Nose Bleeding

[Hans Bachmann]

Hey, I have a problem. Im in my fourth month of novice progression and wanted to squat the 290x5x3 i missed on monday. I warmed up, and on the first rep of work set 1,
i felt something warm in my nose.on rep number two it felt hot, on the third rep it ran down onto my lips. Well, im not a wussy so i kept going. On rep number four, i felt it shooting
from the inner wall of my nose against the outer (non english native, sorry) with approx. 38psi and shooting downward while i was somehow getting the weight up. I stopped there. It stopped after 30 sec,
so i cleaned up the mess, stuck a whole paper towel in there and tried again, to the same effect, blood shooting around the towel-plug and into my throat simultaneously. Yay!

So i know the cause: I'm a welder and my nose gets dry occasionaly. happens once a year, some saltwater fixes it usually. No big deal. The problem: I've never had a 290lb barbell on my back while it happened, and didn't plan on repeating it 2 days later. Now i fear that the pressure has caused more damage. Best case, it heals in 3-4 days, so i miss a workout for the first time. Worst case i need to see a doctor to have it dealt with, They burn it if you know what i mean. That would take approx. 6 weeks to get an appointment in 200€aMonthForFreehealthcareForA22YearsoldSingleMal e Germany. So i'd miss at least a workout while i also overtrained on Deadlifts caused by an incident at work at june 7th.

So today i planned to DL 342x5 after i missed 371(no rep) on wed. june 7th, 365(2 reps) on mon. then 359(3 reps) fri. my squats felt meh while this was going on, but went up. However, if i could make the session on monday, that would mean, that i completed my last set of 5 on june 2nd (365lb. PR), 336 felt light during the recent warmups though.

Would it make sense, to not drop any further than 342 on dl?
If it doesn't heal quickly, would it make sense, to train light so i wouldn't need to valsalva as hard? Warming up with 246 was ok. how about dl? Just Power Clean? Sorry for all that gibberish.

[Michael Wolf]

I didn't follow your entire post there, but I'm 100% sure your English is a lot better than my German so I can't complain too much. I had a similar issue and was able to see a doctor same day. I'd be pissed as hell if I had to wait 6 weeks.

If I were in this situation, I'd skip a workout, do 1-2 workouts with lighter squats and DLs that don't require a big, hard valsalva, then try to lift again as I normally would. If it happened again, I'd probably wait to have it cauterized to avoid it recurring often, so would just lift lighter and avoid doing the things that caused it for that time.

I can't give you any specific medical advice, but that's what I'd do. Take a day off, then 1-2 lighter workouts that should allow you to more or less maintain without a super hard valsalva, then start ramping up again. If it still keeps happening, wait to get it fixed.

Sometimes you can prevent it from happening by making sure you keep your inner nose moisturized. But I think a bad case will likely recur anyway.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Concerning bloody noses, my doctor gave me the following advice (I used to get bloody noses all the time): don't ever blow my nose hard, don't rub the inside of my nose with a kleenex, and use triple ointment antibiotic whenever my nose feels dry or agitated. I've been following this advice for a couple years now, and I rarely ever get a bloody nose. If I do, it's because I wasn't heeding his advice. But doing the above has kept me from having to get my nose cauterized.

[Hans Bachmann]

Thank you for the quick reply. I kind of rambled something together after cleaning up what looked like a murder scene. I will do what you suggested. I wasn't sure about deadlifting that light, given I'd probably have to stay under 300lb. panicking about detraining. So thank you. I feel better now.

[Christopher Anderson]

6 week wait time for a dr? Yeah universal health care is great!

The dry nose can def have an affect on this situation, a friend of mine who is also a welder had a similar issue like this last winter and he said it just got chapped and cracked really bad. He went to the dr and he was able to get him fixed up, he still went heavy and just plugged his nose with gauze.

Maybe try some Vaseline or petroleum jelly to coat the inside of your nose to keep it moist until you go to the dr?

[Barry Charles]

Im posting because this because this is a class of "injury" or "disease" that is probably not caused by training, but is of concern to training because of the intensity involved.

I was recently rushed to an emergency retinal surgeon for what seemed like a tearing retina. Turns out to be a separated vitreous (PVD), but with significant loss of vision and bleeding. The MD says rest and come back in a week. I asked about powerlifting, he said should not be a problem but take it easy....Second exam with no improvement, he says it takes time to clear, don't worry, come back in two weeks. I asked about training. He says it should not be a problem but take it easy anyway... To which I said I could not afford to lose another two weeks, that training is cumulative, etc. THEN he asked specifically about powerlifting, wanting details, and said... go for it. Just don't do any boxing or martial arts, basically blows to the head.

The point is that for these types of coincidental injuries, the decisions and actions need to be made in a different context than for an injury caused by the training. In my example, an extra couple minutes talking between two "experts" produced an accurate situational awareness and a reasonable path forward.

[Hans Bachmann]

Thank you guys! But, I could see where its bleeding from in the mirror now, its pretty big. I sprayed the inside every hour at work, and just an hour ago it was bleeding from a different spot. Great.
I've never had it this bad. It is my own fault though, should have seen it coming for two weeks. I need to be more careful.

Definately going to the Doc tomorrow and get it checked again, if he sends sends me to a specialist (get an appointment myself) I'll make it an emergency. Just need to touch my nose.

[shabu]

keep some tampons in your bag (serious). may look weird, but at least you can finish your sets if it happens again.