Broken bones such as combinations of nasal, maxillary, and mandibular fractures can interfere with the airway. Blood from the face or mouth, if swallowed, can cause vomiting, which can itself present a threat to the airway because it has the potential to be aspirated. Since airway problems can occur late after the initial injury, it is necessary for healthcare providers to monitor the airway regularly.Even when facial injuries are not life-threatening, they have the potential to cause disfigurement and disability, with long-term physical and emotional results. Facial injuries can cause problems with eye, nose, or jaw function and can threaten eyesight. As early as 400 BC, Hippocrates is thought to have recorded a relationship between blunt facial trauma and blindness. Injuries involving the eye or eyelid, such as retrobulbar hemorrhage, can threaten eyesight; however, blindness following facial trauma is not common.Incising wounds of the face may involve the parotid duct. This is more likely if the wound crosses a line drawn between the tragus of the ear to the upper lip. The approximate location of the course of the duct is the middle third of this line.Nerves and muscles may be trapped by broken bones; in these cases the bones need to be put back into their proper places quickly. For example, fractures of the orbital floor or medial orbital wall of the eye can entrap the medial rectus or inferior rectus muscles. In facial wounds, tear ducts and nerves of the face may be damaged.
Dravet syndrome, previously known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder which causes a catastrophic form of epilepsy, with prolonged seizures that are often triggered by hot temperatures or fever. It is very difficult to treat with anticonvulsant medications. It often begins before 1 year of age, with 6 months being the age that seizures, char­ac­ter­ized by prolonged convulsions and triggered by fever, usually begin. Signs and symptoms
Dravet syndrome has been characterized by prolonged febrile and non-febrile seizures within the first year of a childs life. This disease progresses to other seizure types like myoclonic and partial seizures, psychomotor delay, and ataxia. It is characterized by cognitive impairment, behavioural disorders, and motor deficits. Behavioural deficits often include hyperactivity and impulsiveness, and in more rare cases, autistic-like behaviours. Dravet syndrome is also associated with sleep disorders including somnolence and insomnia. The seizures experienced by people with Dravet syndrome become worse as the patient ages, as the disease is not very observable when symptoms first appear. This coupled with the range of severity differing between each individual diagnosed and the resistance of these seizures to drugs has made it challenging to develop treatments.Dravet syndrome appears during the first year of life, often beginning around six months of age with frequent febrile seizures (fever-related seizures). Children with Dravet syndrome typically experience a lagged development of language and motor skills, hyperactivity and sleep difficulties, chronic infection, growth and balance issues, and difficulty relating to others.