lip swelling

I've been trying to figure out for almost two years, what makes my lips swell up and get sore and very red.  I've been taking Claritin everyday for months to keep it from getting too bad, but sometimes it flares up.  When it gets really bad, I also get red rashy bumps on face.  Could it be a food allergy, like peanuts, or a cleanser that I come in contact with daily at work (bleach)?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
You could be either suffering from contact dermatitis or from allergy to some food. You must get an allergy test done, either a skin test or RAST, to know what you are allergic to.
Alternatively it could be due to Vitamin B deficiency.
It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage.  Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Contact dermatitis could be due to tooth pastes, moth cleansers, spoons, cups, glasses, food items, etc, basically anything that comes in contact with your lips.