Swelling of the face in a child is a fairly common manifestation of various pathological processes occurring in the child's body. Methods for eliminating this problem directly depend on the etiology of the appearance of edema. Therapy, including medication, is aimed in this case at relieving local symptoms and treating the primary disease that caused swelling of the face in a child. Below are the most commonly diagnosed causes and recommended methods for their elimination.
Allergic swelling
One of the most dangerous and requiring emergency measures is swelling caused by an allergic reaction of the body. A strong swelling of the face in a child develops very rapidly: cheeks, lips, the area under the eyes swell almost instantly, reddening of the skin, tearing is observed. If, with such a pathology, appropriate therapy is not started, the growth of edema can go to the upper respiratory tract and larynx, which poses a clear threat to the life of the child.
What to do?
If an allergic edema is detected, the following measures should be taken:
- give the child one of any antihistamines ("Fenistil", "Diazolin", "Pilpofen"), you also need to use anti-allergic eye drops and nose drops;
- seek medical help and in the future it is recommended, in addition to an allergist, to consult an immunologist to correct the child's immunity.
Edema resulting from kidney disease
Inflammatory and infectious processes in the kidneys are usually accompanied by fluid retention in the body. This is another reason why the child has a swollen face, which requires an immediate visit to the doctor. Such edema is localized, in addition to the face, also ankles and wrists. A characteristic symptom of renal edema is the remaining deep mark on the body from children's socks or elastic bands on the cuff. In addition to the above, renal edema is divided into the following subspecies depending on the location, etiology and consequences:
- chronic kidney failure can cause swelling of the face and legs;
- The so-called "nephritic" edema is characteristic of the acute stages of kidney disease. As a rule, such edema is accompanied by hypertension (increased blood pressure), general weakness and the presence of blood impurities in the urine;
- nephrotic edema is localized in the face, eyes and graduallyextend to hands and fingers.
When touched, such swelling is soft and does not have clear boundaries. The cause of nephrotic edema, as a rule, is diabetes mellitus in a child, glomerulosclerosis, nephropathy, renal amyloidosis and other renal pathologies.
How to fix?
What to do, the child's face is swollen for this reason. The usual way to relieve kidney edema is to take diuretics (diuretics), such as Furosemide. Such medications remove fluid from the body well, but when used for the treatment of children, they raise a lot of questions and doubts. Firstly, many diuretics are contraindicated in children under the age of three years, and secondly, if the dosage is incorrectly selected, they can lead to dehydration. In addition, diuretics can relieve swelling only for a short time, but do not have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-infective therapeutic effects. Therefore, if adequate treatment is not started, the child's edema will return again.
"Kanefron" and "Renel"
Along with this, there are medications that combine anti-inflammatory and diuretic actions, namely:
- "Renel" - a drug created on the basis of medicinal plants, has a good diuretic effect, relieves swelling;
- "Kanefron" - a drug indicated for use in cystitis and pyelonephritis, promotes a smooth discharge of sand and stones fromkidney and urinary tract, has a mild diuretic effect, which is especially suitable for children.
Swelling of the face in a child caused by kidney disease, with properly selected drug therapy, as a rule, disappear after a couple of days.
Edema of the face resulting from diseases of the cardiovascular system
The cause of swelling of the face and eyes in a child can be heart failure, various heart defects, myocarditis. Such swelling is accompanied by cyanosis, shortness of breath, heart rhythm disturbance. Elimination of facial edema of this etiology is impossible without eliminating the primary disease, moreover, the treatment of the child should be aimed at reducing blood stasis in the veins of the large and small circles, and normalizing heart contractions. Contributory measures that will help reduce swelling not only of the face, but of the whole body in case of cardiovascular diseases are:
- diet food (preference is given to boiled and potassium-rich foods (dried apricots, cottage cheese desserts);
- limitation of physical activity;
- fluid control;
- taking diuretic drugs in the dosage determined by the attending physician.
Swelling of the face caused by various infectious diseases
The localization of such edema and the degree of their spread depends on each specific infection, namely:
- the most dangerous infection, which is accompanied bynumber and swelling of the child's face, is meningitis. In addition to edema, parents should be alerted by such signs as a sharp increase in temperature, headache, fainting, nosebleeds. The combination of the above symptoms should prompt immediate medical attention;
- when a child's body is affected by an infectious disease such as measles, facial edema is accompanied by a characteristic rash that gradually spreads to the entire surface of the body;
- when a child is infected with scarlet fever, the eyelids and face swell first of all, while the skin in the nasolabial triangle turns pale;
- with infectious conjunctivitis, the eye area is affected, severe swelling develops on the eyelids;
- swelling of the face and neck is characteristic of such an infectious disease as parotitis (popularly called "mumps").
It should be noted that drug therapy can only be used under the strict supervision of the attending physician only after a thorough diagnosis.
Swelling caused by physical injury
Separately, one should dwell on edema resulting from various injuries and physical damage to tissues and organs. Children, due to their increased physical activity, are quite often prone to falls. The measures taken in this case to relieve swelling on the child's face depend on the type of injury received, namely:
- In case of damage to the nose, swelling of the face around the eyes, which turns into hematomas, is characteristic. For pain relief andremoval of edema is recommended to use "Troxevasin", "Troxerutin" or heparin ointment.
- For general head bruises, swelling of the face may indicate a concussion, which in turn requires immediate hospitalization.
In addition to all of the above, rarely causes swelling of the face in a child can be teething in infancy, the wrong position taken by the child in a dream, anemia, metabolic disorders, liver disease.
