I'm glad that all is ok.  I hope the dentist will be able to help out. 

As for any home remidies some things I might do are:

Garlic oil to prevent infection and

honey on the cuts during the day.  At night it gets all over your pillow.

Hope this helps.

after reading all the replys and the first question i to would have advised you to take her to dr's its better to be safe than sorry you would have hated yourself if something had happened to her and you could have prevented it ..SO what you wasted a couple of hours in the whole scheme of things thats a small price to pay for what COULD of been worse. so after all is said and done you did the right thing even though you sound like you dont believe you did atm.

dont be to hard on these minti mums and dads they are trying to help the best they can with what you wrote!!(and im not saying you wrote bad just that without seeing first hand it's hard to make a great judgment)

funnily enough my ten year old daughter fell off her bike two days ago landing on the side of her face. BIG lump above eye grazed up nose and face, I didn't go to emergency as they are very understaffed and had the other two children,  they take hours at my local hospital so I took her to a medical centre that is open til ten at night. The doctor asked her questions to make sure she wasn't concussed cleaned her wounds as the footpath was paved with fine gravel, wiggled her nose a bit discovered it wasn't broken. The nurse then came took us through to the treatment room for her to have a tetnus injection as he said you can never be too sure what is on a footpath. I didn't think they would do so much and may have kept her home except for the large lump I was happy to be reassured and informed fully on what to watch for with concussion as I only had a general idea.

My daughter has had a number of injuries to just about every part of her body. She is a very active (actually been diagnosed as hyperactive) and is forever giving herself one type of injury or another. I understand the guilt felt when presenting her to a doctor time and time again with injuries. You often wonder what is going through their head. I am fortunate enough to live in the same town where I grew up and I now take my daughter to the same doctor I had as a child so he knows me very well.

My daughter also has very sensitive skin so I have to be careful what I put  on it.

Can I suggest some aloevera gel directly from a live plant (if you have access to one) onto the scratches or sores on the little ones face. Simply break off a portion and snap a bit off that. You then squeeze the end until a clearish sap comes out. That's what you'll want to apply to the wound. Be sure to test a small amount on the back of their hand first to make sure there's no allergies. You can also buy bottled versions (usually with the sunscreens and after sun creams) which are almost as good. The alovera really brings down the swelling, has antibacterial qualities and can also help the sore to heal faster which lessens the chances of scaring which you really don't want to have on the little one's face.

Another good natural solution is Manuka honey. It is also fantastic at helping sores heal and has great antibacterial qualities. It does need to be covered though or can cause quite a mess. The child becomes like a walking magnet to dirt, dust, hair and anything else that's not nailed down. lol

Again there are a number of creams which have Manuka honey as a base which also work well. But nothing beats it in its pure form.

I don't know how available either of these things are in America. I know Manuka honey comes from New Zealand and I think Aloevera came from Africa to begin with. But it's been around for thosands of years so I'm guessing it's well distributed throughout the world.

I hope this has been helpful and good luck with the little one. One thing I have learned through all my injury fixing is that pretty, colorful bandaids with pictures on them work much better than plain ordinary ones! lol

Amy

I'm so glad to hear that your daughter isn't hurt seriously!  Please do not feel attacked by others here. Out of concern, others jump to conclusions especially when there are not enough information given. I do hope  your child's tooth is not badly damaged.

Did you go to the ER? Perhaps next time you can phone a pediatrician first. If you describe to them what happened, they will be able to tell you whether to rush to the ER or to just head on over to the pediatrician's office.

I understand now, why you didn't take her in stright away, things are different in the states for sure.  I think he description you gave for her injuries made them sound bad, which is why a lot of people said take her, myself included.  But at the end of the day you're the one who was with her, and could actually see how bad they are.  Hope all goes well at the dentist with her.

OFMG!!!

I only just got to reading through all this, both questions and all answers to date, and I can only say OFMG!!!

