All About a Broken Nose: Causes and Symptoms

A broken nose, often referred to as a fractured nose or a nasal fracture, it is a crack or break in the bones of your nose. The bone that is more prone to getting fractured is the one over the bridge of the nose.

Causes:
There can be a lot of reasons for a broken nose. Common causes include falling down on your face or the nose being hit by a blunt object. Your nose may look twisted and you might have trouble breathing. A nasal fracture can cause pain in the nose and is usually accompanied by bruising and inflammation around the nose.
Any activity that tends to increase the possibility of facial injuries can also increase the possibility of a nasal fracture. The common risk factors include playing contact sports like soccer or rugby without proper face protection. Riding a two wheeler without a helmet or not using seat belt in a four wheeler can cause a nasal fracture if the vehicle meets with an accident. Physical fights can also result in a broken nose.

Symptoms and complications:
The common symptoms of a nasal fracture are:

1. Pain in the nasal region. You may feel pain just by touching your nose.
2. Swelling around the nasal region can also be observed.
3. Your nose and the region below the eyes may be bruised.
4. Sometimes you may experience breathing problems as well, since your nasal passage can be blocked due to a nasal fracture. 
5. Loss of shape of your nose along with bleeding and discharge of mucus from it are common signs of a nasal fracture.

There can be a lot of complications that can occur due to a broken nose. The complications may vary according to the nature of injury. 

The common complications are:

1. Clotting and collection of blood. Due to a heavy injury to your nose, the blood tends to clot in large quantities and sometimes can cause blockages in the nostrils. This condition is specifically referred to as septal hematoma and needs a quick surgical procedure to prevent any sort of breathing problems.
2. Another complication that can result due to a nasal fractures nasal cartilage fracture or a deviation in the septum. 
3. Sometimes the impact of the blow, which has caused a fracture in the nose can also result in a neck injury.