Displaced & Broken Noses
Introduction
A fractured nose occurs when the nasal bones or cartilage are broken. Nasal fractures can happen after stressful incidents like automobile crashes, sports injuries, or violent altercations. Of all facial fractures, nasal fractures account for 40–50% of cases. These injuries occur twice as frequently in men and those assigned as male at birth as in women and individuals identified as female. These types of fractures are different from others, which we will analyze in this article.
Symptoms and Causes
There are multiple indications of a fractured nose which healthcare professionals will look for in order to make their diagnosis. Fractured nose symptoms include:
Pain and tenderness
Crackling or crunching sound when you touch your nose
Nosebleeds
Nasal septal hematoma (blood that pools in your septum, the tissue that separates your nostrils)
Swelling around your nose
Bruising around your eyes and nose
Difficulty breathing through your nose
Crooked nose
Nasal obstruction (feeling as though something is stuck in your nasal passages)
Drainage from your nose
The causes of nose fractures are arbitrary as they can happen at any time based on any incident that occurs. However, blunt force trauma is the main driving factor of the fracture/displacement, presenting itself in many different scenarios. This may occur during:
Motor vehicle accidents
Sporting injuries
Physical fights
Falls
Diagnosis
A healthcare provider will first perform a physical examination. They’ll gently press around the bridge of your nose and look inside your nasal passages to check for obstructions. In most cases, imaging tests aren’t necessary. Nevertheless, if your provider suspects additional facial trauma, they may recommend X-rays or CT scans in order to find more specific information regarding the area of the fracture or the nature/severity of it.
Management and Treatment
Treatment options depend on the severity of the injury, ranging from simple procedures like icing to more elaborate ones like surgical interventions. Nasal injuries usually are dealt with as soon as possible so that they don’t result in deformities. Here are some possible treatments that healthcare providers might use and/or suggest:
Ice application and pain relief: If your nasal fracture hasn't caused any noticeable misalignment, simple remedies like over-the-counter pain relievers and ice packs can help alleviate symptoms. This will not only decrease the pain, but will relieve the inflammation that is present for the time being.
Drainage of septal hematoma: In cases of significant trauma, the formation of a nasal hematoma (swelling inside the nose) within the septum can occur. This requires prompt drainage by a healthcare provider to prevent complications such as septal perforation or a saddle nose deformity. As the nose is unique in its nature by helping us breathe and providing a key structural component to our face, addressing its issues promptly are key in order to not have athletes or patients amass more complications.
Manual realignment: When the nasal bones become misaligned due to injury, a healthcare provider can gently readjust them under local or general anesthesia. This may involve placing gauze packing and dressing inside and outside the nose respectively, followed by antibiotic treatment to prevent infection. The gauze provides a structure for the nose to follow when trying to be realigned. This process, though daunting, is quite simple when done by a medical professional and solves the situation in a concise manner.
Surgical intervention: Severe nasal fractures may need surgical correction under general anesthesia. Procedures like septoplasty and rhinoplasty may be performed to reconstruct the nasal structures and improve breathing.
Septoplasty involves reshaping the septum to repair any perforations and enhance airflow, while rhinoplasty entails modifying the bone and cartilage to achieve a desired aesthetic outcome.
Conclusion
A broken nose usually isn’t an emergency, but you should still seek medical care as soon as possible. Prompt treatment can reduce your risk of long-term complications like deformities or breathing difficulties.
Mild nose fractures may not require treatment. But if you have a severe fracture — or multiple fractures — you might need treatment or surgery. No matter what kind of treatment you receive, it should take six weeks or less to recover, and the best prevention for these types of injuries would be to be careful of your surroundings and use proper nose protection and support if you have had an injury of it in the past.
Sources
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17772-broken-nose