Minti mums, chill out! Gees! Kids get hurt, doesn't matter how, it happens, and when someone says their kid's face is swollen to the point where the kid is hard to understand their speech, at that age, that's really easy to do, doesn't actually take much swelling at all to get that effect even in an adult!

As for how, ultimately it matters not in this situation, like anyone here is going to prove how it happened anyway! The main point is someone asked for advice and help in the situation. Accusations don't help, they hinder.

Yes, it is quite possible for a kid that age to be injured that way when falling onto any hard surface such as concrete, especially if they were running. Working as a pool lifeguard I had to deal with that sort of thing all the time. Once was a teenager that slipped and smashed his mouth on the slide and he literally turned his front teeth upside-down in doing it, not to mention the instant horrendous swelling and blood all down the front of him pouring out of his mouth on a hot day like it was from a tap. He wasn't doing anything stupid, he just slipped and bashed his mouth on the way down, I saw it happen.

Yes, head injuries are serious, facial injuries may look really bad, but often aren't as bad as they seem. Just from what this anon questioner had written in the first Q&A about this said to me that she (assuming she) knew first aid well enough to know what to do, and thus should have had enough common sense to know when something really serious was wrong and urgent medical attention was needed. Even if she didn't, giving advice on signs and symptoms of things to look for (such as concussion and neck strain) would have been more useful to her than anything else that was posted.

I'd like to apologise to the anon person that posted this for not seeing this sooner and responding myself. I'd have said to phone for medical advice if you had such a line to call, or phone a hospital and ask them about it and see what they thought, before just going there. Definately keep the painkillers up to the child as the brand recommends, yes it will keep hurting, but there's only so much that can be done about it. We don't want to be sticking morphine in our kids system at every chance after all!!! Learning to bare the pain of these kinds of things is still also part of growing up after all. Also keep cold packs up if the swelling isn't subsiding. Icy cold water to sip on, ice to suck on, that would help with the oral swelling and the pain a little bit as well. Lots of love and comfort, rest, and if the hospital or whoever you phoned didn't tell you to go to them immediately, then sure, definately see a doctor or dentist the next day.

The tooth hadn't fallen out or been badly mis-placed, a just slightly loosened tooth will be okay so long as it's left alone, once the gums heal up it'll usually right itself. If it doesn't, a dentist can fix it up later on. It's not life threatening. If the tooth had fallen out or been seriously misplaced, putting it back in if possible and then seeking urgent dental care is needed, but just being a little loose, nah.

Gees, if I'd been to a dentist everytime I had a loose tooth as a kid - or worse yet a teenager - I'd have made a dentist very rich indeed for nothing, and I've admittedly got one broken tooth in my mouth that happened last year, but otherwise they're all still there and straight except one I totally lost when I was 16, and I've still got one of my baby teeth.  How many other 36 yr olds can lay claim to that eh?! LOL

Hopefully this info, although too late for this question, might help someone else in the future.

Cheers, DA.

My partner actually picked that you were from the states when i read out your question.. he mentioned that the hospital system was alot harder on the general public than it is here, and its understood that in some cases this can be a last resort...You came into a parent help website asking what to do..your daughter cant even talk her daughters mouth is so swollen...To be honest you did actually make it sound as though your child was seriously injured!! if we said..ohh just give it a lil bit of this or that and it turned out to be a major head injury.. in some cases there are people that arent sure of whats serious and what isnt.. how bad as people would we feel if we didnt advise you to see a health professional!! The ladies in here were only trying to help and yes things run differently here, we arent looked upon as over protective mothers here for caring if our children are injured or not...and its sad that you live in a society where people arent allowed to seek help when their child is ill if they are unsure of what is the matter..

Glad to hear that it worked out well for you both.. perhaps call a relative or family member next time who can come over and have a look at the damage... might be more helpful than asking random people who cant see the problem to begin with!! Good luck and take care, I personally find minti to be most helpful and the women to be pleasant and nice to me..

