BrainStuff Classics: Would Psychic Powers Really Cause Nosebleeds?

You've seen the trope: a character strains their psychic powers and gets a nosebleed to show for it. But would this actually happen if psychic powers were real? Learn the hypothetical science in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/psychic-nosebleed-powers-really-happen.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
I'm Lauren vocal Bomb, and this is a classic episode
of the podcast. In this one, we take a look
at the fictional phenomenon of psychic powers causing nosebleeds. It's
a common trope in visual media like TV and comics,
and as far as we know, psychic powers don't really exist.

(00:24):
But if they did, would there be any physiological basis
behind it? Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and
you've seen the trope. A mental battle rages between a
heroic character and her nemesis. As the struggle wears on,
we see the first signs of the toll. It must
be taking a trickle of blood. Ruby red appears at

(00:44):
one nostril. The strain of invisible psychic abilities is admittedly
difficult to illustrate in a visual medium. Perhaps that's why
so many authors of comic books, television shows, and movies
turn to this tried and true trope, the psychic nose bleed.
When blood comes from a character's nose, it signifies that
the character is exerting themselves. After all, blood vessels can

(01:06):
rupture thanks to physical exertion, as many a weightlifter knows,
so perhaps psychic powers could cause some sort of cranial
pressure build up. It's concise and visceral in a way
that a mere facial twitch, drop of sweat, or vein
throb can't cover. It's become such a common way to
imply a mind pushed to its limits that the Comics
meets Medicine blog Polite Descent has been tracking its appearance

(01:29):
in comics for nearly a decade. The site even gave
the fictional phenomenon a name, Epistaxis telepathica, the medical term
for a nosebleed being epistaxis. The psychic nosebleed has appeared
in more than just comics, of course, beyond comic book
adaptations like the two thousand and five film Fantastic Four
and the TV series Smallville and media directly influenced by

(01:50):
comics like Heroes and Chronicle, to other genre media like
The Fifth Element, Star Trek and Carnival. It also features
prominently in the Netflix series Stranger Things, in which a
mysterious girl called Eleven escapes a creepy government laboratory, then
uses her telekinetic powers against her former captors and some
transdimensional creepy crawleys. The internal severity of these psychic abilities

(02:14):
is evidenced by the blood that trickles sometimes from Eleven's nose.
Stranger Things pays homage to pop culture from the nineteen
eighties with the Spielberg meets Carpenter meets Stephen King sort
of vibe. So it's fitting that one of the earliest
cinematic instances of the psychic nosebleed appears in the nineteen
eighty four film adaptation of Stephen King's Firestarter. A seven

(02:35):
year old girl named Charlie starts fires using the power
of her mind. Evidence did not only buy flames, but
by the occasional nosebleed. But for some of the earliest
psychic nose bleeds, we're going to have to go back
to the nineteen eighty one paranormal thriller Scanners from David Cronenberg.
It's the first film to clearly connect nasal bleeding with
psychic exertion. In the movie, Scanners are people born with

(02:57):
telepathic and telekinetic powers, the extreme use of which makes
them subject to nose bleeds and more. But if psychic
powers really existed, how might this work? There's a theory
that using psychic powers could raise the pressure of your
cerebrospinal fluid. But pressure in this fluid, which surrounds the
brain and spinal cord, would not cause a nose bleed.

(03:19):
It would cause a coma. It's actually more likely that
a nosebleed would be brought on by enthusiastic nose picking.
The scientific term for that, by the way, is epistaxis digitorum.
While the appearance of nose bleeds adds to the nostalgic
eighties drama of stranger things, actual nosebleeds can be dramatic
and horrific on their own. Anytime a body part starts
spouting copious amounts of blood, it's bound to cause a rucus.

(03:41):
It seems but a small leap to connect nose bleeds
to fictional worlds, but that's all it is. Fiction. Nosebleeds
are not caused by how hard we use our brains.
If that were true, think of all the situations we'd
need tissues for tests, job interviews, presentations. Surgeons might bleed
more than their patients. The majority of nose bled in
real life are caused by fist versus nose or finger

(04:03):
versus nose collisions. Infections, allergen irritations, and foreign bodies can
also be to blame, and high blood pressure can cause one,
although it's lower on the list of dangers than strokes
or heart attacks. Most nose bleeds occur during winter months
and are exacerbated by climates that are dry and cold.
The vast majority, about ninety percent of nose bleeds are
of the anterior variety, caused by the rupture of a

(04:26):
blood vessel at the front part of the nose. These
nose bleeds are relatively easy to control and usually stop
within a few minutes. Posterior nose bleeds are a different
story and are caused by an arterial rupture at the
back of the nose. A most common and elderly people.
Posterior nose bleeds are difficult to stop and usually require
hospital admission. Of course, all of this isn't to say

(04:48):
that we're not prepared to suspend our disbelief just in
case fiction starts bleeding over into reality. We wouldn't want
to think about it too hard. Today's episode is based
on the article wood psychic powers really cause a nosebleed
on how stuffworks dot com, written by Lareel Dove Brain

(05:09):
Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with how
stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four
more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the Airheartradio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.