Nose bleeds may occur due to an accident, a fight, or a sickness. This is simply the escape of blood through the nose.
In most cases, nose bleeds are not a cause for concern; however, some individuals have intense fear of them.
The extreme fear of nose bleed is called Epistaxiophobia. Epistaxiophobia is a condition that even the thought of nose bleeds can cause the individual a full-blown panic attack.
However, it can be treated.
What is Epistaxiophobia?
Epistaxiophobia is a type of specific phobia that is defined as an intense and irrational fear of seeing or experiencing nose bleeds or bleeding to death.
The term “Epistaxiophobia” was derived from the Greek words “Epi,” which means “over, above, or upon,” “Staxis” meaning “the escape of blood from blood vessels” and “Phobos” which means “fear.” Epistaxiophobia is a psychological condition that can happen to anyone.
This condition has accompanying unpleasant symptoms, which can be life-limiting, but it is treatable.
Causes of Epistaxiophobia
Generally, experts believe that phobias result from some predisposing factors that can contribute to the development of the condition.
These factors are as follows:
- Heredity and genetics: It is believed that an individual’s genetic make-up causes certain conditions, such as sickle cell anemia. Experts believe that if other conditions can be inherited from an ancestor who must have had them, then it is very much possible that phobias, including Epistaxiophobia, can be inherited, too.
- Presence of other phobias: The presence of other phobias could lead to the development of Epistaxiophobia. Epistaxiophobia has a strong linkage to Hemophobia, which is the fear of blood or transfusions.
- Traumatic event: Trauma is classified as one of the most common causes of phobias. A traumatic event can leave an indelible mental mark on the individual, and it can go a long way in denting the individual’s life. Epistaxiophobia is likely to develop after a traumatic experience or sight of nose bleeds. The traumatic experience may also include getting unfortunate news that a loved one or any person bled to death or sickness, which had nose bleeding as a symptom.
- Background upbringing: They say that an individual’s environment significantly influences the well-being, beliefs, and attitudes of the person. A child who grows up in an environment where he sees people with nose bleeds may develop a phobia.
Experts suggest that this condition’s development may result from genetic and other external factors.
Symptoms of Epistaxiophobia
Symptoms of phobias vary across individuals, depending on the degree of fear that the person feels.
These symptoms can be life-limiting, hindering the individual’s typical day-to-day living.
The person’s intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships are affected, too. These symptoms manifest in two forms – The physical and the psychological form.
This proves that this condition affects an individual’s physical and psychological well-being.
Physical Symptoms (Fear of nose bleeds)
People with Epistaxiophobia frequently have panic attacks when triggered. The panic attacks that they experience can be so frightening that it puts the sufferer in a state of distress.
Although sufferers must be triggered before they experience some symptoms accompanying this condition, these symptoms can suddenly show up without any warning.
Panic attacks can be so overwhelming to an individual that they cause physical reactions such as:
- Excessive sweating
- Trembling
- Hot flashes
- Difficulty breathing
- A choking sensation
- Rapid heartbeat
- Sharp chest pain
- A sensation of butterflies in the stomach
- Nausea
- Headaches and dizziness
- Feeling faint
- Nerve numbness
- Dry mouth
- A need to go to the toilet
- Ringing or buzzing in ears
- Confusion
- Hyperventilation
- Increase in blood pressure
Psychological Symptoms of Epistaxiophobia
In a handful of very serious cases, an individual may experience panic attacks triggered by Epistaxiophobia.
Most times, when exposed to anything that can cause the individual to be triggered, the following symptoms are experienced:
- Fear of losing control
- Fear of fainting
- Feelings of dread
- Fear of death and dying
- Fear of harm or illness
- Guilt, shame, self-blame
- Withdrawing from others
- Feeling sad or hopeless
- Feeling disconnected
- Confusion, difficulty concentrating
- Anger, irritability, mood swings
- Anxiety and fear
However, in some rare cases, people have “Complex phobias,” which are like a chain of phobias intertwined.
This could be life-limiting because it would prevent the individual from being able to live a normal life and maintain a healthy social life.
Once the person is triggered, he or she is bound to have a chain of the symptoms mentioned above, plus depression.
Treatment of Epistaxiophobia
Like in many phobias, sufferers always feel the need to avoid encountering their source of fear.
This would mean that they may not get triggered, but sometimes, this is difficult and maybe impossible. Mind you, most of the time, you cannot escape your thoughts.
No phobia has a precise type of treatment that is guaranteed to cure, but therapy and medications have been adopted to help the individual recover. Majorly, it depends on the individual and how severe the condition is.
Professional help is needed to treat epistaxis. A mental health worker may be consulted to help you overcome Epistaxiophobia.
Yoga/Meditation
Meditation helps calm the mind. It is a relaxation technique that allows the practitioner to escape negative thoughts and obtain inner peace. While you take deep breaths, your mind is channeled to something more positive and productive.
Support Groups
You may sign up for a support group, including a DBT group. Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a six-month program consisting of classes that teach people a lot of coping strategies on how to have better control of themselves even in the face of their source of fear.
You may also sign up for the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which is an eight-week program consisting of group sessions during which mindful meditations are practiced.
Later, a group discussion is held for everyone to discuss mental health. In this program, you get to meet individuals like you, and with the help of the group coach, you will pull through.
Therapy
Consulting a professional mental health worker can help you recover from Epistaxiophobia. When you keep up with your scheduled sessions with your therapist, who is equipped with the skills to help you overcome your fears.
Your therapist is likely to use th approach below to achieve the desired aims:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): Experts suggest that our thoughts and perceptions substantially and constantly influence our behavior. The constant experiences of anxiety, mental stress, and distress influence your perception and distort it over reality. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy helps you identify those negative thought patterns and unhelpful distorted perceptions that cause you to fear and then equip you with strategies to help overcome them.
- Medication: Medication helps suppress the effects of epistaxis. The following are the two medications used to treat phobias, specifically epistaxis.
- Anti-anxiety Drugs: They are medicines known to lower anxiety by forming bonds with the receptor cells of the brain (which are responsible for these extreme symptoms). The medicine includes Valium.
- Anti-depressant Drugs: These drugs are commonly used to treat depression, but they are deemed useful in the treatment of phobias. They are known to reduce anxiety. They include medicines such as Lexapro.
Note: These medicines should be used when prescribed, and the instructions should be followed strictly. They may cause some side effects in the person using them.
Because your doctor knows this better, these medications are prescribed for short-term use only. This is because long-term use can result in substance use disorder, which is Addiction and Dependence. Do not self-medicate.