Cheers Mel xx

Im glad you took her tho, sometimes its better to be over protective then underprotective. and at least u can rest a little easier knowing she doesnt have concussion or anything serious.

xoxo

I dont think there is any need to get snappy at those trying to help.  you asked for advice and advice was given based on the description you offered.  perhaps her injuries sounded more severe in writing than they actually look.  its always better to be safe than sorry- i've worked in the paed emergency dept and sometimes we do wonder why the child was bought in at all, or why the child wasn't bought in earlier.....as these decisions can sometimes be difficult to make.  people were offering their advice based on the description of her injuries and the fact that you stated that the pain relief and ice you were treating her with had been ineffective.  i hope she heals quickly and feels better soon.

Hi there.

i just read your first question, and sounds like she had quite a fall! gosh, my daughter got nto the cheese grater and he finger got stuck, there was so much blood i was sure her finger was going to fall off, i didnt take her to the hospital though, but i probably should have, for a stitch. anyhoo, she fell and hit her head on the corner of a table and put a hole, yes a hole in her forehead, the bump was as big as an egg, and of course i took her to the hospital but they sent me home, cant stitch cant do anything. watch for concussion. anyhoo, i could go on forever! kids will be kids and you will know in your heart if your child needs hospital or not. when asking a question here, you have to take good with the bad, because none of us can see your daughter and really give an answer as to what we think you should do.

There have been times where i have thought my kid doesnt need medical treatment, when they have, and vice versa. the only way for anyne to know weather someone has concussion or not is by watching.and sign and symptms. i have also had my kids have accidents where i was so scared people might think they were beaten up. im sure if the doctor was worried they would have kept you in and investigated.

hope she and yourself feel better soon

If your daughter busted her face open and someone looked at you weirdly because you sought help then you need to re-think who you go to for help next time. A grazed knee is petty, a busted face is not. Oh and I never accused you of hurting your child so stop sending me abusive private messages thanks. You came to that conclusion by yourself and by jumping down people's throats for something they never accused yourself and explaining your every, single action is only makes you look sussed. And I pitty your daughter with you sitting there trying to explain how a busted face isn't something to worry about. Ever heard of a concussion? Obviously not. Seeya later and good luck, stop the PMS or ill report you.

Hi anonymous,

I read through your other question and the replies you got. I'm so sorry you were questioned about your daughter's injury. My son when he was first learning how to walk, fell over on my mum's lino floor and landed face first. His tooth went through his lip and completely turned to a 90 degree angle. His whole side of his face swelled up and he had a whopping bruise and a big fat lip - lots of blood too. Of course I freaked out but luckily my mum was there to calm me down. And taking him to the hospital didn't even come across my mind. I simply applied ice on and off and luckily I had a dental appointment that day for myself. The dentist simply looked at it and said that because it was a baby tooth there was nothing to worry about. Their gums are so soft at that age and their teeth move around really easily so if I wanted I could turn the tooth back to its original position. I decided not to as I didn't want to put him through any more pain (so its still on an angle) but it doesn't bother him at all, all his teeth have come in just fine and I know when the adult tooth comes through it will be perfectly straight.

So don't question your actions. All of us mother's have a built in instinct and I'm sure if you were that worried you would have taken her to the hospital straight away but it sounds like you knew she was going to be fine. I live in Australia and I've never heard of an emergency dentist being called into the hospital especially for a baby tooth. You'll probably find you get told a similar thing by your dentist - that if it is a baby tooth there is no point working on it as it will be replaced by a healthy adult tooth soon enough.

With injuries like that simply apply ice for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off for a maximum of 24 hours. Any longer and you delay the healing. How do I know this - I just had 3 dental operations!! Also if her age permits use an anti-inflammatory drug as well as a pain killer. We call it ibuprofen here in Australia and it reduces swelling. Just make sure to check with your pharmacist first.

I hope this helps!!

Love Samantha xox