To get injured, it is not necessary to get involved in fights or engage in extreme sports, an awkward turn or accidental fall is enough. Simple bruises and abrasions are quite familiar, a person gets acquainted with them in childhood, but a dissection of the lip can scare not only the injured, but everyone around. What to do and how to quickly provide first aid? How can such damage be dangerous?
Causes of injury
In domestic conditions, lip dissection occurs most often by negligence or accident. You can stumble, fall and hit your face, be in the way of a stone thrown by someone. Trauma doctors note that some of the damage people receive as a result of curious and incredible coincidences. A case was recorded when a man turned to the emergency room after a chicken attack.
The consequences of a fight, beating or robbery do not apply to personal injury, but to the scope of offenses. A broken lip can be accompanied by concomitant injuries that complicate the healing process. Any complicating factor is a strong argument in favor of refusing self-treatment and going to traumatology.
First aid and proper damage assessment
A large number of small blood vessels, the close proximity of the mucous membrane, a complex muscular structure that provides rich facial expressions - all these factors directly affect instant aggravating symptoms that accompany even a slight lip dissection.
Severe and rapidly worsening edema and heavy bleeding do not allow you to quickly assess the severity of the injury. Therefore, it is recommended to follow a simple algorithm: if possible, stop the bleeding and wash the wound, apply cold.
Important: an ice pack can be applied for no more than fifteen minutes, after which it is necessary to take an equally long break.
The main dissection parameters are the length relative to the red border of the lips and the width of the resulting wound. If the gap extends beyond the red border of the lips, then serious damage to muscle fibers can be suspected, and a width of more than 7 mm is an unambiguous indication for surgical care.
How to treat lip dissection
If the wound needs to be sutured, then it is better not to argue with the doctor in this matter. The fact is that, due to the specific location of the injury, healing can be seriously complicated, and it is better to stitch. To approximate the edges of the wound with a plaster on the lip, as a rule, does not work.
It is better to rinse a broken lip with chlorhexidine. Hydrogen peroxide can be used if contamination is present in the wound, in which case the internal tissues may turn white. This is not pus, you should not try to remove the white inclusions formed due to the primary treatment. Zelenka, iodine, any alcohol solutions are strictly contraindicated, it is not worth aggravating burn injuries.
For the first time, you can cover fresh seams with a sterile gauze cloth, securing with a band-aid, but in most cases this is not required.
Healing process
In order for the treatment to proceed quickly and effectively, the specific location of the injury must be considered. The healing lip dissection is constantly subjected to various influences, because in most cases a person cannot provide absolute immobility to fresh sutures. The wound is anxious during a conversation or eating, therefore, at least the first couple of days, speech rest and a diet that does not require active chewing movements are recommended. This is especially true if the dissection is accompanied by trauma to the gums and dentition.
Broken lip in a child
If an adult gets injured, it is somewhat easier to tolerate. But the child at this moment is more afraid, can scream, involuntarily exacerbating the problem - in the scream the mouth is wide open, the lips are pulled and the dissection receives additional negative effects. Therefore, the baby first of all needs to be reassured, comforted, persuaded to suffer.
What to do when a child’s lip is cut and is it worth it to self-medicate? Even if it seems to you that this is a minor injury, it is better to consult a doctor. Parents are responsible for the child, and it is better to be safe. It is important to remain calm and confident, because panicking adults only exacerbate the condition of an already scared baby.
Otherwise, the treatment process follows the same rules as in adults, unless it is worthwhile to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the wound, especially in young children.
Possible misconceptions and complications
Any damage to the face seriously spoils the appearance and attracts unnecessary attention, so all victims are concerned about the question of how long the dissection of the lip heals. If there was no inflammation, then in a few days it will be possible to notice a significant improvement. The exact timing depends on the severity of the damage.
Getting into the wound of the infection exacerbates the problem. The inflammatory process begins, the gap can "twist". Redness of the surrounding tissues and swelling, accumulation of purulent exudate - if all of the listed symptoms are observed, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate drugs. However, at the same time, fibrin plaque is taken as a sign of inflammation, which should not be cleaned or washed.
Caring for a wound is actually very simple. You need to try not to disturb the fresh seam, and Levomekol ointment, which has weak antibacterial properties, is perfect for softening. It is not worth drying with alcohol solutions, they can provoke the formation of a rough scab, which, contrary to common misconceptions, does not contribute to a quick recovery.