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ENT concerned with bluish skin on my nose- why?

Hi all -

I visited a respected ENT today to discuss swelling of my tonsils due to strep.  The first thing he asked me upon entering the room was if I had been hit on the nose.  He showed me that the bridge of my nose does have a bluish/slightly bruised appearance which I had not noticed before.  He asked me several questions about this - was is normal part of my appearance (I'm not sure - I had never noticed it before)? Had I noticed any flattening or widening of my nose?  Was it sensitive to the touch?

Since I don't recall any changes to my appearance, he asked me to discuss the issue with my family to get their observations before our follow-up appointment.  He didn't want to discuss what this could be a symptom of, which was frustrating.  But he asked no fewer than five follow-up questions about it during the course of our visit, and even had a nurse verify the "bruised" appearance of the skin on the bridge of my nose.

Does anyone have a clue what this could be about?

Many thanks!
2 Responses
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1766450 tn?1314051116
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear hallas333,

Thanks for the query.

Bluish discoloration of the nose could be due to various causes such as easy bruising tendency (blood related disorders), cold weather, hay fever, nasal surgery, fracture of the basilar bone in the skull, genetics, or normally in fair skinned people, etc.

Your doctor could have suspected the discoloration to be either due to nasal trauma or some blood related disorders. Many a times, the bluish discoloration is also seen in thin and fair individuals as the blood vessels below the superficial skin layer appear prominent and this is a normal phenomenon.

I do feel it could be a normal discoloration, as there is no previous history of trauma over the nose or easy bruising over joints or other places exposed to trauma, etc. Easy bruising is seen in blood related disorders (problems with the blood vessel or the blood itself); to mention a few - Hemophilia (coagulation problems), Leukemia (blood cell disorder), Scurvy (Vit C deficiency), Vit k deficiency, etc. or as a normal phenomenon in few females which is purely benign.

To sum it up, I believe the discoloration of the nose could be a normal thing. If your doctor still suspects the possibility of any of above mentioned conditions you can undergo a battery of tests to rule out the same.

Hope that this information helps and hope that you will get better soon.

Thank you for using MedHelp's "Ask an Expert" Service, where we feature some of world's renowned medical experts in their fields. Millions have benefitted from our service to get personalized advice for them and for their loved ones.

Best Regards,
Dr. Naveen Kumar.
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Avatar universal
I should add that I'm a 36 year old white female in good health.  I have no unique medical history except that I have had three c-sections in the past six years.  I don't smoke and have 2-3 drinks a week.  There's nothing really exceptional about my medical history.
Helpful - 0

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