Epistaxis or nosebleed is a symptom of many conditions, disorders and diseases.Although quite unusual, agoraphobic nosebleed occurs to a number of people who are suffering from agoraphobia and other forms of phobias and anxiety disorders.

{Agoraphobia: What Is It}?

Phobias are generally defined as unrelenting irrational and often overblown fear of a situation, a person or an object, causing the person experiencing this fear to device ways to avoid it. Agoraphobia, by definition, is a type of phobia that is related to being in a situation where escape could be impossible or humiliating. Agoraphobics experience an intense wave of fear when in an environment where they think escape would be hard for them or would be embarrassing.

Agoraphobia is usually compounded with fear of being embarrassed in public situations, often resulting to the onset of panic. When this is a symptom, the condition becomes social agoraphobia or social anxiety or social phobia. Not all forms of agoraphobia are related to social situations though. There are particular forms of this disorder that is closely linked to a specific place, usually a place where a previous attack occurred. Other types of agoraphobia can be linked to the presence of post traumatic stress disorder as well as obsessive compulsive disorder, both are major forms of anxiety disorders. Most forms of irrational fear that prevent a person from going out, in fact, may be classified as agoraphobia.

Previously considered as the fear of being in public places, agoraphobia is now largely considered as fear of not being able to escape from a specific situation, not from a social situation. Two related conditions which are usually confused with agoraphobia are claustrophobia (fear of being closed in and having no escape) and social phobia (fear of being in public situation).

{Causes of Agoraphobia and Some Know Contributing Factors}

The exact causes of this condition are unknown, although theories offer plausible explanations. First, clinicians and researchers suggest that agoraphobia is linked to any of the following: presence of a related condition such as anxiety disorders, substance abuse, stressful environments. Use and dependence on tranquilizers and sleeping pills as well as problems with spatial orientation have also been identified as possible causes of agoraphobia. Agoraphobics have been found to have imbalanced spatial orientation. They tend to be overwhelmed or disoriented when visual cues are lacking or when these are too many for them to analyze simultaneously.

Although agoraphobia, like many other anxiety disorders are related to continuous exposure to stressful conditions and a number of other factors, this is also known to run in the families and for quite a few cases, is directly tied to genetic factors that are contributing to its development and exacerbation.

{Signs and Symptoms of Agoraphobia}

The main symptom of agoraphobia is panic attack caused by exposure to a situation or place where escape could be impossible, if not embarrassing. On top of this, other symptoms common to agoraphobics are intense wave of anxiety or fear, upset stomach or nausea, pounding heart or rapid heartbeat, trembling, dizziness, disorientation among others.

Although quite rare, agoraphobics do tend to experience a symptom called agoraphobic nosebleed or nose bleeding associated with agoraphobia. The primary symptom being the formation of blood in the nose relating to an attack. Nose bleeding is not a really common symptom of agoraphobia and it is not surprising that this doesn’t appear in most medical books.

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