Dawaa Reference

Clinical reference

Black Eye (Periorbital Bruising)

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class FD35.00 - condition scope only, no dose · Orbital Floor Fracture - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534825/ · MSF Essential Drugs 2024 - paracetamol (oral)

Verified against1 document
  • MSF Essential Drugs 2024 - paracetamol (oral)

Verified date2026-08

Rx: Pain | Main treatment

PAIN

1

PARACETAMOL

Pain

1st line

Strength500 mg

Formoral.solid

Adult dose and duration

1 g (two 500 mg tablets) 3 or 4 times daily, to a maximum of 4 g in 24 hours. - A few days, while the bruise is tender.

Paediatric dose

15 mg/kg/dose [child max 500 mg]

(Child 1 month and over: 15 mg/kg 3 or 4 times daily, to a maximum of 60 mg/kg in 24 hours. Child under 1 month: 10 mg/kg 3 or 4 times daily, to a maximum of 40 mg/kg in 24 hours. A single dose is capped at 500 mg because the top band of MSF's own weight table, 30 to under 50 kg, is one 500 mg tablet three times daily.)

Dose by weight
3kg45 mg/dose
4kg60 mg/dose
5kg75 mg/dose
6kg90 mg/dose
7kg105 mg/dose
8kg120 mg/dose
9kg135 mg/dose
10kg150 mg/dose
11kg165 mg/dose
12kg180 mg/dose
13kg195 mg/dose
14kg210 mg/dose
15kg225 mg/dose
16kg240 mg/dose
17kg255 mg/dose
18kg270 mg/dose
19kg285 mg/dose
20kg300 mg/dose
21kg315 mg/dose
22kg330 mg/dose
23kg345 mg/dose
24kg360 mg/dose
25kg375 mg/dose
26kg390 mg/dose
27kg405 mg/dose
28kg420 mg/dose
29kg435 mg/dose
30kg450 mg/dose
31kg465 mg/dose
32kg480 mg/dose
33kg495 mg/dose
34kg500 mg/dose (capped)
35kg500 mg/dose (capped)
36kg500 mg/dose (capped)
37kg500 mg/dose (capped)
38kg500 mg/dose (capped)
39kg500 mg/dose (capped)
40kg500 mg/dose (capped)
41kg500 mg/dose (capped)
42kg500 mg/dose (capped)
43kg500 mg/dose (capped)
44kg500 mg/dose (capped)
45kg500 mg/dose (capped)
46kg500 mg/dose (capped)
47kg500 mg/dose (capped)
48kg500 mg/dose (capped)
49kg500 mg/dose (capped)
50kg500 mg/dose (capped)
Dose source

MSF Essential Drugs 2024 - paracetamol (oral)

Why

Periorbital bruising after blunt trauma is painful for several days once deeper injury has been excluded, and paracetamol is the analgesic MSF indicates for mild to moderate pain. The orbital floor fracture article that the card is built on names no analgesic and states no amount for any medicine, so both the indication and the amount are MSF's.

Cautions
  • Pain relief is not the assessment. Reduced visual acuity, double vision, restricted eye movement suggesting an entrapped orbital fracture, or blood visible in the front of the eye needs urgent ophthalmology the same day.
  • Where an orbital fracture is confirmed, the orbital floor fracture article requires prophylactic antibiotic cover for oral organisms and says corticosteroids may reduce the oedema - and it names no drug, no dose and no duration for either, so neither is printed. That choice belongs to the service the patient is referred to.
  • Never exceed 4 g in 24 hours in an adult, or 60 mg/kg in 24 hours in a child. MSF warns that paracetamol poisoning is severe - it causes hepatic cytolysis - and that the stated limits matter most in children and in older patients.
  • MSF records no contra-indication in pregnancy or in breast-feeding, and names paracetamol as the analgesic of choice for a patient allergic to aspirin, one with a history of gastric trouble, a pregnant or breast-feeding woman, and children.
  • Paracetamol has no anti-inflammatory action, so it eases the pain and does nothing for the swelling.
Egyptian brands
Egyptian brandManufacturerIndicative price
FEBRIMOL 500 MG 20 TAB.PHARCO3.50 EGP (0.17/unit)
CETAMOL 500 MG 20 TABS.MEMPHIS8.00 EGP (0.40/unit)
PARACETAMOL-MUP 500MG B.P. 20 TABS.MUP13.00 EGP (0.65/unit)
CETAL 500 MG 20 TABS.EIPICO24.00 EGP (1.20/unit)
ARKADOLOW 500 MG 30 F.C. TABS.UTOPIA42.00 EGP (1.40/unit)
PARAMOL 500MG 20 TAB.MISR38.00 EGP (1.90/unit)
ADOL 500MG 24 CAPLETSJULPHAR32.00 EGP
AUGICETAMIDE 500 MG 20 SACHETSAUG PHARMA50.00 EGP
FEBRIMOL ORAL DROPS 20 ML? strength differs? different route - not oral solidPHARCO4.00 EGP
THERA-LO 3.2G/100ML ORAL SUSP. 100 ML? strength differs? different route - not oral solidPHAROPHARMA5.00 EGP

MAIN TREATMENT

2

REFERRAL & SAFETY-NETTING (NO DRUG THERAPY)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

Bruising around the eye from blunt trauma; a GP checks for red flags of deeper injury such as an orbital fracture or globe injury and otherwise manages it with analgesia and reassurance. - Refer, with advice

Paediatric dose

A child is dosed from the drug rows above, by weight. The referral threshold and the safety-netting are the same at any age.

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

Bruising around the eye from blunt trauma; a GP checks for red flags of deeper injury such as an orbital fracture or globe injury and otherwise manages it with analgesia and reassurance.

Cautions
  • The drug rows above are what the treating service gives. They are here so that the referral is an informed one and so the GP can recognise the regimen the patient comes back on - not as permission to start it without the referral.
  • RED FLAG - Reduced visual acuity or double vision, restricted eye movement (possible orbital fracture with entrapment), or blood visible in the front of the eye (hyphaema): refer urgently.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.