Bruise on the lip
definition
A bruise on the lip is also known as a bruise or hematoma. It occurs when blood leaks from injured vessels into the surrounding tissue. This pool of blood is usually just under the skin, making it highly visible and easy to diagnose. A bruise on your lip can be painful and bothersome, but it usually doesn't pose a serious health threat.
Read more on the topic: Hematoma
root cause
A bruise on the lip is caused by mechanical injury to the affected area. A bite on the lip or a bruise or bruise can cause hematomas on the lip. Even if they fall on their head, many people open their lips and bruise them. The lips are very well supplied with blood and there are many small vessels directly under the skin. These fine vessels can easily tear through mechanical action. As a result, blood then leaks into the surrounding tissue, where it coagulates and forms a dark spot under the skin called a bruise.
Hematomas on the lip can also occur as a side effect of beauty treatments when the lips are sprayed with hyaluronic acid or small wrinkles are to be concealed with injections. The puncture causes small injuries to the lip that bleed in and thus lead to hematomas.
Symptoms
The most obvious symptom of a bruise on your lip is skin discoloration. The lips are usually colored red. The skin in this area is extremely thin and has a lot of blood, which means that the blood can be seen through the skin. In the case of a hematoma, the lip turns dark red to bluish due to the heavy bleeding into the surrounding tissue. As the blood cells break down, the color changes to dark green and yellow.
The leakage of blood from the vessels and damage to the injured tissue lead to swelling and the lip becomes thick. The swelling leads to an enormous feeling of tension and is therefore perceived as extremely painful.
In the case of very severe tissue damage, however, a high fever and accumulations of pus in the area of the bruise can occur. In this case, a doctor should be consulted immediately
diagnosis
The doctor recognizes a hematoma on the lip with a visual diagnosis. A bruise can easily be diagnosed by the typical symptoms, such as swelling, expansion and the distinctive discoloration. Further diagnostics are usually not necessary.
If the bruise on the lip is the result of an accident and the doctor suspects other injuries in the mouth area in addition to the lip hematoma, further examinations can be carried out to rule out damage to the teeth and jaw.
therapy
A hematoma on the lip can usually be treated well yourself. Immediately after impacting or falling on the lip, one should react quickly by immediately pressing the lip very firmly with the hand. This prevents a lot of blood from leaking out of the injured vessels and the bruise can be kept as small as possible.
Then the affected area should be cooled. As a result of the cooling, the vessels contract, the blood flow decreases and as a result less blood escapes into the tissue. The best way to do this is to use an ice pack that has been wrapped in a thin cloth. The injured area should be cooled for about 20 minutes, whereby the bare skin should never come into direct contact with the ice in order to avoid skin damage from the cold.
In the case of severe bruises, heparin ointments are available in pharmacies without a prescription, which accelerate the dissolution of the bruise. In addition, acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be taken to relieve the pain in the lip caused by the hematoma. Aspirin should generally not be used to treat a bruise as it has a thinning effect on the blood and can aggravate the hematoma.
Hyaluronic acid bruise
In the course of lip augmentation or the treatment of upper lip wrinkles with hyaluronic acid, bruises can appear on the lip as an undesirable side effect. Small vessels can be injured at the puncture site, causing the lip to swell and bruising. Usually, however, this does not result in very deep damage. The resulting bruises can easily be treated by cooling and will go away by themselves after a few days.
Read more on the topic: Wrinkle treatment with hyaluronic acid
How long does the bruise last?
The resorption of a bruise on the lip occurs through the breakdown of the blood cells that have leaked into the tissue. This is a natural process in which the red blood pigment is converted step by step and finally broken down. Depending on the severity of the injury and bleeding, it can take one to two weeks for a hematoma on the lip to completely go away
Bruise on the lip in the baby
Babies and children often flip their lips open while playing or falling, which can cause bruising. Usually, a bruise is not a problem in a baby and will heal on its own. The lip should be cooled immediately after the accident, whereby the ice pack or cooling compress must never lie directly on the skin, as otherwise frost damage could result. If the baby is visibly suffering from persistent pain, a sudden fever, the bruise becomes infected or purulent, the child should be presented to the pediatrician immediately. Even if the hematoma on the lip was caused by a serious fall on the head, a doctor should be consulted to rule out further head injuries.
Read more on the topic: Bruising on the baby
