What blowing your nose forcefully can do to you

This swelling occurred after she forcefully blew her nose

The 32-year-old woman, who remains unnamed, arrived at the emergency department of Leicester Royal Infirmary University Hospital, after her eye swelled to the size of a golf ball after she blew her nose too forcefully. Doctors told her she had ‘orbital emphysema’, a swelling that occurs when air is forced into the soft tissues around the eye. She told doctors she had ‘forcefully’ blown her nose four hours earlier. Immediately afterwards, her right eyelid ballooned, she told doctors who documented the case in the journal BMJ case reports. The swelling got progressively worse and was slightly painful, the doctors treating her said.

Doctors ruled her condition as orbital emphysema

Ruing her condition as orbital emphysema, Doctors said the condition can cause blindness, as pressure can build up in the eye, triggering a loss of blood to the optic nerve, although they claim the condition  is only usually seen in patients who have suffered a blow to the face, the DailyMail reports.
Writing in the journal, they said: ‘Although orbital emphysema is usually associated with trauma, this case highlights a spontaneous cause due to forceful nose blowing.’ Other cases of the swelling have been reported when people have been to the dentist, especially when tools using air are used.

A CT Scan showing the air around her eye

Rarely, the condition is seen after people carry out the Valsalva manoeuvre – in which they close their mouth and nose and exhale to clear a blocked airway - or after sneezing or blowing the nose.
Doctors said the swelling usually goes down over a period of up to two weeks.