Lips swollen and blistered around lips,tounge cut and swollen

[goldfish5]

What is my 17 y.o. daughter allergic to? Lips swollen with blistering around  entire outline of lips, tounge swollen with small cuts. Uses chapstick very frequently, stopped it. Using vaseline with no relief from blistering. Beginning to think it is a food allergy. She said tounge burns from kiwi. Also eats mango, felt burning after a peanut butter cookie. Was recently using latex balloons for a science project. Had ear piercing with titanium earings 1 month ago (earrings recently removed).. This has been worsening over the past month. Also now small rash under eye and both ear lobes. Help!

[merrilinda]

Could possibly (??) be something called Oral Allergy Syndrome.  From my understanding it's not a "true" food allergy (like peanuts or shellfish), but a cross-reaction to a pollen allergy.  I suffer from it and have a huge, long list of raw fruits and vegetables that I react to.  My symptoms are itching tongue, lips, throat, and inside of ears/back of throat....and if it's severe enough I wheeze, have an asthma attack, and occasionally get indigestion if I eat too much of the item.

But other symptoms (that I don't have) are a burning sensation in the mouth and lips.  This could possibly be what your daughter is experiencing, but it's just a guess.  

Is this constant? Or does it happen after eating or randomly??  Another guess is a fungal infection in her lips, I had that happen in college.  My lips were CONSTANTLY chapped, it was horrible and I thought I was going crazy.  After going to the doctor, he prescribed an anti-fungal ointment for my lips and it went away.  BUT you said your daughter's tongue was swollen......that sounds like an allergic reaction!!!

If it is an allergy, you may want to take her to a doctor soon, allergies can get pretty severe pretty quickly if she keeps getting exposed to the same allergen.

Hope you figure out what it is!!

[merrilinda]

Oops....can't edit my original post.

People who have Oral Allergy Syndrome often react to "families" of fruits and vegetables.  Their actually allergie to a tree/grass pollen and their bodies get confused and have an allergie reaction when they eat raw/undercooked fruits and vegetables that are in the same family as that particular tree or grass pollen they're allergic to.

The reason I mention this is that I react to kiwi and mango (you mentioned those in your post), also peaches, plums, nectarines, (ALL stone/pitted fruits), carrots, pears, apples, white potatoes, and legumes (along with other things).  My doctor tested me for legumes since I had a reaction to undercooked black-eyed peas and I tested positive.  Peanuts are legumes, and you also mentioned her mouth burned after eating a peanut butter cookie.  

You can google Oral Allergy Syndrome and lots of sites have the families of fruits and veggies grouped together so you can see if she remembers reacting to any of the others.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Your daughter seems to be having food allergies to mango and related foods.
Mango belongs to the same family which consists of pistachio and cashew.What you seem to be having looks like cross reactivity.It is the occurrence of allergic reactions to foods that are chemically or otherwise related to foods known to cause allergy in an individual.

Mostly it is found that those who are allergic to mango fruit allergens show cross reactivity to latex,avocado, mugwort pollen, birch pollen, celery, carrot, and apple.Moreover,it is seen that people who have allergies to natural latex in turn may react in a similar way to Avocado, Banana, Chestnut and Kiwi fruit and may even develop anaphylaxis to these foods.

To confirm to which allergens you are allergic ,you need to undergo allergy testing. Skin tests are used for this purpose. This test involves pricking, scratching or injecting food extracts into the patient’s skin. The skin will react with redness and swelling for those extracts capable of eliciting an allergic reaction when consumed.Other tests used are blood tests like RAST and food challenge tests. For these an opinion from an allergy specialist will be the best.

As all these symptoms are related to allergies ,hence prevention of these is the best treatment.But as allergy has already occurred ,hence just give her over the counter antihistaminic like benadryl or Claritin.Also apply plenty of moisturizer on the lips.Severe symptoms may need oral steroids.

I hope that helps. Please do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries. Kind regards.

[goldfish5]

Thank you for the information. Pediatrician looked at her today. He thinks there are cold sores on top lip, and a reaction to lip balm on bottom lip.

I do not agree with his assesment. Since her lips swell and tingle after eating certain foods, I think an allergy is more likely what it is. She was allergic to all berries as a toddler. She broke out in rashes, but outgrew that allergy.

He refused to give her an epi-pen which I wanted to have on hand, just in case.

She discontinued the lip balm anyway. Just started using neosporin lip balm instead.

Thank you for the insight. I think allergy testing is the next step.

[merrilinda]

Hi goldfish!  I have found that very few doctors understand the various types of allergies, if a person isn't breaking out in hives and rashes and/or having a life-threatening reaction, they often dismiss allergies as something else.  

I'd advise finding a board-certified allergist in your area, they will be able to provide allergy testing to identify your daughter's triggers (if she does in fact have allergies).  If you don't have one in your area, you could call a local dermatologist and they could possibly refer you to a local doctor who does allergy testing.  If you decide to have her tested, have her write down everything she has reacted to, or suspects she's reacted to, so they can specifically test her for those items in addition to the regular allergens (pet dander, mold, etc.).

The good news is that if this is Oral Allergy Syndrome, it's very rare for it become severe enough to cause anaphylaxis.  If she isn't experiencing any breathing difficulties with it then I wouldn't worry to much, BUT that's not to say it can't progressively worsen.....it's just very, very rare for OAS to cause severe reactions in people.

I hope this information helps....and I hope your daughter finds relief soon!!!

[kelly2009]

I had an allergic reaction to fresh peaches when I was younger. My bottom lip swelled up with blisters. Recently I had problems with patches on my tongue (Geographic Tongue) which was caused by certain foods (Mango, Pineapple, Pear) and I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondilitis, a genetic immune disorder that attacks the joints causing premature arthritis. I am treated with Remicade infusions For this disorder and since being treated, my tongue allergies have disappeared (Possible connection?) and I can eat those fruits now. Next time your daughter  goes into the doctor to have any blood tests done, demand that she gets tested for A.S., It could be the answer to her problem.
                              Thanks for reading,
                                                Kelly.