Cut lip in a fall

[Anonymous]

My DC took a bad fall and cut his lip. It bled for a short while but it looks swollen. The ped said unless it was very bad it would heal naturally. Have you found this and how long will it take to heal?

[Anonymous]

Has the pediatrician seen it or did he/she just tell you this over the phone? I fell several years ago and split my lip (not just a cut according to my husband) and had to have stitches. Healed very fast, though since lips are very vascular.

[Anonymous]

Lips heal really quickly. Give it a couple days and I bet you see fast improvement. I say this coming from a long line of family prone to falling on their faces (not that we are proud of it, but hey!)

[Anonymous]

Thanks. It was over the phone. I am concerned. If I wait a few days, will they still be able to do stitches?

[Anonymous]

Ummm, if it is on the lip, and you are worried about stitches, honestly I would go in just in case. My 2.5 YO fell and cut her knee and we knew it was bad but figured it would be fine with a bandage, antibiotic ointment, etc. I was shocked that she still has a scar 2/3 yrs later. I figured they heal fast and well at that age. I wish now we had taken her for stitches.

Can't hurt to ask them but could hurt to ignore it. Since it's on his face I would be extra careful. Although facial scars never did Harrison Ford any harm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC took a bad fall and cut his lip. It bled for a short while but it looks swollen. The ped said unless it was very bad it would heal naturally. Have you found this and how long will it take to heal?

My DC had a playground injury where his two top teeth deeply cut his bottom lip. It looked stitches worthy. The emergency room physician told us that they wouldn't stitch it. Told us that lip cuts heal fast naturally, just to put ice on it for a few days. By the next morning his cut had closed and the soreness was gone 24 hours later. It was sore to the touch a bit longer. And, was completely healed in about 3 weeks. We were told not to put any creams or ointments on it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again. One last question. There has been some healing on the cut but the lip tissue is white. Not really a pus but could be. Why would that be? (I have googled this and haven't been able to find a clear answer.) I might go see the ped tomorrow if it looks worse in the morning. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Is the cut above the lip line? If so, i would definitely take him to the Dr. My son sliced his lip slightly above the lip line and we went to a plastic surgeon my husband knows. He said deep cuts like in that location probably need stiches so they heal better.

It really looked awful for a number of months, but now after 12 months, we can hardly tell. On other other hand, my son bled from a small cut on his forehead that I thought was no big deal, but he still has a white scar 2 years later.

In any event, keep the scar mosturized (plastic surgeon said vitamin E ointment) and keep it out of the sun. I think that is why my son's forehead scar is so noticeable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC took a bad fall and cut his lip. It bled for a short while but it looks swollen. The ped said unless it was very bad it would heal naturally. Have you found this and how long will it take to heal?

My DC had a playground injury where his two top teeth deeply cut his bottom lip. It looked stitches worthy. The emergency room physician told us that they wouldn't stitch it. Told us that lip cuts heal fast naturally, just to put ice on it for a few days. By the next morning his cut had closed and the soreness was gone 24 hours later. It was sore to the touch a bit longer. And, was completely healed in about 3 weeks. We were told not to put any creams or ointments on it.

By now you've probably gone to the ped, the white line remained for 2/3 days after it closed. Before it completely healed his cut line had a slightly yellow tinge bordering on normal skin tone this lasted for a couple more days before the color returned perfectly. No infection, at all.

[Anonymous]

About stitches, I don't know about the lips, but in general, stitches must be done within 24 hours of injury. My now 15 months old had two bad lip cuts - teeth going through when she fell. Lots of blood, couldn't tell where the cut was a few hours later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About stitches, I don't know about the lips, but in general, stitches must be done within 24 hours of injury. My now 15 months old had two bad lip cuts - teeth going through when she fell. Lots of blood, couldn't tell where the cut was a few hours later.

I remember years ago falling and splitting open my lip. I received stitches in the emergency room that day because my doc didn't think the cut would close evenly on its own.

[Anonymous]

17:15 here (from the accident prone family) -- My understanding is that if it is inside the mouth, it is very hard to stitch and should heal quickly. The white line that OP asked about is normal too. It is the healing skin already building up (so long as it is not pussy or tender). The biggest thing is making sure the child isn't chewing or sucking on the spot, because that will irritate it.

If, however, as others have pointed out, the cut is more on the outside on the mouth (out of the lip line), it is probably worth seeing the doctor, but you need to stitch it within 24 hours usually. I'm not a doctor, I just know that with several generations falling on their face (or running into things with their face), the only mouth cut that required stitches was when the teeth bit all the way through the inside of the lip (that's not pretty!).