Injuries to the lip are very common in people and most of us have experienced it at sometime or the other. Whether you get a cut lip because you busted it or because you bit it, the consequence is the same. The lip is one of the fastest healing parts of the body. In fact, even a serious injury to the lip can heal in less than a week, unlike other parts of the body, which take two or three times longer.
One of the biggest challenge that one faces when treating a cut or a split lip is that it can be difficult to keep the healing lips dry. When your lip is cut, you have a natural tendency to lick it. The saliva is filled with bacteria both beneficial and otherwise, and there is every possibility that the bacteria can infect the cut, causing it to become swollen. This is very painful because any contact (be it with food or when you close your mouth) causes pain. It is also important to understand that wounds heal much quicker when they are dry.
If there is a deep gash that has split your lips open, it may need stitches to heal otherwise the lips may heal incorrectly and appear crooked or unsightly. An open gash is also a breeding ground for infection and therefore, needs immediate cut lip treatment. To prevent the skin of your lip from healing in an inconvenient shape and marring the charm and the beauty of your face, split lip treatment is necessary.
Healing a split lip is not very difficult if you use the right kind of home remedies.
An infected cut on lip is caused by bacteria in the lip wound. This bacterial infection, however, is not a serious problem as most of the time the infection is caused by the bacteria that is present in the saliva. In rare cases, when you have existing infection of herpes, you may get an outbreak along with the injury. Although they are not related, it tends to complicate the problem when it happens.
Treatment for an infected cut is usually nothing other than ensuring that you do not pick at the injury. For many people, the swelling is more of an irritation than pain, and it causes them to peel the outer layer of skin on the swelling. Although this allows the pus inside to drain out, it also exposes the injury and makes it prone to further infection.
Tea tree oil is the perfect home remedy for cut lips. However, it is important to know how to use tea tree oil. When used in its pure concentration, tea tree oil can be very potent and may even burn your skin. Instead of applying it directly in full concentration on your lips, try and use it with some carrier oil such as vegetable or coconut oil. In 10 ml of the carrier oil, add two drops of tea tree oil. This allows the tea tree oil to have the desired effect on your lips without burning them. Apply this oil on your lips to keep them moisturized as well as disinfected. As long as the oil is on your lips, you will not feel the need to lick them as well. The tea tree oil will also help you reduce inflammation and pain. For further reducing the inflammation as well as pain, you can consume tea prepared with fresh ginger and basil. This will help dull the pain.
Once you have reduced the pain and avoided the infection, your lips will begin to heal on their own. You will not even require cut lip stitches. In fact, even a swollen cut lip will begin to heal on its own and you will not have to worry about further medications.
If you want to prevent excessive scarring from a simple cut lip from shaving, you can apply a past made from rosewater and turmeric. Apply this paste on the cut lip and apply a small bandage to promote healing. Turmeric, like tea tree oil, is both anti-inflammatory as well as an antiseptic.
The usual cure would be to wash the injured portion of the lip with salt and water. The salt will kill most pathogens, and although it may sting a bit, will help the cut heal faster. Others use lemon juice, which basically accomplishes the same thing, albeit with more pain to the injured person.
An upper lip cut is usually more difficult to heal than a lower lip one. Sometimes, to heal the upper lip, you may need an artful application of bandage. If your lip is stinging and there is a lot of pain, rub a slice of freshly cut cucumber on the lip. This will heal the injury much faster.
A cut lip is not a very serious issue and does not require consultation with a doctor. The simple home remedies outlined above are more than sufficient. There are, however, a few things that you need to watch out for.
Avoid applying any dairy products such as butter, milk, or margarine on your lips as this will only aggravate your pain and will make the wound more susceptible to infection. Since this wound is external, you can use medicated creams on your lips as well. However, use these creams only after consulting with a doctor. Cosmetic applications may cause allergies and aggravate the wound, so stay away from them for a few days.
Consult with a doctor if the cut does not heal within a week.
As mentioned above, a split lip is nothing to worry about, and invariably a couple of days rest is more than sufficient to bring down the swelling. Simple first aid procedures like washing out the wound and applying some antiseptic cream or lotion on it is generally more than sufficient to cure it in a matter of days. Ensure that you use purely natural products rather than anything that has chemicals in it to prevent burning.