Face swelling randomly all of a sudden.

Hi, I'm new here. I'm 25 years old. About a decade ago I had sever food allergies. I would swell up like hitch (the movie Hitch). Had tests done then and I had allergies to things like (cats, cockroaches, dust, trees, ragweed, molds, and a few other things). How ever they could never correctly link my allergies to this. It happened on an off for about 2 years. Then it stopped all of a sudden. It seemed like I was allergic to Provolone cheese and mushrooms. Based on my reactions and what I ate.

Now it's came back. (Dec 2011) My face started swelling up randomly again. No hives or discomfort, just random swelling on the face. So, I noticed nothing has changed in my diet and lifestyle. I have had a ferret for over 2 years and been living in the new area for about 5 years now. I decided to go to an allergy specialist today. I just got back and he ran a back skin test which came up positive for all the same allergies I was tested for a decade ago. (cats, cockroaches, dust, trees, ragweed, molds, and a few other things). No food allergies at all from his test, which I think was only like 8 needles.

I was wondering if others have experienced this and could provide me with some insight. Should, I request my doctor to do a complete food panel despite him swearing that it's the area and the ferret? Which I have had this same issue never resolved when I lived at home and had no ferret. I believe it's a food allergy and not an external allergy, due to my face swelling.

Included are the pictures of my basic allergy test.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

The swelling could be due to angioedema. This is swelling of the deeper layers of the skin due to an allergic reaction. The reaction occurs more commonly on the face around the lips and near the eyes. Therapy lies in identifying the allergens and avoiding them and anti histamines.

It could be a food allergic reaction, if the symptoms have occurred with the consumption of the same food. Maintain a food dairy and note down and monitor your symptoms. This may help to narrow down the search.

As suggested it could be due to Environmental triggers, though they are difficult to avoid, but being aware can help you take adequate precautions.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.