A Woman Fractured Her Eye Socket By Blowing Her Nose

[Dacien]

About a year ago, a 36-year-old woman entered London’s North Middlesex University Hospital experiencing all of the telltale signs of a fist-fight. She was bleeding from the nose, complaining of vision loss and experiencing swelling and extreme pain on the left side of her face, according to a recent case report published in The BMJ. Her symptoms all pointed to an eye socket fracture—what’s called an orbital blowout fracture, an injury typically sustained from punches or other facial trauma.

But all this woman had done was blow her nose.

“It’s very bizarre. We see eye socket fractures from people in trauma, people getting punched, people in a fight,” says Dr. Sam Myers, an upper gastrointestinal tract doctor who treated the woman, and co-author of the BMJ paper. “I’ve never, ever heard of it ever happening from someone blowing their nose. Everyone blows their nose. They don’t think they can blow out their eye.”

Myers emphasizes that the average nose-blower is likely not at risk of an orbital blowout, and says there are few preventive measures that people can or should take, aside from avoiding “excessive” or aggressive nose-blowing.

Still, “I’ve blown my nose a bit less since then,” Myers says.

http://time.com/5329219/blow-your-nose-injury/


Have you ever seriously injured yourself over some normal, every day activity? I know of someone who fainted getting out of bed and hit their head on a radiator and had to go to the hospital, but I haven't personally seriously injured myself engaging in an everyday activity.

[prwraith]

I mean some of my sneezes are pretty violent but jesus.

[Puupi]

That's what I call a blowjob.

[Deleted]

Must have giant lungs.

[Queen of Hamsters]

My dad went to the bathroom during a particularly horrid flu. He began blowing his nose, and suddenly he fainted and fell like a sack of potatoes, down into the bathtub. Damned lucky he didn't kill himself in the process.

Apparently, it's 100% possible to blow your nose so hard that it becomes harmful.

[ohwell]

She either had a preexisting fracture or some underlying condition for this to have happened.

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My dad went to the bathroom during a particularly horrid flu. He began blowing his nose, and suddenly he fainted and fell like a sack of potatoes, down into the bathtub. Damned lucky he didn't kill himself in the process.

Apparently, it's 100% possible to blow your nose so hard that it becomes harmful.

To soft tissue or maybe cartilage, but not to actual bones. Your dad fainting is not really similar to this in that if he was injured it would have been from the fall not the actual blowing so you can't use it as proof that this woman simply blew her nose and had nothing wrong with her to begin with.

[Machismo]

I've actually seen this happen to three different people.

[Queen of Hamsters]

She either had a preexisting fracture or some underlying condition for this to have happened.

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To soft tissue or maybe cartilage, but not to actual bones. Your dad fainting is not really similar to this in that if he was injured it would have been from the fall not the actual blowing so you can't use it as proof that this woman simply blew her nose and had nothing wrong with her to begin with.

It was merely an observation, I have zero interest or stake in proving the article right or wrong.

Regardless of possible issues, the woman's symptoms came to be from blowing her nose. Same with my dad, he blew his nose and fainted which resulted in injury. An everyday occurrence that one doesn't expect to be harmful.

[Doctor Amadeus]

It's a defect, she must be purged.

[NoRest4Wicked]

She knows how to blow, I'll give her that.

[Smoe]

I broke my nose doing a cartwheel into a metal chair on the 4th of July when I was younger

[Very Tired]

Has she considered pressing charges against herself?

[Shadowferal]

Have you ever seriously injured yourself over some normal, every day activity?

Had some worrisome moments when taking a serious dump...

[Rustedsaint]

Afew minor injuries from doing everyday crap yes, gave myself a bad noose bleed by blowing my nose.
Also during one unfortunate bowl movement.... something ripped... there was blood... but that healed preety quick thankfully

[Polyxo]

I've been trying to figure out why my arms hurt doing especially powerful sneezes.

[cparle87]

My dad went to the bathroom during a particularly horrid flu. He began blowing his nose, and suddenly he fainted and fell like a sack of potatoes, down into the bathtub. Damned lucky he didn't kill himself in the process.

Apparently, it's 100% possible to blow your nose so hard that it becomes harmful.

I've actually had that happen a few times, no flu involved though. I'd be sitting on the toilet right after waking up, and then the whole world tilted sideways and I was on the floor. Scared the hell out of me both times. I think it was a blood pressure thing. Not enough oxygen to the brain.

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I've been trying to figure out why my arms hurt doing especially powerful sneezes.

Yeah, I hate that. Overtensing your arms during a sneeze hurts like hell.

[Ilfayt]

I've actually had that happen a few times, no flu involved though. I'd be sitting on the toilet right after waking up, and then the whole world tilted sideways and I was on the floor. Scared the hell out of me both times. I think it was a blood pressure thing. Not enough oxygen to the brain.

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Yeah, I hate that. Overtensing your arms during a sneeze hurts like hell.

All my tension in sneezing is in "The Undiscovered Country", the "Netherworld", "The place where Sun doth not shineth"...thought it was normal... Didn't know you could have it in your arms.

[cparle87]

All my tension in sneezing is in "The Undiscovered Country", the "Netherworld", "The place where Sun doth not shineth"...thought it was normal... Didn't know you could have it in your arms.

Yeah, happens if I try to hold the sneeze in. Muscles in the forearms overtense and it really hurts for a few seconds.

[Jakexe]

The back of my throat received a pretty large cut from a rogue croissant, went to the hospital after throwing up a ton of blood I had been swallowing.

Not exactly a serious injury as it had healed itself by the end of the same day, but it was from a fucking croissant.

[vilememory]

I crack ribs sometimes when I sneeze.