleeding than many other parts of the body. Most of us have experienced bleeding from the nose at one time or another, either as a result of injury, or from a bloody nose brought on by dryness, allergies, or shifts in barometric pressure.

A bloody nose is not the same thing as bloody nasal discharge, however. The latter typically does not present with bright red, free-flowing blood. Bloody nasal discharge is usually still solid, or close to it, and may include streaks of red or brown in the mucus, suggesting the presence of blood without indicating a full bleed.

Blood in the mucus can occur for a variety of reasons, none of them dangerous. It usually occurs “due to minor bleeding from the irritated lining of the sinuses and nose.” Irritation creates friction and stresses on these sensitive tissues; if they are already weakened by inflammation, they might bleed.

The Internet is constantly swirling with homespun explanations for different colors of mucus, ranging from orange to green and everything in between. Alas, the color of your mucus is rarely diagnostic, and can be altered by any number of factors, including what’s in the air, what you ate recently, and whether or not that snot is old or new.

The main criterion to consider when it comes to your mucus discharge is longevity: how long have you had these symptoms, and are they getting better or worse? If your sinusitis or facial pain grows more severe over time, or a headache or fever develops alongside them, then it’s time to see a doctor.

The LA Sinus Institute offers state of the art diagnostic tools to help you determine whether you are experiencing allergies, infection, or something else.

Surgical remedies for persistent sinus symptoms abound, and can include endoscopic sinus surgery, balloon sinuplasty, nasal polyp removal, and septoplasty. For more information, contact our ear, nose, and throat specialist, Dr. Mani Zadeh, and the best sinus surgeons in Los Angeles, at (888) 361-2173.