General Medical Question - Non Urgent - smelling blood? *SI mentioned*

ok i don't think this is from SI but i suppose it could be.

I keep smelling what I think is blood. Now I do have a problem with olfactory (smell) hallucinations, but it's never been even remotely similar to this. I thought well it's dry here so maybe my nose is bloody. But i checked and no blood was in there that i could tell. could it still make me smell blood anyway? i kinda taste it too. do you think this is a hallucination, a medical problem, or just dryness?

also, i was on a psych ward about a week ago. as an si type thing i did hit my nose a few times to make it hurt. not super hard though. and it didn't bleed. i know, bad idea. but i don't think that would make my nose bleed over a week later, would it? i'm confused and not sure if this is normal or not. anyone have any ideas?

[Animad]

If you have sensitive vessels there it may be that every now and again they just become a tiny bit damaged and so bleed a very very small amount and so you can smell it. Also, if it was swollen as the result of you hurting it it could be that the inside is still a bit inflamed and so that makes it more likely to bleed and this could just be very tiny.

However, I would be suspicious of whether it is just an hallucination type thing purely because you have them because though a small amount of blood in your nose will be picked up easy as a smell, if you have had no sign of bleeding at all; by that i mean not even a tiny spot of blood once or twice, I would not suspect this to be the case.

How often do you smell it? Is it at times of stress/ when you see your MH signs more? Is it at times when you may cut yourself (just thinking it could be a psychological link, not just smelling the blood coming from a cut)? Is there any links to when you get this such as when you are running stenuously in cold weather or something else that you may do? Is your nose sore at all/ no other discharges and no pain in your throat? And, have you had your BP checked recently; if so is it normal? Raised BP increased the chances of small nose bleeds.

Dryness wouldn't tend to cause this and your nose itself is a pretty moist environment, everyone's is to protect you from 'bugs' so this wouldn't be it.

It was just last night that I was smelling it. I don't think it's really ever happened before. It did go away though.

[Animad]

If it's just the once I would ignore it. It could just have been a slight bleed or just a mix up of the nerves that smelt blood when it was something else because all the nerves and receptors are close together and sometimes things can get a bit mixed up so I wouldn't worry about it. It's only when it happens more often I'd start to get suspicious

[roiben]

I smell blood (and yes, occasionally taste it) as an olfactory hallucination, but it is at times when I am stressed, triggered or overly tired - therefore more likely at night. If it becomes more frequent it is worth discussing with a therapist. If just the once, I would try and ignore it.

[White Noise]

It is possible that it is from hitting your nose, a few years back I got into a fight at school and got punched in the face repeatedly, nothing happened at the time, but for weeks afterwards I had a very sensitive nose and kept getting nose bleeds. It is possible that there is actually a bit of bleeding going on inside your nose, it might not take much, just a little knock, but that might be why you're smelling blood. Of course, it is also possible that it is a hallucination, but I'd only start seeing it as that if it keeps happening without there being any physical explanations for it.

yeah it's gone away so i'm not too worried about it now. thanks for the replies though!