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MedHelp Member's Question

Swollen itchy eyes and lip rash/sores

by Danni0099, Apr 09, 2007 12:00AM
For the past 10 years I have had really sensitive lips and have only been able to use one type of lip balm. As anything else - lip sticks of glosses give me little sores on my lips and cause them to puff up and get little scabs and peel contantly - i also get dry patches under my eyes and eye lids. When I visited a doctor they told me I may have an allergy to nail polish and an ingrediant in lip glosses/balms its also happens when I were nail polish. After removing it it usually clears up within a week.

Recently I havent even be able to use my usual lip balm as my lips react to that as well and my eyes are puffing up and getting extremly itchy and stinging. I was heading overseas for 3 weeks and the doctor have me some tablets to take to clear up my lips as she said they looked like they had a staff infection. Whilst I was OS all my symptoms cleared up completely and within 2 days of returing home everything started up again!

A week after I had been back,I woke up in the monring and my eyes were completely closed over and extremly swollen. I visited a doctor and they said I might have hives or some type of allergy. I was put on antihistmines and a course of panafcortelone, which helped with the eye swelling and the lips alittle. but now i have reduced the amount of panafcortelone I take daily as I am at the end of my course, as have been told it isnt something I can take long term and my eyes are becoming more irrated and puffy and my lips sore are getting worse.
I havent changed any make up lately or products like toothpaste, washing powder.

Does anyone have any sugguestions what it might be, as its dirvinbg me crazy!!!!
Member Comments (13)

by msanders, Apr 30, 2007 12:00AM
Well, looks like very close to what I have.  Now, I am a male and no makeup, but for the past 3 years, out of nowhere, never had a allergy in my life, a week after I joined my new workplace, I started to get the same symptoms as you.  My eyes and lips start to swallow, and then if it is really strong, my second eye starts, and my lips also get dots on them , like millions of them.

Maybe we have the same thing, just reacts differently a little.  I thought it was food, but I am beginning to believe it is environmental, I have no changed my diet for so long.  I am also vegetarian.  Oh it also happens any time of a year, so it is not seasonal.


Anyone, any suggestion is appreciated it.

by Linda Sh, May 02, 2007 12:00AM
I have similar problems with my lips and eyelids.  My lips itch and burn and are also sometimes swollen.  They also peel, look dry and cracked, and since this started, make me look much older  I have gotten a salve from my dermotologist, which helps somewhat.  (She said I am allergic to most toothpaste and I now use Toms which is a natural toothpaste - it has helped to some degree) I am constantly applying lip balm or chap stick, but nothing seems to help the problem entirely.  My eyelids itch, are red and also get dry and flakey.  This happens especially when I wear eyeshadow, but even when I don't. I wore it for years without a problem.  Another site I looked at indicated a couple people who had the lip trouble, and wondered if it was caused by wine, beer, or other types of alcohol.  I drink wine.  Anyone else see this connection?

by Minne Gal, Aug 03, 2007 04:26PM
Hi - I have been experiencing similar symptoms for weeks.  For about 6 week, my upper lip has been dry, slightly wrinkled, as well as cracking and peeling.  So frustrating because no amount or type of lip balm seemed to help (vaseline lip therapy, body shop lip salve, etc etc). Additionally, the skin above my upper lip became dry, red and irritated.  About 2-3 weeks after that, I started experiencing swollen eyelids as well as dry, wrinkled, red, itchy patches above and below my eyes.  I could not apply the most mild lotion to those areas because it would burn, but it was so dry I wanted to do something.  I went to urgent care where I was diagnosed with "contact dermatitis" and put on a 5-day regimen of prednisone and sulfa (antibiotics) which did a great job for those 5 days but of course all the symptoms returned with a vengeance as soon as I stopped taking the meds.  Clearly steroids just take away the symptoms but don't cure the underlying cause.  About 2 wks later, I went to a dermatologist who gave me a low dose 0.05% hydrocortisone gel to apply to the affected areas... so far my skin is about 80-90% improved, however, again I am not sure if it is just masking the symptoms.  To address the cause, I have been exercising more to help reduce stress and focused on a healthier, more probiotic diet.  On another website I perused, there were many entries where the individuals had very similar symptoms and they were finding alot of them had yeast infections so by eating more acidophilus enriched products (yogurt, probiotic supplements, etc), less sugars (including alchohol) and less fats, their skin conditions began to resolve.  I think stress management is HUGE - I believe that for me it was the original trigger and then I just added to it by drinking too much, eating an unbalanced diet, not sleeping, enough, etc for a stretch of time.  I am seeing an allergist next week to ensure that I haven't developed allergies in my old age (38) that I am just not aware of which could recur.  This has only been about 2 months total but has really affected my life and I need to keep it under control.  Good luck to everyone!!  Ani

by abobora, Sep 08, 2007 05:07PM
My situation sounds similar, maybe I can add something. I saw an allergist after a period of odd swellings and itchy rashes (under my eyes, my lips, even my hands and feet) and found out that I am allergic/sensitive to salicylates- an ingredient in aspirin. It also occurs naturally in mint, tea, the skin of many fruits and other foods. I also did some research on the internet to find out more about salicylates and found that people who are sensitive to them may also have problems with the ingredient benzone (found in a lot of lip balms, sunscreens, cosmetics and skin care items). I'm still trying to figure out the range of things I should stay away from (aloe seems to be bad too). Trying to find cosmetics and skin care products without benzone, mint or aloe is challenging.

Note: msanders mentions that his diet hasn't changed in a long time, but according to my primary care physician, people often develop allergies to things they are in contact with on a regular basis over time. This seems to be true in my case- it's cropped up only in the past few years (I'm 38 years old) and seems to be triggered by things I used for years without any problem. I hope this helps.

by downhill28, Jan 16, 2008 09:10PM
To: danni
hey i right now have a reaction to advil and my lip is swollen but something my sister told me that would help is fish oils and flax seeds so look for flax seeds and mix it with your food or drinks and also look for liquid gel tableds that are naturally fish oil its helped me and im starting to feel better

by JanGirl, Jan 21, 2008 05:27PM
To: Minne Gal
I have exactly the same problem as you with both my eyes and lips. I was interested about what you said about being under stress