Has My Child Broken Their Nose? What Parents Should Do After a Nasal Injury A football hits your child in the face. They fall from a scooter. Two children collide in the playground. Within minutes, the nose can look swollen, bruised and surprisingly different from normal. Parents understandably ask: “Have they broken their nose?” The difficulty is that immediately after an injury, swelling itself can make the nose appear crooked . It may therefore be impossible to know on the first day whether a nasal fracture requires treatment. Fortunately, most childhood nasal injuries are uncomplicated. University Hospitals Sussex notes that nasal injuries are common in children and that most bruising and swelling settles without further treatment. Nasal fractures are also less common in younger children because much of the developing nose is still cartilage rather than bone. However, some important exceptions exist. Parents need to recognise significant head-injury symptoms, uncontr...
Why Does My Child Keep Clearing Their Throat? A Parent’s Guide “ Ahem… ahem… ahem. ” Once you notice your child repeatedly clearing their throat, it can become difficult to ignore. Perhaps it happens every few minutes while they watch television. Their teacher may mention it at school. Some children repeatedly sniff as well; others say they feel mucus in their throat or that “something is there”, even though they otherwise seem completely well. Parents naturally wonder whether this means allergy, enlarged adenoids, reflux, infection—or even something stuck in the throat. Persistent throat clearing in children has several possible causes , and the symptom pattern is often more informative than the sound itself. Sometimes nasal mucus irritates the throat. Sometimes the throat remains sensitive following a viral infection. In other children, repeated clearing gradually becomes a learnt or habitual behaviour. Throat clearing can also occur as a vocal tic. The important point i...