It was a typical morning. My mother was getting ready; this was her usual routine: bustling around the house. When she suddenly stopped and shouted, blood was oozing from her nose. As kids, my siblings and I were terrified. We scrambled to help, but it wasn't until later that we learned the cause of that alarming moment: high blood pressure. That day was our first lesson in the silent yet powerful effects of hypertension. Nosebleeds, or epistaxis, are common, and nearly everyone experiences at least one in their lifetime.

While most are minor and often caused by dry air or irritation, some can signal underlying health concerns. One recurring question is whether high blood pressure causes nosebleeds or is merely coincidental.

Where Exactly Does a Nosebleed Occur?

The nose is covered by a rich plexus of small blood vessels, making it prone to bleeding. Most nosebleeds are anterior in origin, occurring at the front of the nose, and are relatively benign. They often occur because of irritants such as dry air, frequent nose-blowing, or trauma.

On the other hand, posterior nosebleeds are caused by a source that is located deeper within the nasal cavity. They are less common but more severe, as the blood tends to flow backward into the throat, making them more difficult to control. Common causes of posterior nosebleeds include trauma, medical conditions, or high blood pressure.

Connection Between Nosebleeds and High Blood Pressure

Hypertension is the condition whereby the pressure of blood against the arterial walls is consistently too high. Over time, this may damage the fine blood vessels in the nose, causing them to rupture more easily.

Significant studies have shown a strong relationship between hypertension and severe cases of nosebleeds necessitating urgent care. A certain study showed that patients diagnosed with high blood pressure had 2.7-fold increased chances of having nosebleeds that were not slight.

However, it should be noted that mild hypertension by itself does not cause nosebleeds. Nosebleeds are more likely to happen during a hypertensive crisis when the blood pressure suddenly rises to above 180/120. A hypertensive crisis can also have other symptoms such as a severe headache, shortness of breath, and anxiety. Therefore, it is considered a medical emergency.

Why Does Hypertension Increase the Risk?

Chronic hypertension makes the walls of blood vessels weaker and less elastic, which easily causes them to tear. In the nose, this is especially vulnerable because the blood vessels are close to the surface. Sudden surges in blood pressure, such as in a hypertensive crisis, can cause tears in these weakened vessels, resulting in nosebleeds.

While hypertension is a contributing cause, nosebleeds occur infrequently as the only manifestation of high blood pressure. This makes regular monitoring for blood pressure all the more crucial, as hypertension has the reputation of being the "silent killer" since people often do not present symptoms until the disease has run its course.

Other Causes of Nosebleeds

• Dry Air: Cold weather or house heating dries out membranes that line the nose, hence susceptible to cracking.
• Trauma: Blows in the nose, nose picking or excessive nose blowing can traumatize blood vessels.
• Intrinsic Disease: Liver disease and kidney disease and drug therapy that affect clotting such as blood thinners enhance the risk of nose bleeding.
• Foreign Bodies: Children especially tend to insert objects up their noses, which can be irritating and bleed.
• Allergies or Infections: Chronic nasal inflammation resulting from allergies or colds causes irritation to the nasal mucosa.

Managing Nosebleeds at Home

For most nosebleeds, you can manage them yourself at home:

1. Sit up and lean slightly forward to prevent swallowing blood.

2. Press your nostrils together for at least 10 minutes.

3. Use a cold compress on the bridge of your nose to constrict blood vessels.

4. If the bleeding continues, use a nasal decongestant spray.

Consult a doctor if the bleeding persists beyond 20 minutes, is heavy, or follows a head injury.

Preventing Nosebleeds

Preventive measures can decrease the incidence of nosebleeds:

• Use a humidifier to maintain moisture in the air.
• Apply saline sprays or gels to keep nasal passages hydrated.
• Avoid nasal trauma by being gentle when blowing your nose.

For patients with hypertension, managing blood pressure is the best way to minimize the risk of complications. A combination of lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise, and prescribed medications, can help keep blood pressure in check.

When to Worry About Nosebleeds

Most nosebleeds are harmless, but they can sometimes be signs of an underlying health condition. In adults with high blood pressure, frequent or severe nosebleeds should never be ignored. A health provider should be consulted in order to rule out any serious conditions and ensure appropriate treatment.

Regular check-ups, a healthy lifestyle, and awareness about the relationship between nosebleeds and high blood pressure would go a long way to protect your health. Indeed, prevention is always better than cure.

Epistaxis and hypertension. Post Graduate Medical Journal. 1977

Actress Bijou Phillips, 45, has turned to social media to seek a kidney, issuing an urgent request. In a recent social media post, the ‘Made for Each Other’ actress issued a heartfelt plea for a living kidney donor to help her navigate a the medical crisis.

Phillips framed her request not just as an actress, but through the lens of her family roles. "I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt and most important, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter," she said.

Why Does Bijou Phillips Need A Kidney Transplant?

