Swollen Face and Chin how do I reduce the Swelling?!
Question:
Swollen Face and Chin how do I reduce the Swelling?
I have a absest in the chin and side of my face, and my gums are also swollen, anything I could do to reduce the swelling?
Answers:
Assuming you have seen a doc and have had the abscess drained or treated with antibiotics, or whatever, to treat the swelling you can use NSAIDS (ibuprofen -- Advil or Motrin, or naproxen -- Aleve) and an ice pack or cold pack. Don't put ice right on the skin, though, as it can damage the skin. Instead, wrap a cold pack in a washcloth and apply that, or put ice and some cold water (which helps distribute the coldness better) in a ziploc bag, wrap that in a washcloth or paper towel, and put that on it.
IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN A DOCTOR, YOU NEED TO GO. Abscesses can be very nasty and can eat into the bone, causing bone destruction. If it is in your face, this need to be treated. There are important structures in your head that you need to keep from getting infected -- your brain, for example. :)
Good luck. Oh, and you can add acetaminophen (Tylenol) to the ibuprofen for pain control if they didn't already prescribe something for you, but don't mix two NSAIDS, as they can do bad things to your stomach lining (like cause ulcers).
For swelling control, the dosage of ibuprofen is 800 mg (4 200 mg tablets) every 8 hours. But use the ice, too, in my opinion it works better. 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.
Good luck, hope you feel better soon. I had awful dry socket in three teeth after my wisdom teeth were out -- it's not as bad as an abscess, but I have some idea what you're going through, and it's horrible.
Needless to say, if the swelling doesn't start going down in a couple of days with the treatment that has been prescribed by your doctor, you need to go back.
Take care,
Julie
PS, on second thought, I hope you have something better than ibuprofen and Tylenol for pain? If not, you should ask for some, because not every doctor/nurse remembers pain control when they are treating patients. Sad but true.