I had an interesting incident this morning as I was waking up to start my daily routine. My pump buzzed, pestering me for a blood glucose reading without calibration This is something I’ve come to expect from the pump although it annoys me to high hell, having it occur during the night. To add insult to injury, it happened fifteen minutes before my alarm was scheduled to go off. this is especially annoying because fifteen minutes isn’t enough to fall back asleep but it’s certainly enough time to piss me off. But I digress…
As I sat up and silenced my pump and turned off my alarm, I felt a light itch inside my nose. I wriggled my face a bit as I rose and started walking towards the kitchen but the itch was too much, so I scratched it. Now, before any of you get all high and mighty, saying, “Eew, Shawn picks his nose…” keep in mind that your fingers are designed to fit in your nostrils. Ever see someone with small, slender hands? Usually a tiny nose. See someone with massive meat hooks for hands? Typically a massive bulb above their lip. Nature didn’t design us with facial tissues in mind.
Although I want to be clear that I don’t typically go around picking my nose like some obsessed maniac, there will be times when I need to scratch or something, which is perfectly normal. And you all do it. It’s a bit like masturbation. There are two types of people: those who masturbate and those who lie about it. Nose picking falls under that same category. But since I seem to be going off on a tangent here and straying from the topic of today’s post, let’s move on, shall we?
I lightly scratched the inner wall of my right nostril, barely a half centimetre inside my nose. It relieved the itch and I figured all was well. Then, I felt what I thought was a runny nose. This was odd since I had woken up with a dry nose and felt no buildup prior to something leaking out of its own volition. I swipe at the nostril to no avail. SOMETHING wiped away but the leaking continued. I walked downstairs, still in a half-awake state and made my way to the downstairs washroom.
Once there, I looked up and saw something akin to a horror movie scene. My nose, mouth and chin were covered in blood. Not just a tiny trickle, I’m talking saturated. I felt a momentary stab of panic. And I should probably explain that… With the exception of the very few and rare occasions where someone has managed to land a strike to my face, I have NEVER experienced a bleeding nose in my life. Ever. So to have it happen unexpectedly like this caught me by surprise.
I walked to the sink and spat a couple of times, reached down and grabbed some bathroom tissue and pinched my nose, angling my head slightly forward. I remembered the steps to stop a bloody nose from hearing it all through my childhood. Plus, my brother used to get bloody noses quite often as well. Once I had pinched for a few minutes, I took my hand away to reveal that the bleeding had stopped. Perfect. Now, I had to deal with the fallout; blood on the stairs, blood on the basement floors and blood all over the bathroom sink and floor.
Once I cleaned everything up so it didn’t look like a bad murder scene from a horror movie, I took a hot shower and cleaned myself off. Many of you may be thinking, “Why tell us all this? A nose bleed is not a big deal…” Although you would be right, as I previously mentioned, it was my first time dealing with this and all life is experience, so why not talk about it. Plus, it’s my blog and I write about what I want, so there (walks away stomping his feet).
Interestingly enough, i learned that nose bleeds are called Epistaxis and are usually caused by dry air (like using increased heat during the winter) or picking one’s nose. Other common causes can also include the frequent use of nasal sprays, which I do. In reading some articles on WebMD and the Mayo Clinic website, the common thread is that a nose bleed can be considered serious if you have a known injury, such as a strike or impact to the face or head, bleeding lasts for more than 20 minutes or if you’re bleeding so much that your breathing is impaired. You should seek medical attention or contact your doctor if any of these occur.
It was certainly an interesting (and unwanted) way to start my morning. I wasn’t able to clean out the downstairs sink properly before leaving, so I expect it may draw the attention of my family. But what can one do? Just another one of life’s many unexpected scenarios. Today just happened to be my day to experience it. ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 