In a post dated February 11, she explained that she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent 3 months in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). In 2017 she received her first kidney transplant which helped her for eight years. However, she faced many complications including the BK virus that led to cellular and antibody rejection.

BK virus, according to the National Kidney Foundation, is a common inactive virus in the body that can ‘wake up’ after a transplant.

It can cause blurred vision, change in the color of urine, pain or discomfort while urinating, trouble breathing, fever, muscle pain, frequent urination, as well as seizures.

What Causes Underdeveloped Kidneys?

Different conditions are known to cause either underdeveloped kidneys or the absence of one or both kidneys, Bilateral Renal Agenesis/Hypoplasia/Dysplasia. According to the PLOS One 2010 study, these 3 types of underdeveloped kidneys fall under the Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract or CAKUT. However there are a few differences.

Bilateral Renal Agenesis

This occurs when both kidneys fail to develop entirely. The study links this to "gene-free" chromosomal breaks and mutations in the Esrrg gene, which normally directs essential early kidney formation.

Renal Hypoplasia

The kidneys are present but significantly small or "underdeveloped." The research suggests this happens when genetic signals for "ductal tissue" are interrupted, preventing the kidneys from reaching their full, functional size.

Renal Dysplasia

This is an "abnormal" formation where kidney tissue is malformed. The study associates this with "laterality" errors, where the body's internal organization fails, causing kidneys to grow with structural defects.

What Are Signs of Underdeveloped Kidneys?

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, kidney and urinary tract issues are usually spotted during a pregnancy ultrasound. When a problem is found, doctors watch the amniotic fluid levels closely, since that fluid is mostly made of the baby’s urine. If the issue isn't caught before birth, you might notice these signs in a baby or child:

• Frequent UTIs
• A swollen stomach
• Puffiness
• Stomach troubles
• Slow growth
• Low energy

Bijou Phillips’ Message For Supporters

Currently back on dialysis, Phillips is under the care of Dr. Anjay Rastogi at UCLA. She is actively searching for a living donor and has directed interested individuals to a screening link in her Instagram bio.

"Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, friends," she wrote, expressing deep gratitude for the public's ongoing support.

Vitamin C is a star ingredient in the skincare world for some very good reasons. It can be hailed as a magic wand to evaporate your stubborn marks and give you a brighter complexion.

However, no matter what product you use, the results do not appear overnight. So, what do real results look like? What does a before-and-after journey of using a Vitamin C serum actually entail?

This guide covers everything about the before-and-after results of using the Vitamin C serum.

What Is Vitamin C Serum and How Does It Work on Skin?

It is a potent antioxidant that can be applied to your skin directly. It neutralises the effects of free radicals, which are tiny and unstable molecules caused by pollution and UV rays. They can easily damage your skin and accelerate ageing.

Vitamin C helps by boosting collagen production and improving skin tone. This is why the results of Vitamin C on the face are so dramatic. It changes the flat look of your skin to a healthy glow.

Key benefits include:

· Brightening: It blocks the enzyme responsible for producing pigment, leading to more radiant skin.

· Fading Marks: A remarkable ingredient for targeting sun damage and acne scars.

· Collagen Stimulation: It keeps your skin bouncy and firm.

· Protection: It provides a second layer of defence against environmental stress.

Before and After Vitamin C Serum: What to Expect on Your Face

Consistent use of the serum for several weeks, along with daily application of sunscreen with SPF 50 can yield noticeable results. Here’s what you can expect from it.

Before Using Vitamin C Serum

Your skin may show signs of environmental wear and tear before you start using a serum. The following are some common complaints:

· Your skin looks tired, even after a full night's sleep.

· You may have patchy skin or dark areas around the mouth and forehead.

· Old acne spots or sun freckles that refuse to fade.

· Skin that feels slightly rough or looks congested.

After Consistent Use

The changes in your face before and after using a vitamin C serum become evident after your skin integrates the serum into its renewal cycle:

· It will give you that lit-from-within look.

· Dark spots become significantly lighter and blend into your natural skin tone.

· Your skin feels more elastic and youthful due to increased collagen.

· The surface of your skin looks smoother.

Timeline of Vitamin C Serum Before and After Results

First Week: Initial Freshness & Surface Glow

There is little change in dark spots during the first few days. However, you may notice an immediate glow on your skin surface. The serum hydrates and smoothens the skin's surface, helping makeup sit better. Vitamin C for dark spots before and after signs are clearly visible.

2–4 Weeks: Brightening & Early Spot Lightening

You will start to see the before-and-after progress of vitamin C on dark spots around this stage. Its pigment-blocking properties start to kick in. You may notice that your overall skin tone looks fresher and that the edges of your dark spots are now fading.

