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Angiodema?? (swollen tongue, lips)

Hi, I'm new here. Just about 2 months ago I began developing strange allergic reactions. They have occurred on my feet, hands, back of knee, upper thigh, lip and now tongue. I have gone to the doctor before and they said it was contact dermatitis. I have not figured out what I'm allergic to yet and am still waiting for a call back from the allergy department. Last night, I woke up at about 3am with a swollen tongue. It really freaked me out. I took 2 Benadryls and thankfully it went down almost back to normal within a couple of hours. When it happened on my lip, it swelled to the size of a grape and the Benadryl took FOREVER to kick in.

Anyway, I went to the doctor this morning and she said swelling like this (tongue, lips) is called angiodema. She said if I continue to expose myself to this allergen (whatever it may be) the next stage could be anaphylaxis.

I'm really scared. I have 2 little kids and I'm terrified of something happening. I can't avoid the allergen if I don't know what it is.:(

Please help.

Thanks,
Becky
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Avatar universal
I had a severe reaction to cephalexin also, and ever since that time,  I get the swollen lips and fingers quite often..It starts with my lips, then fingers and hands..I get big red welts that burn and itch like crazy on parts of my body like waistband, under my breasts (bra line0, panty line..back of knees and forearms..I also get histamine bumps on my hands, head or hairline..benadryl, hydroxizine, and zyrtec are what I have tried..I usually end up in the ER for a shot when my esophagus swells up too much..It feels like a knife stabbing me between my breasts and that there is a huge air bubble in my throat..I don't know what is causing this, only that it happens all the time..I also have Hepatitus c to which I was attributing these signs..That made no sense , though..now that I know I'm not alone it seems to take some stress off me..The more I stress the more symptoms I have...HELP ME PLEASE !!!  Anyone????  Suggestions??   Thanks--Sue-z-q
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Avatar universal
I started getting severely swollen lips when a new roommate was washing clothing with perfumed detergent and using those dryer sheets.  She would put her towels in the cabinet next to me and fill my room with these chemicals.  I have had chemical allergies for years and everything I use is dye and perfume free.   But now, I am sensitized to the chemicals (perfumes) in those laundry products and am swelling during the night from just inhaling as I walk past the laundry room, or if the winds blow the laundry exhaust into my apartment, which is often.  At the first sign of swelling (usually around 5 AM) I take Benadryl (one because I am over 60 years old, two capsules are not recommended if you are over 60) every 3 to 4 hours.  I have to wait 24 hours for all the swelling to go down.  I suggest you, and everyone who has these swellings, investigate for contact with the perfumes/dyes/chemicals in anything like laundry, makeup, dish soap, or cleaning products.  See if avoidance stops the swelling.   This is a huge problem.  Americans' quest to perfume everything out of fear of being smelly is causing these reactions.  I evangelize people constantly about stopping use of these products even if you don't have symptoms, because these products cause cancer in the long run.  NO DYES OR PERFUMES, AND USE BENADRYL (WALDRYL IS CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE AT WALGREENS)...
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Avatar universal
Just happened to me recently. Had a bad case of poison ivy about 3 weeks ago and then last week had swollen top lip and then a few days later a swollen bottom lip. The first lip took almost 2 days for the swelling to go down, but I put hydrogen peroxide on it and used an antbacterial mouthwash, along with taking Benedryl and that helped. When the bottom lip started to swell, I put hydrogen peroxide and the mouthwash right away and the swelling went down after a couple of hours. I think I scratched or picked a scab and then unknowingly touched my lip. That's the only thing I can think of, since I didn't consume anything similar both times.
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2114098 tn?1334426874
I seriously thought I was the only one suffering from Random Swelling.
Over the last seven years, I have experienced swelling mostly on my lips, inside of mouth, cheeks,  thighs, butt, under my foot, and my wrist.  It can happen about two weeks to a month apart, then it won't happen again for months. The crazy thing is it will swell on the right side for example and then the next episode would be on the left side.  The swollen area is itchy and most of the time it move from one area to another. Lasting past 24 hours before it’s completely gone and Benadryl do not help. Most of the time I go to the doctor for a steroid shot to speed up the process.  I am so aggravated with this swelling because it is all of sudden.  I am afraid as to what will or could swell next. I wish there was answers because these episodes of swelling are annoying. Please contact me if you would like to share more information (quetta34yahoo.com)
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Avatar universal
hi! i am interested in knowing what this juice is...i am having problems with swelling etc...thanks
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Avatar universal
A little late but here is my story. I'm almost 65 years old and I have had this ptoblem about 12 years. I've been through all kinds of allergy tests and no allergys gave been discovered. A doctor put me on a reactin tablet (20 mg.)
every day and that seemed to help for a long time but it doesn't help much anymore. I was told that it can be triggered by a number of thngs including heat, cold, alcohol, stress and a host of other things. It almost always happens when I am asleep and I wake up that way. With me it is amost always the lower lip but can be the tongue (left side) swollen, hard fingertips and ocassionally the penis (left side). Just in case you or anyone think that might be a benifit, it isn't. It is gross looking (not hard)
Lately it seems to be getting more frequent again although first when I got it I was told that it ususlly lasted about 5 years on average.
Hope you are better.
John
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