Is there anything to be done about a badly bitten lip?

FeistyFille

I just got a call from our daycare.  Apparently Joseph slipped, hit his chin on the table and in doing that, he bit his inside lower lip badly.  As in, halfway through his lip!    They say he isn't crying anymore, and it should probably be fine.  But if they're calling me, it must be bad, right?  I'm wondering if I take him to the doctor, can she even do anything to help him?  It's on the bottom inside of his lip.  They don't think it'd require stitches.  Thoughts?

ebat

FeistyFille:

But if they're calling me, it must be bad, right? 

I notice that daycare calls if it's something I would notice right away when I walked in,  not just based on severity.  If they stopped the bleeding and he seems okay  I don't think there's anything to be done for it but maybe ice.  Scary though,  hope he's okay

ndluvsrk

ebat:

FeistyFille:

But if they're calling me, it must be bad, right? 

I notice that daycare calls if it's something I would notice right away when I walked in,  not just based on severity.  If they stopped the bleeding and he seems okay  I don't think there's anything to be done for it but maybe ice.  Scary though,  hope he's okay

Ditto ebat.

Poor, sweet J!!

FeistyFille

Ok, thanks, ladies.  I doubt there'd be anything I could do, but I didn't want to be a bad mommy for leaving him in school while I run a shitton of errands.  You have validated me, and I appreciate it. 

ec3under4

When my oldest was a little over 2, he was running and slipped into the bottom of his crib. His teeth went almost completely through. I took him to the er because it was bleeding so badly and they said that as long as there is something left then it was better to leave it to heal on it's own. They said the trauma from getting stitches in that location is worse than the damage. I won't lie though, it sure did cause him pain for quite a while so I wouldn't hesitate to give him something especially before bed when he won't be moving his mouth for a while. But, it healed great and you can't tell unless you look in his mouth.

mcurban

One more thing... you know, just because

If he already has a pedi dentist, you might call and see if (s)he can see Joseph to check his teeth. When Tommy fell, he split his lip and we didn't really think anything of it. We called the dentist b/c one of his teeth had chipped and she showed us that they were actually knocked loose. Well, looser than usual b/c at that age, they hadn't completely tightened.

If a tooth has been loosened, they'll want to monitor for infection.

joyco

They called me when Spence busted his lip, but gave me the option on whether I wanted to go get him or leave him til pick-up time (an hour later).  I left him b/c she reassured me that he would not need an ER/pedi visit.  However, with such a badly bitten mouth, I would maybe err on the side of going to get him and taking him to be seen.  That sounds painful, I'm so sorry!

MrsMillerTime

Let him suck on ice as much as possible to keep the pain at a minimum.  I would also cut back on his acid intake for a couple days so that it doesn't further irritate the area.

FeistyFille

mcurban:

One more thing... you know, just because

If he already has a pedi dentist, you might call and see if (s)he can see Joseph to check his teeth. When Tommy fell, he split his lip and we didn't really think anything of it. We called the dentist b/c one of his teeth had chipped and she showed us that they were actually knocked loose. Well, looser than usual b/c at that age, they hadn't completely tightened.

If a tooth has been loosened, they'll want to monitor for infection.

Ouch.  This thread is hurting me.

As for teeth, I'll check them out, but I think his lip probably cushioned them from cracking together.  

sarahtops1029

I'm a pedi RN and the clinic I work in actually sees lacerations a lot. I would say it might be a good idea to just go ahead and take him to his pediatrician to get it checked, especially if you look at it and worry about his teeth or if it's really bothering him while he's trying to eat. The good thing is the cells in the mouth turn over quickly so it heals faster than some other areas of the body. I'd say most kids and even adults have occasions where they bite their lip pretty badly and it's unusual for it to cause any long lasting problem or need stitches. Just check it daily to see how it's looking.

FeistyFille

So I didn't go get him, but I did speak with our pedi nurse (thanks, pp!).  She basically said that unless it looks like it's not healing up by Monday, there wasn't much to do.  We have to avoid spicy food and citrus obviously, but other than that, give him tylenol if it's hurting him.    Poor baby.  Thanks for all the advice, ladies.