My DS has cut his tongue badly, is there anything I can do?

Last night DS#2 was outside playing while DH was out there with him. DH didn't see what happened, but all of a sudden DS was crying and blood was pouring out of his mouth :(. We think he fell off the ladder of his slide. I took him inside and cleaned him up, gave him a bath and when his mouth finally stopped bleeding I saw he had a huge cut on his tongue. This morning it looks like a big split in the middle of his tongue, he didn't sleep well at all last night the poor bubba.

He is having trouble eating or drinking because it's so sore. He couldn't drink his milk this morning I think because of the pressure of the spout on his tongue. And of course food is hard to eat too. He had a little bit of raisin toast thankfully.

But I don't know what I can do for him. I'm pretty sure if I took him to a Dr they would tell me there isn't anything that can be done and to wait for it to heal. I don't know what sort of foods I can give him that won't hurt or sting.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Oh poor little man. I know we have a paste for ulcers that creates a barrier so nothing gets in IYKWIM and stops the pain. Maybe its worth taking him to a Dr to see if anything like this would help.
I think ice cream and jelly would be ok to eat without stinging :D

Oh poor DS and poor Mummy :hug: I think you are right, the Dr will be likely to tell you just to let it heal but I'd still be inclined to get it checked.

Foodwise, I'd give him custard, yoghurt, mashed fruit etc until it heals a little.

HTH
Spring

i think i would go to the doctors anyway. anything in the mouth will bleed a lot becuase its so wet in there but i think i'd still go.
yeh, go for non acidic foods that are less liekly to sting like whats been suggested. similar to what your have if your wisdom teeth had come out.

Hey Trish,

big hugs it's awful when they hurt themselves.

My DS who has just turned 1 had a "mouth accident" last weekend blood everywhere but we couldn't see where it was coming from so we took him off to the Dr and by the time we got there it had stopped, The reassurence was his teeth were fine and the DR said mouth injuries heal themselves really quickly.

Maybe make a fruit smoothy and give it too him through a straw, that way he can sit it in one side of his mouth or maybe some hot bread rolled into little balls that he can chew at the back, maybe strearing clear of vegemite and tomatoes.

We gave DS a cold washer to suck and he thought it was great and I think it help with pain because he stopped crying not long after. You could try depending on the cut some sm33 mouth gel, that might numb the pain long enough for DS to have something to eat maybe?

Good Luck :D

Try some cold foods - even like a milk-based icey pole - will help reduce the swelling and numb the area a bit??

In the meantime I'd put him on a diet of soft bland food that you've wizzed thru the food processor like cooled porridge, mashed potato and sweet potato (with some milk powder stirred in for extra protein), and soft cooled scrambled eggs, custard etc.

Of course get it checked if you're worried, I'm sure the pharmacist will be able to recommend some good products as well.

Thanks so much for your replies ladies. Some great food ideas, I will definitely give them a go. I'm just so paranoid I'll hurt him more, but I can't let him go hungry either!

He is having a nap at the moment because he is so tired from not sleeping well last night, but when he wakes up I'll take another look at his tongue (If he'll let me!) and I may take him to the Dr or even the chemist.

Thanks again everyone :hug:.

oh gosh I would be taking him straight to the doctors. If it gets infected he could loose his tongue!

Oh no Trish I hope K is ok.

My niece cut her tongue a while back and my SIL gave her some panadol to help with the pain whilst eating. It did heal quickly so hopefully K's will too. Mushy foods sound like the way to go!

Thanks Sangie :hug:, I have been giving him Panadol too and I did put a bit of SM33 on it this morning, but I felt bad because I know it stings first before it goes numb!

missymoo84 - I'm hesitant to take him to a Dr only because my DS#1 had a worse mouth injury when he was 2 1/2 and the Drs pretty much sent me away with no advice apart from giving him Panadol. He ended up having to go to the Dental hospital due to the damage done to his teeth, but he also badly cut up his tongue and mouth. Neither got infected and I wasn't warned by anyone that it would get infected. They actually healed up very quickly, so I'm hoping the same will happen with DS#2.

My two and a half yr old did nearly the same exact thing when he was 2, it looked as if he had two tongues, I just did as some have said and given him some panadol and really soft food for a day or two and then it didn't seem to bother him as much. I think as most it took a week to heal.

hugs xoxo

My niece fell off the bed and I am pretty sure she cut her tounge. She got stitches for it. It depends how big it is and whether it is open. Also mouths can get infected so I would go just to be on the safe sound.

well I hope it heals up quickly for him then :D
I just was going on meeting someone in the hospital about 10 years ago who had bit through her tongue and left it then had to get some of her tongue cut off. Ewwww!

as bronzdbebe said the mouth heals VERY quickly, you'll find he'll be ok in a day or so, there are lots of blood vessels in the mouth, id keep up the panadol for now!

trish how did the tongue heal?

Thanks for asking AJP! His tongue healed up really quickly, by day two it had sealed over and he had no problems eating or drinking. You can still see where he did it, but it looks fine and he doesn't seem bothered by it at all. It's very true that mouth injuries heal quickly!

good to hear!! they do indeed heal well and quickly!!