Is this your symptom?
- Pain in the face (cheek, chin, forehead, or jaw).
Causes of Face Pain
- Infection:
dental, sinus or ear infections can cause face pain and swelling.
- Dental infections may also cause fever and swelling. Treatment of the infection will help resolve the pain. Your dentist may order antibiotics or take out the tooth, if needed.
- Sinus infections cause pain and pressure in the sinuses (forehead, cheeks or under the eyes). These parts of the face may swell and be sore to touch. You may also have a fever and stuffy nose. Some infections go away on their own. Others need treatment.
- Ear and mastoid infections cause pain in and around the ear. See your doctor for care.
- Soft tissue infections cause redness, swelling and tender areas of the soft tissues in any part of the face. They can cause a fever. The cause can be a pimple, bug bite, or scratch or the cause might not be clear. Seek care right away if the infection is around the eye.
- Mumps is a viral infection in the parotid gland that causes pain and swelling. It is less common today due to the mumps vaccine (MMR). The virus also affects the testes in males and can cause sterility.
- Temporal Arteritis (serious; also called Giant Cell Arteritis)
affects the temporal artery which is on the side of the head (your temple). It needs an urgent exam and treatment. Symptoms are:
- severe headaches that happen often
- sides of the head (temples) are sore to touch
- pain while eating
- double vision or vision loss
- Neurological Pain can arise from a nerve that is too sensitive or irritated. A stinging or shooting pain may last seconds, minutes or be long term. It can be on one side or both sides of the face. Pain meds or surgery may help. Contact your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
- Salivary Gland Stones can block the ducts saliva flows through. This causes pain and swelling. It may cause a lump on the face that goes away on its own.
- Tumors (serious) can grow in the salivary glands, sinuses, nose, nasal passages, mouth and brain. They can cause pain and/or swelling in the face.
- Bone Pain (serious). Infection, cysts or tumors in the facial bones can occur and cause pain.
- Arthritis can occur in the space where the lower jaw meets the skull. Pain is felt in front of the ear.
- Depression or Stress can cause of facial pain that cannot be explained by any other reason.
When to Call for Face Pain
Call 911 Now
Go to ER Now
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
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Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
Contact Your Dentist Within 24 Hours
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
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Self Care at Home
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Call 911 Now
- You think you have a life-threatening emergency
Go to ER Now
- Loss of feeling or tingling in any part of the face
- Jaw pain or toothache with sweating or weakness
- Severe pain and/or swelling
- A blistered rash near the eye with or without pain in the area
Call Doctor or Seek Care Now
- Fever or chills; feeling hot or shivery
- Painful or tender lump around the face or neck
- Pain and tenderness in the temple
- Pain and/or swelling is increasing
- Weak immune system. Examples are: diabetes, sickle cell disease, HIV, cancer, organ transplant, taking oral steroids, kidney problems.
- You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent
Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours
- Tenderness over the sinuses (in the forehead above the nose or below the eyes in the cheek)
- Boil or infected sore
- You think you need to be seen, but the problem is not urgent
Contact Your Dentist Within 24 Hours
- Face pain or swelling with a toothache
Contact Doctor During Office Hours
- Jaw pain with chewing
- Pain keeps you from work or other activities
- Pain comes and goes
- You have other questions or concerns
Self Care at Home
- Minor face pain, 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.
