The nose piercing process involves inserting a stud into the skin at the side of your nostril, or a bar through the center of the septum. With this in mind, it’s normal for the area to bleed as it’s being pierced by the needle.

Many people will experience bleeding, bruising and some discomfort following the procedure, as is the case with most piercings. This can last from a few days up to a couple of weeks as the area heals. Piercing aftercare is highly important for fast and efficient healing. The better you look after your piercing, the quicker it will heal.

Nose Piercing Bleeding

As you are piercing the skin and cartilage in your nose, it will be normal for there to be some bleeding. This may continue for up to a couple of weeks and a lot of this is dependent on the aftercare of the area. This is normal and is nothing to worry about, it’s just your body healing and adjusting to the foreign material (the jewelry) within the tissue. 

You should be careful when touching your face or blowing your nose as this could irritate the small, healing blood vessels around the piercing site and cause further bleeding.

Along with bleeding, there may also be small amounts of discharge seeping from the wound, which is usually nothing to worry about.

What Can Cause Bleeding?

The easy answer to this is that you have just had a needle inserted into the skin and the cartilage of your nose. It will almost certainly bleed and this is completely normal. The process of the actual piercing is over within a couple of minutes, but the healing process takes much longer.

However, if you feel the amount of blood coming from the piercing site is excessive or doesn’t slow down after a while then it may be worth getting it checked out by your piercer or a medical professional. Blood-thinning medication and alcohol can also cause bleeding to become more excessive after a piercing.

As the skin begins to heal, a small scab will likely form on the nose. This scab will be delicate and if it’s nudged or displaced then it will likely bleed a small amount.

If your piercing still bleeds days to weeks after your procedure or leaks smelly discharge then there’s a high likelihood that the wound has become infected. If this is the case then you should contact your piercer or a doctor as soon as you can.

If treated quickly, an infection will usually clear up without trouble. However, delaying treatment can allow the infection to cause permanent damage to the area of skin and it can even begin to spread through the blood to other areas of the body.

How Long Will It Take to Heal?

A nose piercing will take between two to four months to heal properly, and during this time you shouldn’t remove or change the nose jewelry. It’s tempting to play about with different rings and studs to mix up your style, but don’t. It will only delay the healing process and could lead to infection.

The healing process will very much depend on your aftercare and cleaning routine. 

Nose Piercing Healing Tips

Waiting for the piercing to heal can be a frustrating time but patience is needed. It will look amazing once fully healed.

You should clean the area with a saline solution, by adding salt to warm water. This should be done regularly to keep the wound clean. Be careful to not touch the piercing with dirty hands when doing this. It may help to use a cotton swab to clean the area.

Don’t pick or blow your nose while it’s healing. This can cause it to bleed and disrupt the process.

Conclusion

Nose piercing bleeding is common and small amounts of blood should be expected over the first few days after the procedure. However, if the bleeding is excessive or doesn’t stop then you should seek further advice. Bleeding that stops and then starts again days or weeks down the line could also indicate an infection.

Usually, though, a bit of blood is nothing to worry about and you’ll have that great-looking nose piercing you’ve been craving for in no time.