Epistaxis

If you don’t know what that is, it is more commonly known as the nosebleed. I have noticed that many people in this world do not get nosebleeds (some of my very close friends have never had one.) I find this quite strange because as a child, I grew up with the “bloody nose.”

When I got two bloody noses at FICBanquet this past Saturday, and one in the morning when I woke up, I decided it was time to get to the bottom of this mystery. Why do I (a perfectly normal man) get bloody noses so frequently?

After much research, I have come up with several factors that may increase your tendency to bleed from the nose:

1. You sniffle. I was on the swim team from 3rd grade through 12th grade, and thus my sinuses were almost always clear and free. Despite this, being underwater caused an immense amount of water to remain up in my sinuses and to rid myself of this excess fluid, I would constantly sniffle. Yeah, I admit it. It’s kind of disgusting. But I know most of you aren’t like Sam Han and won’t imitate me.

2. You stress. People always say if you’re stressed and tired you get bloody noses. The thing is, I usually don’t stress. I guess I was a little stressed at Banquet, but I think it was a negligible amount. Maybe it was because I got little sleep.

3. You wrestle (with someone who’s got 20 pounds on you). Sam has 20 pounds on me. He wrestled me. I got a bloody nose.

4. Your grandfather does. Maybe it’s in the genes. My grandfather gets many nosebleeds. He’s a pro at stopping it after over 70 years of experimentation.

5. You Pick your nose. I can’t help you on this one, but the other Steve Choi can.