ICD-9 Code 910.3

Blister of face, neck, and scalp except eye, infected

Not Valid for Submission

910.3 is a legacy non-billable code used to specify a medical diagnosis of blister of face, neck, and scalp except eye, infected. This code was replaced on September 30, 2015 by its ICD-10 equivalent.

ICD-9: 910.3
Short Description:Blister head-infected
Long Description:Blister of face, neck, and scalp except eye, infected

Convert 910.3 to ICD-10

The following crosswalk between ICD-9 to ICD-10 is based based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMS) information:

  • S00.92XA - Blister (nonthermal) of unsp part of head, init encntr
  • S10.92XA - Blister (nonthermal) of unsp part of neck, init encntr
  • L08.89 - Oth local infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue

Code Classification

  • Injury and poisoning (800–999)
    • Superficial injury (910-919)
      • 910 Superficial injury of face, neck, and scalp except eye

Information for Medical Professionals

Synonyms

  • Blister of cheek with infection
  • Blister of ear with infection
  • Blister of face with infection
  • Blister of gum with infection
  • Blister of lip with infection
  • Blister of neck with infection
  • Blister of nose with infection
  • Blister of scalp with infection
  • Traumatic blister of face, infected
  • Traumatic blister of head, infected
  • Traumatic blister of neck, infected
  • Traumatic blister of scalp, infected

Information for Patients


Blisters

What are blisters?

Blisters are fluid-filled sacs on the outer layer of your skin. They form because of rubbing, heat, or diseases of the skin. They are most common on your hands and feet.

Other names for blisters are vesicles (usually for smaller blisters) and bulla (for larger blisters).

What causes blisters?

Blisters often happen when there is friction - rubbing or pressure - on one spot. For example, if your shoes don't fit quite right and they keep rubbing part of your foot. Or if you don't wear gloves when you rake leaves and the handle keeps rubbing against your hand. Other causes of blisters include:

  • Burns
  • Sunburn
  • Frostbite
  • Eczema
  • Allergic reactions
  • Poison ivy, oak, and sumac
  • Autoimmune diseases such as pemphigus
  • Epidermolysis bullosa, an illness that causes the skin to be fragile
  • Viral infections such as varicella zoster (which causes chickenpox and shingles) and herpes simplex (which causes cold sores)
  • Skin infections including impetigo

What are the treatments for blisters?

Blisters will usually heal on their own. The skin over the blister helps keep out infections. You can put a bandage on the blister to keep it clean. Make sure that there is no more rubbing or friction on the blister.

You should contact your health care provider if:

  • The blister looks infected - if it is draining pus, or the area around the blister is red, swollen, warm, or very painful
  • You have a fever
  • You have several blisters, especially if you cannot figure out what is causing them
  • You have health problems such as circulation problems or diabetes

Normally you don't want to drain a blister, because of the risk of infection. But if a blister is large, painful, or looks like it will pop on its own, you can drain the fluid.

Can blisters be prevented?

There are some things you can do to prevent friction blisters:

  • Make sure that your shoes fit properly
  • Always wear socks with your shoes, and make sure that the socks fit well. You may want to wear socks that are acrylic or nylon, so they keep moisture away from your feet.
  • Wear gloves or protective gear on your hands when you use any tools or sports equipment that cause friction.

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ICD-9 Footnotes

General Equivalence Map Definitions
The ICD-9 and ICD-10 GEMs are used to facilitate linking between the diagnosis codes in ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM code set. The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs.

  • Approximate Flag - The approximate flag is on, indicating that the relationship between the code in the source system and the code in the target system is an approximate equivalent.
  • No Map Flag - The no map flag indicates that a code in the source system is not linked to any code in the target system.
  • Combination Flag - The combination flag indicates that more than one code in the target system is required to satisfy the full equivalent meaning of a code in the source system.