Sodium, a mineral you get in your diet when you eat foods such as meat, vegetables and grains, is used as a preservative in food manufacturing to enhance flavor and extend shelf life. You also get extra sodium in your diet when you use table salt, which contains 40 percent sodium. Too little sodium in your diet can result in health deficiencies, and too much increases the risk of toxicity, or adverse effects such as high blood pressure, which can cause nosebleeds.
Nosebleeds
The nose contains a network of tiny blood vessels that lie close to the surface of nasal skin. The skin is easier to rupture when irritated by picking or when the nasal membrane that normally lubricates your nose dries out. Sodium itself does not cause the nose to bleed, but high blood pressure related to a high-sodium diet increases the risk of nosebleeds. High blood pressure can lead to blood clots, fluid retention and swelling of the blood vessels. The already fragile vessels in your nose are likely to incur injury more easily, and once ruptured, the area might scab. The scab can easily get dislodged before it is properly healed, resulting in another nosebleed.
High Blood Pressure
Different factors contribute to regulating your blood pressure, including healthy kidneys and your dietary intake of water, sodium and other minerals. Blood pressure rises when your heart has to pump harder than normal to push blood through the arteries to your organs. Sodium naturally binds to water, as a normal function of fluid balance. However, if your kidneys cannot filter out the excess sodium efficiently because too much is in your body at one time, your blood cells swell. The swelling pushes against the blood vessels until they begin to tear and leak. Leakage forces your heart to pump more blood to the injured site, resulting in a rise in blood pressure.
Sodium
Sodium is necessary in the daily diet, but in small amounts. The recommended daily intake for adults is 1,500 milligrams and daily sodium intake should not exceed 2,300 milligrams. However, the average adult exceeds the daily intake considerably when a diet is prominent in processed foods or added table salt. In the event of high blood pressure, your physician will recommend a low-sodium diet, which can help decrease your blood pressure and reduce the risk of nosebleeds.
Handling a Nosebleed
Infrequent nosebleeds can be managed at home if the bleeding is minor, notes the Cleveland Clinic. Grab a tissue or damp cloth to catch the blood and sit down with your body and head at a slight forward lean. Pinch the soft part of your nose with the thumb and index finger for five minutes continuously, before checking to see if the bleeding stops. You might have to pinch the area for 10 minutes. The pressure from pinching helps the blood to clot and stop bleeding. However, if you experience profuse bleeding from the nose along with weakness, medical attention is warranted.
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