Women love to read romance novels of Vikings and knights of a bygone era. I must confess I am one of them. Authors of these novels love to describe the physical strengths of their heroes. A very common feature is a broken nose. It lends to the romanticized idea of a knight in shining armour; one who is willing to sacrifice his aquiline nose for the sake of the damsel in distress. Come to think of it, have these authors actually researched on the consequences of a broken nose; that these damsels may have to suffer through endless nights of snoring lovers. That their heroes may have to suffer through pressure headaches and frequent nose bleeds as well as difficulty in breathing at some point. These, in times of battle, may be considered as the hero’s Achilles heel.
The nose is made up of small bones held together by cartilage and can be easily bruised and broken. The nose controls the humidity of the air that gets into the lungs and blockages can affect breathing. Of all the bones of the body, these sensitive bones and cartilage can easily be damaged even by the simplest of eyeglasses put on the wrong way. Bruises are extensive as the nose has fine blood vessels that can easily get broken and bleeding immediately results.
A nasal fractures can be just part of a more serious facial injury. Excessive bleeding may result and scares a lot of people when they first see it. Some simply leave the fractures to heal on their own but some fractures may have to require a broken nose surgery.
Basically, a broken nose surgery corrects the bleeding, cleans out the area of fragments of bones and cartilage that may have broken off due to the trauma, and eventually puts back the nose in its proper position. Not all broken nose surgery will ensure that your nose would be back to its original symmetry, you would need corrective plastic surgery for that. Sometimes it only takes minimal manipulation to put the nose back to its original position, in others it is a more difficult task. Older fractures that have partially or totally healed may take a more intense manipulation. These may involve splints to help support the nose’s realignment.
Untreated fractures on the nose can lead to infections, nerve damage, diminished sensation, and painful headaches, as well as snoring. Re-establishing the nose may cure the symptoms unless an underlying complication prevents this. Broken nose surgery need not require a general anaesthetic; sometimes it only takes a milder form or a local anaesthesia. This all depends on the severity and extent of the damage. Recovery is fairly simple and fast, barring complications. Returning to work is almost immediate. There are certain movements, however, which are prohibited like that of bending over, this brings more blood to rush to your head and your nose will take the blunt. Strenuous physical activities are also not recommended as your blood pressure may increase in the strain and your nose again will be affected. There is nothing more uncomfortable than a throbbing, painful nose.
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