Broken Nose???

[Stranger]

I need a little help. My training partner took an accidental headbutt to the nose. The sound produced by the hit was similar to a small tree branch cracking. There was soreness and minor swelling (to be expected). There was no blood, blackeyes, and no sharp pain on impact.

Is it possible to break a nose without making the nose bleed?

Beyond breaking the nose, could any other injury descibe what's going on?

Can you move a broken nose without producing serious or sharp pain?

On a scale of 1-10, how painful is a broken nose?

Please answer all questions if possible.

Any ideas of what might have happened would be appreciated.

[Mr Punch]

First time was a 10. Admittedly, I've never had a broken bone so not much to compare it with... except perhaps that time I got lavender oil in my eye.

My bro, boxing trained, right hook wound up from somewhere about six metres away, side of the nose just as I was turning to throw the bat at him. Decked no question (lost my feet from under me), 45 degree angle (straightened in hospital later), no blood, seeing stars, a little blacked out, two hyyyyuuuuge shiners which came up over the next three hours, enormous swelling.

Second time kicked from the ground after throwing some guy in an aikido class in the peaceful hippyish Glastonbury music festival. Very painful (maybe 6/7), saw stars, cried, bled like a river, very slight shiner, very slight swelling.

Third time palm heel in aikido (I'd taught the kid too well... or maybe I wasn't expecting him to pick it up so quickly!!!), not so bad, maybe not really broken. Bout 5 pain, saw stars, tears, had slight swelling for a few days.

Fourth time, maybe 3/4 pain, tears, sick feeling, weak knees, slight swelling for a couple of days, but fought through it at the time (kungfu, in somebody else's grading).

First time was definitely the worst. Not looking forward to getting it broken from the other side!!!

Had a friend who had no shiner, no swelling and no blood when his was broken. It just hurt and you could see the bump and bend. It varies.

[Stranger]

Thanks everybody. We're trying to line up the doctor thing, but between Sunday night and insurance issues, we're in a holding pattern.

If it is broken, would it move in a noticably weird way (like sliding on their face if moved)?

Would there be any pain if the nose was being manipulated (bent from side to side and up and down)?

Is a break the only potential injury here?

[Finny]

Had my nose broken when I was 18 playing aussie rules football.

I was sprinting, full pace, for about 20 yards, towards the ball which was on the ground.

Guy from the other team, doing exactly the same, from the other side.

I slid down onto my knees, skidded on my knees and grabbed the ball - he ran straight into me and kneed me, running at full pace, square in the face.

Mashed my nose across my face - not like C shaped, more like \ if you know what I mean (if | is straight nose, \ was how mine looked).

I held onto the ball and passed it off - kept playing for a few minutes before I realised anything was wrong - didnt hurt too much, I only realised something was up when I went to jump - couldnt really balance properly - had minor concussion, I guess.

Anyways, went to the hospital (hehe - I walked off to the boundary and asked a mate of mine 'hey rob, does my nose look broken?' - 'nah Finny it's fine mate', walked up to my mother and asked her - she just grabbed her bag and goes 'lets go [to hospital]')

At the hospital, the newbie doctor, must've been 25 or so, gets a cresent shaped needle of anasthetic, inserts the needle between my eyebrows, and runs it under the skin, down the side of my nose - pulls it out and does the same on the other side.

Once the anasthetic took affect, he clamps down on my head with his arms, and starts to SHOVE my nose back into place - it didn't just pop back in, as I expected, he had to really wrestle it (almost crushed my head - I could feel some serious pressure on my temple where he was holding my head in place).

Regardless, to answer your questions - my nose was seriously broken, and didnt bleed - I've never really been susceptible to nose bleeds.

Only other injury to describe what's going on could be swelling from the blow - but from the way you described it, sounds like a broken nose to me.

You can have a broken nose without producing serious or sharp pain - dull ache was about how I'd describe mine.

Scale of 1-10, I'd say 3 for me. If that - it really wasnt that bad.

The thing with a broken nose - the only problem he's gonna have is if it alters the way his nose looked previously.

If he doesnt think it looks bad/different (after the swelling recedes), then just leave it - doctors won't do anything about it unless it's disfigured - and even then they will likely only do what they did to me, just to try to get it back in place. If he wants it properly fixed, gotta see a plastic surgeon - screw that.

Keep us posted.

[Finny]

If it is broken, I wouldnt expect it to really 'move around' on their face.

But if it does move around noticeably - it is definitely broken.

There would be pain in manipulating it, due to the swelling and bruising.

The break is likely the only injury here - the only other possibility would be some sort of sinus problem, but that would be very noticeable ie. he'd know he's having problems from the break.

You should really be able to tell if it's broken, but if it doesn't look any different after the swelling's gone down, just let it heal for a few weeks and then move on.

Basically he has three options - leave it or have it wrestled/manipulated back into place like I did, or have plastic surgery.

Depends on the extent to which it is disfigured, if at all.

[Stranger]

Thanks, everybody has been real helpful. Please, anybody, feel free to add to the comments and information.

[Shaolinlueb]

well i broke my nose twice and fractured it about 5 times. one fracture it looked like my nose was pushed one inch to the left. go get it x-rayed. easiest way to see if its broken.

if its broken i wouldnt touch it or try to set it. leave that to professional. who knows depending on the break they might have to go in and surgically fix it.
who knows. plus it aint that bad having your nose broken i think. the soreness is the worse. i didnt feel much pain from the break. for some reason my nose bled only the time where my nose got moved 1 inch to the left and they said it wasnt broken. all the xrays showed it was fine.

[ewallace]

Pain scale I'd say a 3 or 4.

I took an elbow to the left side of my nose about 15 years ago and had to have it surgically repaired. It bled like a s.o.b. The entire front of my shirt was bloody. I looked like the freakin elephant man too. I went to the hospital as well, and had a minor concussion. The concussion part is the most serious thing and needs to be checked out.

As far as the pain scale, I have shattered my right clavicle (collarbone), blew out a knee, broken fingers and toes repetitively (every broken bone has been on my right side for some strange reason). I'd take a broken nose over a finger. More nerves in the hands, and, depending on which finger, it limits what you normally do (ie: zip up your fly, pick your nose, tidy up after a poop [I'm not kidding here]).

Only a very serious break would need surgery. The worst part about it is afterwards they put this "packing" stuff in your nostrils, that is pretty much like long rubber stoppers, and when they pull those out it feels like someone is pulling your brain out thru your nose. I wanted to KTFO the doctor when he said "that wasn't so bad was it?". Of course this was a long time ago and procedures may have changed. Sleeping is also difficult when the "packing" is in because you can only breathe thru your mouth and it gets very dry every couple hours.

On a side-note, even after having my sniffer surgically repaired, it still is a bit broken and sticks out a bit to the right. I can only wear Oakley sunglasses that have a wide nosepiece. Regular sunglasses eventually bend at the frame and fit crooked.