top lip swelling, itch & pain

[crymsnrose]

On very rare occasions (i think maybe 3-4 times in my lifetime), my top lip will start to get irritated right in the middle, start to get red and within 1-2 days will swell up, sometimes 2 times my normal lip size starting from the middle and working its way out. Just on the top lip.

This time, it first started when I felt a small stingy tingle on my lip. Thinking it was maybe a crack or an allergic reaction, I put hydrocortizone cream on it. Next day, it was getting worse so I bought nexcare cold sore treatment (similar to abreva). Now, I woke up this morning and it's starting to swell.

Anyone have this problem or know how I can treat it?

[crymsnrose]

This is a before and after pic.

http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/10/18/f_1000686m_7acef2a.jpg

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Your symptom of swelling of the upper lip without any prior injury is suggestive of Orofacial granulomatosis (OFG; also known as Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome or Cheilitis Granulomatosis).

It is an uncommon inflammatory condition effecting the face and lips. People of all ages can be affected, but it is most common in the early adult years.In this condition,swelling of lip(esp upper lip) is present. Swelling of face and eyes may also be present.Diagnosis can only be made after various investigations to rule out other causes with similar symptoms and biopsy of the tissue from the lip.

Other possibilities are angioedema(due to allergic reactions),eczema,crohn’s disease,hives,myxedema, muccopolysacharidosis and acromegaly.It is important to rule out all of them and then reach a confirmatory diagnosis.In my opinion,a dermatologist’s and a physician’s consultation will be the best.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep us posted if you have any additional queries.

[333jen333]

hi there,

i have had a very similar experience over the past year and a bit.  about 5 seriously swollen lip incidents during this time.  just my top lip.  it turns out it was sunscreen and once i'm sure the culprit was an expensive lip plumping gloss.  i still don't know the actual agent though...just for sure that it's in some products.

however, in the beginning i was told it was most likely a food allergy.  i went for allergy testing and it wasn't the presumed shellfish or any other common food allergy.  

it started out of the blue before my wedding shower a year ago and a bit. then last april on my honeymoon in fiji it happened again.  twice.  piriton, an antihistamine, worked it off in a couple of days.  then i was in the bahamas this past january and it happened again. twice.  i was given piriton again both times and it disappeared in days.  

because i knew it wasn't shellfish and i was very aware of what i was eating on vacation, i thought maybe it was the tropical sun.  so, 2 weeks before another trip to the bahamas this april, i used every product i was taking with me to make sure i didn't react.  and this time i brought my own bottle of piriton with me.  you should get yourself a bottle - sold over the counter and safe during pregnancy.  my swelling won't go down for a couple weeks without it.

we just got back yesterday and for the first time in tropical sun for the past year i didn't have a reaction.  i am convinced that it has been the different sunscreens i've been using and relieved that it is absolutely not food, sun, plankton in the ocean or anything else the doctors can suggest.  i used hawaiin tropics dark tanning lotion the whole time b/c i'd tested it before i left and had no problems.  what a relief b/c i love to travel and the lip thing puts a real damper on things.  

my suggestion is that you're having an allergic reaction to something.  mine also starts with tingling and almost a chapped lip thing going on and within a couple days my upper lip is huge!  you should get tested for foods and products and keep an eye on what you consume b/c the reaction will most likely start within an hour or so of use or eating.  and also, they say reactions can get worse each time.  in any case, just to be safe, i would talk your doctor about it and go see an allergist.

hope this helps... i know i've been just about pulling my hair out for the past year!

[mamamia918]

I have the same thing. I suspect the culprit is an octinoxate based lip gloss that I used. Some of it got on my upper lip and my upper lip felt very stiff after that. It lasted six months before it went away last time (eczema) and this is the second time in my life it's happened and it just started a few days ago. Thanks for the Piriton advice Jen, I will also look up testing to see what I have.

[lady85]

For the second time in three months, the middle part of my top lip is swollen. I woke up with it swollen and there are small bumps in the swollen area, with one of them being darker than the other 5.  It also tingles and periodically it itches.
What can the cause be?