Signs & SymptomsSWELLING |
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Swelling can be caused by a variety of reasons. If the swelling is associated with fever, redness, and heat…. It is probably due to an infection or abscess from the tooth or surrounding gum tissue. Take an over the counter fever reducer like ibuprofen, rinse with salt water (1 teas of salt per cup of warm water), call your dentist or physician for immediate treatment (antibiotics) and follow up definitive care. If the swelling is under the nose or above the front upper lip, seek immediate treatment. An abscess or infection in this area can proceed along a natural pathway to the base of the brain resulting in meningitis and death. If a small swelling occurs inside the lip or cheek, is dome shaped, bluish in color, non-tender, it is probably a saliva retention blister. It will usually break, drain, and heal on it’s own: no attention is required. Sometimes a larger saliva retention blister can occur under the tongue An external swelling under chin between the throat and the jaw or on the side of the face that is painful at meal times may be due to saliva stone. If these don’t expel on their own they need to be removed This swelling is usually limited to one side. An external swelling under the chin between the throat and the jaw that is chronically painful, reddened, cause difficulty in swallowing and causes a high fever may be due Ludwig’s angina and needs immediate attention. An external swelling in front of the base of the ear in absence of any other symptoms may be an infection of the parotid salivary gland as sometimes seen with the " mumps" a low-grade fever might be present An external hard swelling between the base of the ear and the collar bone in the absence of any other symptoms may be a swollen lymph node that is the consequence of infection from somewhere in the node’s drainage area. A swelling that comes on quickly to a certain area of the face, and is quickly replaced by ulcers that tend to weep and scab over may be Shingles –a type of herpes viruses. When the dormant virus at the base of a major nerve trunk (that serves a certain region of the face) becomes reactivates it produces " shingles". Sometimes only swelling, redness. And burning of the face will occur and no ulcers. IMPORTANT While swelling may be related to a single pathological entity, it is often times part of a more broad systemic disease, that manifests itself it other ways. Prudent follows up medical or dental help is imperative.
©1998, Jeffrey Kohlhardt DDS, 1204 Cottonwood Street, Suite 4
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9. SWELLING