DS's nose might be broken ...

[juneau]

DS1 was playing rugby yesterday and got hit hard on the nose by another player. He complained of pain last night, so I gave him Nurofen and he was still complaining this morning before school, so I dosed him again. His nose is not bent out of shape. There is some swelling, but no visible discoloration. How do I tell if it's broken? And if it is, is there any treatment? If he's in a lot of pain, obviously I will take him to get it x-rayed, but I'm wondering if it's necessary otherwise. Does anyone know?

There's some useful info here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/broken-nose/

I would get it checked to be sure there is no break to cheek bone/eye socket.

No treatment and no x-rays here. Only if visibly out then they might do surgery. Generally breathing through one nostril is somewhat impaired. Breathing improved fairly quickly. Three months on still waiting for the pain to go when wearing glasses .

Noses are not x-rayed. A combination of cartilage & swelling means that an XR is pointless in the acute stage.
The most important complication to avoid is a septal haematoma - a big swelling on the cartilidge separating the nostrils. Have a look up his nose - if it is red & swollen he needs to be seen today (this is a rare complication & I haven't seen one in 16 yrs in A&E).
I'm assuming your DS can breath through both nostrils?
Make a GP appt for 2 weeks time - they can refer you to ENT if the nose is still mishapen.

Thanks! I'll have a good look up his nose with a torch when I get him home. And yes, I think he can breath just fine, although it's hard to tell, because he's also being investigated for allergies after 12 months of being constantly congested. I'm glad they won't be x-raying his head. I wasn't too eager for that to happen.