Whats happening to my lips and me?

[Lynn1562]

I apologize in advance for how lengthy this will be. But I am a 18 year old female who has never had any major issues until about a month or two ago. I have this thing on the bottom of my lip it doesn't look anything like a cold sore. Its towards the corner or my mouth by not directly in the corner so to speak. You can't really see it at all until you get directly up in my face. It doesn't really hurt at all just a slight tingle. But every morning I wake up and my lips are slightly swollen nothing drastic just a little larger than normal (never had that problem before). It usually goes down after 30 minutes or so. And the swelling usually occurs on just my top lip. Twice I have woken up and my lips have had things that sort of look like hives on them causing my lips to feel like sandpaper textured when I rub them together. (but that usually goes away after a few days of applying carmex or blistex) The hives don't look like sores and never contain any pus or liquid or anything. they are just little bumps. (My boyfriend never has anything wrong with his mouth or and he has even kissed me with this stuff *on accident* and nothing will happen to him/ we have never had any kind of sex with each other either so it couldn't be a std and from his kissing me and being perfectly fine afterwards all the time I don't think its contagious) But today after coming home from class I looked in the mirror and the bump/ sore thing on the corner of my bottom lip looked sorta bumpy and swollen. I applied hydrogen peroxide and it turned the sore/ bump thing white! It looked gross Then I applied rubbing alcohol to it and cleaned it out. (it sorta started bleeding a little but this probably came from me scrubbing it so hard) then I applied so carmex and blistex and am now waiting to see whats gonna happen. It doesn't look bump or ***** and swollen. Its actually drastically reduced quite a bit in size. It just looks like a small bump with a tiny sore on it (from me making it accidentally bleed from rubbing too hard) they only thing is when it heals it looks like the color of my lip just a little lighter and more pale than my lip.  But some extra background is. I have been battling a horrible iron/vitamin deficiency and my period this month is either going to be late or missed. Which I have never had an issue with before. I think it could be due to the iron/vitamin thing. I know for certain I am not pregnant due to the fact my and my boyfriend haven't had any kind of sex whatsoever. I have started taking Iron supplements and cranberry supplements. I was taking one a day womens multivitamins but stopped due to the fact that they were making me sick. I have been dealing with a lot of stress and going through a phase of depression and have had sinus issues. Also my skin has been dry beyond belief (I make sure to always have my carmex and blistex with me at all time. But could any of these things cause what I am dealing with right now? What could I be dealing with? Also could it be my retainer from my braces causing this * I don't think the retainer thing could be it because I have had it for about 3 years now* But I know this is long but what could be happening? Diabetes and lupus run in my family a lot as well could this along with other things going on be a sign of some sort? Im really trouble by this lip thing though what do you think it could be?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Severe stress can trigger eczema as well as canker sores on the lips. Canker sores are small shallow ulcers that appear in the mouth and often make eating and talking uncomfortable.

They are generally caused by  Stress, tissue injury, eating certain foods – including citrus or acidic fruits and vegetables or underlying health condition, such as an impaired immune system; nutritional problems, such as vitamin B-12, zinc, folic acid, or iron deficiency; and gastrointestinal tract disease, such as Celiac disease and Crohn's disease.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Lynn1562]

Thank you. The bump that I was telling you about is healing very quickly. I still getting the morning swelling and a slight rash. But I have noticed that since I have reduced the stress in my life I am seeing improvement. It seems like overnight its getting better. The swelling goes away a lot quicker and the rashes aren't so bad anymore and are reducing over time. Do you think that this whole thing could have be a reaction to severe stress?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

This lump can be a small cyst, hematoma, mucocele (if present on the inside of lower lip) or a benign growth of the lips. Since the lump is painless and not changing in size, all these possibilities need to be evaluated.

Even from the symptom of dryness of skin, eczema should be ruled out. Eczema is a form of chronic dermatitis (rash).Allergic reaction is one of the important causes of eczema. Allergic reaction can occur to strong soaps, Solvents, chemicals, certain foods, food additives, plants, metals, cosmetics, even urine and faeces of some animals (dust mites).

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.