Is this your symptom?
- Injury to the face, including cheeks, forehead, jaws and soft tissues
- Does not include injuries to the teeth, nose and eyes which are covered in other care guides
Types of Face Injuries
- Cut or Scratch. Small cuts heal on their own. Deep cuts and cuts on lips may need stitches or glue to heal with less scarring.
- Bruising. Swelling and bruising can get worse for a few days after an injury. The bruising may show below the injury. Bruises go away on their own over a few weeks. Bruises may change colors as they heal. If you have bruising around both eyes, call your doctor. This can be a sign of a broken bone.
- Fractures
(serious)
can happen from hard hits to any part of the face. Symptoms of a facial fracture are:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Sore to touch
- Changes to face shape
- Vision problems
- Numbness
- Trouble chewing
- Facial fractures sometimes need surgery to fix the bones. Call your doctor right away if you think you have a fracture.
Neck Pain:
- Any head or facial injury could lead to a neck injury.
- A broken neck can be deadly. Always call your doctor if you pass out or have a bad head or facial injury.
When to Call for Face Injury
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
|
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
|
Self Care at Home
|
Call 911 Now
- Major bleeding that can't be stopped
- Seizure
- Knocked out. Person is unconscious now.
- Hard to wake up, acting confused or slurred speech
- Chemical injury to the face (chemicals thrown in face)
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- Knocked out (unconscious), but alert now
- Have been drinking alcohol or using drugs
- Puncture injury to any part of the face
- Bruising around both eyes
- Blood or watery fluid draining from the nose or ears
- Can't move the lower jaw without severe pain or can't close the mouth
- One or both cheek bones look sunken or flat
- Large or deep cut that will need many stitches
- Possible object(s) in the wound, such as glass fragments
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Severe face pain
- Loss of feeling or tingling in any part of the face
- Increasing swelling or redness in the injured area
- Skin is cut and No past tetanus shots
- Change in vision in either eye or can't look up
- You think you have a serious injury
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Bruises near the eye
- Teeth do not feel lined up right when the mouth is closed
- Dirty cut or hard to clean and no tetanus shot for more than 5 years
- Clean cut and no tetanus shot for more than 10 years
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Pain is not better after 3 days
- Pain keeps you from work or other activities
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Minor bruise or scrape, not involving the eye, nose or ear
Care Advice for Stomach Pain
What You Should Know About Stomach Pain:
- Mild stomach pain can be caused by something simple. It could be from gas pains or eating too much.
- Sometimes, stomach pain signals the start of a viral infection. This will lead to vomiting or loose stools.
- Watching your child for 2 hours will help tell you the cause.
- Here is some care advice that should help.
Lie Down:
- Have your child lie down and rest until feeling better.
Clear Fluids:
- Offer clear fluids only (such as water, flat soft drinks or half-strength Gatorade).
- For mild pain, offer a regular diet.
Prepare for Vomiting:
- Keep a vomiting pan handy.
- Younger children often talk about stomach pain when they have nausea. Nausea is the sick stomach feeling that comes before they throw up.
Pass a Stool:
- Have your child sit on the toilet and try to pass a stool.
- This may help if the pain is from constipation or diarrhea.
- Note: for constipation, moving a warm wet cotton ball on the anus may help.
Do Not Give Medicines:
- Any drug (like ibuprofen) could upset the stomach and make the pain worse.
- Do not give any pain medicines or laxatives for stomach cramps.
- For fever higher than 102° F (39° C), acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) can be given.
What to Expect:
- With harmless causes, the pain is most often better or gone in 2 hours.
- With stomach flu, belly cramps may happen before each bout of vomiting or diarrhea. These cramps may come and go for a few days.
- With serious causes (such as appendicitis), the pain worsens and becomes constant.
Call Your Doctor If:
- Pain becomes severe
- Constant pain lasts more than 2 hours
- Mild pain that comes and goes lasts more than 24 hours
- You think your child needs to be seen
- Your child becomes worse
Extra Help - Worried Stomach:
- Help your child talk about events that trigger the stomach pain. Talk to your child about how to cope with these the next time around.
- Help your child worry less about things she can't control.
- To treat the pain, help your child get very relaxed. Lying down in a quiet place and taking slow deep breaths may help. Make the belly go up and down with each breath. Then try to relax all the muscles in the body. Think about something pleasant. Listening to audios that teach how to relax might also help.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
- Make sure that your child doesn't miss any school because of stomach pains. Stressed children tend to want to stay home when the going gets rough.
- Caution: your child should see her doctor for an exam. Do this before concluding frequent stomach pains are from worrying too much.
