About the disease
Soft and hard facial tissue injuries are relatively common in the modern world. Our face is exposed to many outside harmful factors, which can affect it. Basically there are 2 types of facial injuries: those that affected soft tissue and those that affected hard tissue.
Soft facial tissue injury includes such traumas as burns and lacerations. Burns can be from fire or chemical. Many creams and lotions, that men and women use for their everyday skin care, can cause a burn in case a woman/man has allergic reaction to some product. Having a mask on too long or using some strong scrub can also cause chemical burn to skin, although they are rarely very serious and deep. Lacerations are basically cuts and other different mini traumas to the skin which could have been caused by various sharp objects. If not deep, they also heal in the matter of days. Serious lacerations can leave permanent marks, such as scars or blemishes.
Hard facial injuries include various fractures that could have resulted after a fight, accident or fall. In fact, motor vehicle accidents are one of the most common causes of hard facial tissue injuries. The most common hard facial tissue injuries are nasal fractures or deviations of the nasal bone. Fractures of the jaw are also relatively common, but they are more rare than nasal fractures because the nasal septum is very fragile and thin in its structure. It is important to avoid eye injuries during face traumas not to cause any vision problems.
Symptoms
- Any of the facial area is affected by the injury
- Bleeding in some cases
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Dizziness in severe cases
- Fatigue
- Fever in severe cases
- Puffiness of the face
Diagnosis
- During a general examination the doctor will examine the injury. Depending on the type of injury, the first aid will be provided. It is important to get first treatment as soon as possible after the injury was sustained. In case of a burn, the injured area needs to be cooled as soon as possible and skin relief needs to be provided as well.
- The doctor will inquire about the nature of injury and its severity to determine if any of other parts of body were injured, such as ankles, knees or feet.
- The doctor will check if there is bleeding or fracture in case of hard facial injury. The doctor will palpate the injured place to see if any of the bones is broken.
- Imaging tests, such as an X-ray, MRI or CT scan, are used if there is a suspicion of concussion. They can also be used to see if there is fracture or any other deviation from normal of inner bones.
- The eyes may need to be checked if the injury affected them as well.
Treatment
- The first aid is crucial. In fact, the rapidity and outcome of recovery depend proportionally to the time the person got first aid. Call emergency in case of any severe injury or go to the emergency room on your own in mild cases.
- Plastic reconstruction is the plastic surgery used to reconstruct the affected part of the face and also remove all the damage that the injury brought. The doctor can also repair the affected tissues.
Authors: Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko
