Oral injuries are pretty common. They can take place during daily activities like playing sports, accidentally biting your cheek or tongue or falling down. All these can lead to oral cuts and bleeding. Despite the mouth being a small space, the area has many blood vessels. Hence even a minor cut often leads to lots of bleeding. Oral injuries are not always serious and can be treated at home. But, proper care should be taken to avoid any possible infection or scarring.
Here are a few things you should do if you or someone you know gets an oral injury:
Before you handle the injury, make sure to wash your hands with soap and water.
The next step is to clean the cut by rinsing the mouth with water.
Press a clean towel or use cotton swabs to clean the wound and stop the bleeding.
You can reduce the pain by sucking on a popsicle.
Do not apply any kind of creams to the mouth, but make sure to check on the wound every day.
Generally, oral injuries heal quickly because of the presence of saliva inside the mouth, which introduces good bacteria to the wound and hastens the recovery process. There are a few home remedies to treat oral injuries.
Saltwater
Generally, after an oral injury occurs, there might be chances of the wound bleeding. Make sure to rinse your mouth with cool water. Then, add salt to your glass of water and rinse your mouth once a day, probably before sleeping to quicken the healing process.
Sucking on Popsicle
Instead of an ice cube, make sure the wounded person sucks on a popsicle. Ice cubes may cause choking in children. Also, a popsicle can be placed right on the wound and taken out when the pain subsides. One can also use ice packs on the outside of the face near the affected area to curb the swelling and numb the pain.
Garlic
It is believed that chewing on garlic after suffering an oral injury can kill the bacteria in the mouth and prevent any kind of infection. But, do not chew garlic if it’s an open wound. If there is any burning sensation, spit out the garlic immediately.
Avoid ingredients that might sting
When facing oral injuries, avoid anything citrusy like lemon or other fruits and spicy foods. It can agitate the wound and hinder the healing process.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider vinegar is known to have healing properties by destroying the bacteria that can worsen the wound. You can rinse your mouth with diluted apple cider vinegar or sip on cool water with it mixed in.
It will be best to consult a doctor before opting for any of these aforementioned hacks.