4–8 Weeks: Visible Even Tone and Improved Texture

The difference between your face before after vitamin C serum will be more obvious by the end of the second month. The deeper layers of the skin benefit from the antioxidant protection. You can expect the following changes:

· Visibly less sun damage

· Even complexion, so you may not need concealer

· Fewer rough patches

8–12 Weeks: Long-Term Transformation

After 90 days, your skin has gone through multiple renewal cycles. Your Vitamin C serum before-and-after photos may show significant improvement in hyperpigmentation. Fine lines may reduce because of the increased collagen, as your skin looks the healthiest it has in years.

Tips to Maximize Your Vitamin C Serum Before and After Results

If you want your before-and-after vitamin C serum results to be impressive, you need to follow these simple rules:

1. Morning is Best: Apply your serum in the AM. This allows the antioxidants to protect your skin from pollution and sunlight throughout the day.

2. Pair with Sunscreen: Always follow up with a sunscreen. Vitamin C is not a replacement for sunblock, but it actually makes your sunscreen with SPF 50 more effective by neutralizing the rays that slip through.

3. Storing the Serum: Vitamin C is sensitive to light and air. Keep your bottle in a cool, dark place (such as a drawer) to ensure it does not lose its potency. If your serum has become dark or orange in colour, it may have been oxidised. So, it may not work well.

4. Consistency: You do not need a huge amount of serum. 3–4 drops are enough. You need to apply it every single day without skipping.

Final Thoughts

The journey of your face before and after Vitamin C serum can feel long, but the results are worth it. It can be exciting to see the initial glow. However, the real changes, such as fading deep dark spots and firming the skin, take time. Stick to a routine and pair your skin with a high-quality sunscreen to stay radiant and youthful.

The Healthandme team was not involved in authoring this story

Scientists say they have uncovered the first strong evidence that a specific type of brain training could meaningfully reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings come from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, a large US clinical trial that followed 2,802 healthy adults aged 65 and older for 20 years. Published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, the research found that participants who completed a targeted “speed of processing” brain training programme, along with booster sessions, had a 25 per cent lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who received no training.

Why This Matters

Dementia remains one of the most pressing health challenges worldwide. In the UK alone, around 900,000 people live with the condition, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form. There is currently no cure. While newer drugs may modestly slow cognitive decline for some patients, they do not stop or reverse the disease.

That is why prevention, or even delay, is so crucial. Even pushing back the onset of dementia by a year or two across the population could significantly reduce strain on families, healthcare systems and social care services.

Lifestyle factors already play an important role. Regular exercise, managing blood pressure and diabetes, avoiding smoking and staying socially active are all linked to lower dementia risk. Now, this new research suggests that certain types of structured mental training may also help.

Inside the ACTIVE Study

Back in the late 1990s, researchers randomly assigned older adults to one of four groups:

• Speed-of-processing training
• Memory training
• Reasoning training
• No training (control group)

Each participant attended ten hour-long sessions over five to six weeks. Some who completed most of the sessions were later randomly selected to receive additional “booster” sessions about 11 months later and again after 35 months. In total, participants completed between 10 and 22½ hours of training spread over three years.

Memory training focused on mnemonic techniques. Reasoning training involved identifying patterns and solving structured problems. But it was the speed-of-processing training, delivered through a computer-based programme, that stood out.

The Brain Game That Made a Difference

One of the key exercises, called Double Decision, required participants to quickly identify a central object (like a specific car) while simultaneously locating a road sign that briefly flashed in their peripheral vision. As players improved, the images appeared for shorter periods, increasing difficulty.

The best possible score in the game was 32 milliseconds. The average score hovered around 100 milliseconds, but participants who stuck with the programme often improved to about 50 milliseconds — nearly doubling their processing speed.

Unlike memory drills, this training targeted how quickly and accurately the brain processes visual information — a skill that tends to decline with age.

What Happened Over 20 Years?

Researchers tracked participants’ health records to see who was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Nearly half of the control group developed dementia during the two-decade follow-up.

The same held true for those who received memory or reasoning training.

However, the group that completed speed training and received booster sessions had a strikingly different outcome: their risk of dementia diagnosis was 25 per cent lower than the control group.

A Note of Caution

The researchers themselves urge caution. The people who benefited most were those who completed the initial sessions and returned for boosters. It’s possible that these individuals were already more motivated, healthier, or cognitively stronger — factors that may independently reduce dementia risk.

To address this, booster sessions were randomly allocated among eligible participants, and analyses adjusted for age, education, baseline cognitive performance and other health factors. Still, no statistical method can completely eliminate the possibility that the most engaged participants were also those most likely to stay healthier longer.

Henry Mahncke, chief executive of Posit Science — the company behind the training software — described the results as “astonishing” and potentially transformative for brain health.

The academic authors, including researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington, were more measured. They concluded that speed-of-processing training “has the potential to delay the diagnosis” of Alzheimer’s and related dementias — but further research is needed.

If confirmed, the implications could be profound. The idea that even later-life brain training might buy people more time before dementia sets in offers a rare note of hope in a field where breakthroughs are hard won.