swelling

I have woken up in the past two months to find my face starting to swell near the mouth, eventually moving to the lips where they swell quite heavily.  Sometimes this will first starts either on the lip or near it and then moves to the lips. I am wondering if a bit from a spider can be the cause or could there be an issue with anxiety and my biting myself and then the lip(s) swell up after.  It takes at least six hours for the swelling to go down.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Nothing can be said with surety without having a look at the lip lesions. It could either be an insect bite or due to your biting them.

Some other causes of the symptoms you mention, could be lip biting, lip licking, Vit.B2 deficiency, smoking, overexposure to sun and ill fitting dentures.

You need to drink plenty of water and also keep your lips well moisturized. Apply a medicated lip balm with a sunscreen to avoid damage due to the sun.

You could take oral antihistamine medications for a few days to control the itching and swelling.

If your lesions still persist, it would be best to see a skin specialist for a confirmed diagnosis and to rule out any other cause of the spot.

Are you allergic to any substances? What symptoms do you have other than the lip lesion? What is your age? Do you smoke?

Let us know if you have any other doubts and also about what the specialist advises.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.