Noses, Broken

Before they are teenagers, children don’t really have a nose to break; the cartilage that gives the nose its shape is too soft for any real damage. This isn’t to say that a blow to the nose can’t cause conspicuous swelling or a black-and-blue area from a ruptured blood vessel. Applying ice for the first few minutes will somewhat limit the swelling, which can take a good week to go down.