Swelling of upper lip in teenage daughter

mom_2_2 · Guest

My 15 year old daughter developed a swollen upper lip in Dec. 2005, to which it tripled in size. I thought it was an allergic reaction to Aleve,(she had taken it before but had no side affects) so I called poison control and they instructed me to give her Benadry, which I did, and it seemed to help. She again developed a swollen lip a few days later (no Aleve given) and again she took Benadryl, which helped it to recede. Since December she has had about 15 episodes of this happening. She does not wear any make-up, no change in toothpaste and never had anything like this prior to December. The swelling always happens in the evening around 9pm. I thought it might be coinciding with a cold virus as she had been slightly under the weather. A couple of weeks ago, she was down with a fever (101.0) and sore throat with cough and congestion. She developed hives which came again in the evening around 9pm for about 3 nights. Her lip swelled a couple of times during this illness also. She hasn't had any problems prior to this. She is wanting some answers of course, it is frustrating for her as well as myself. Any suggestions? and is it safe to continue the Benadryl? Thank you

Mark · Silver Member Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 227

Did you give her any medication to reduce the fever? For fever reduction, it is usually given an aspirin and if this is what you daughter took, then her hives and swelling are related to this drug allergic reaction.

Aspirin’s side affects include hives, headaches, swelling …etc
Considering that Aleve belongs to the same group of drugs ( NSAIDs) I think that it is possible that she is having allergic reactions to these drugs.

If it were food related, then she would have the swelling of both lips, eyelids, tongue and even throat.

Another possibility is Herpes simplex that usually makes one side of the lips swell aling with blisters and crusts. Has your daughter contracted herpes when she was a young girl. This virus is usually contracted by the age of 5 and remains in the body forever and breaks from time to time.

I think you should report these swellings to her doctor after taking NSAID’s and they should do the testing to see if this really is the cause.

P.S. Considering that Benadryl was helpful, which is an antihistamine, it is most likely a drug reaction.

Guest · Guest

i too have had the same problem! no one knows what it is and its very agravating! i dont have herpies and i dont take asprin (because i thought that was what was making my lip swell) but it still happens...

Guest · Guest

I have the same problem! Its so weird because no one knows what is wrong. There aren't any open sores and the only other symptoms I get us swollen hands and feet occasionally but the lip gets swollen all the time/ I take benadrly as well and it seems to help but it never prevents the next swollen lip. I am 17 and everyone thinks I am getting beat up. OMG I hate this and why is it happening. I thought it was a sudden allergic reaction to citric acid or somethin. If you find any answers please let me kno.

Guest · Guest

I also suffer from intermittent upper lip and eye swelling. Just one side of my lip swells and after an hour or so it starts going down and the other side comes up. Both my eyes have suffered similar swelling. I also take Benadryl as it does seem to help although I do not know whether it would go down anyway I suspect so. Any suggestions

lisa · Guest

Believe it or not this is a form of Herpes. My X-husband had the same thing. The doctors after about 6 months gave him a pill called Valtrex. The swelling stopped.

Kristine · Guest

I read mom 2_2 and i get the same as her daughter and also take benedryl also same thing with the hives. this is weird i thought i was the only one my swelling stay about 5 hours though and always happens in the evening or at night, doctors say its an allergic reaction but thats crap because every time i get it i havent aiten anything different, i think there just saying its an allergic reaction because they really dont know what it is ! and there is nothing wrong to keep taking benadryl it will not harm your daughter Smile

hope somone can help me too !

geminisnake · Newbie Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1

About 3 months ago my wife's upper lip on the right hand side just started to grow/swell for apparently no reason. She came up to me and said: "Look at this" and pointed to it. I didn't know what to think. I've been with her over 6 years and nothing like has happened. The upper lip then swelled to easily double its size of the next hour or so and her and I were dumbfounded. I immediately thought it was caused by the cat because she's forever kissing the cat. But she's been kissing the cat for years and nothing ever happened.

It happened agin recently and this time it was right after a slightly stressful conversation about finances and other personal things etc so I immediately thought it was stress related. But she is far less susceptible to stress then I am. I'm a stress-head sometimes, she's not. This time the top lip started first on that same corner and eventually she looked like some plastic surgeon went ballistic with the botux and pumped her top and bottom lip full of it. Her top lip looked like it was going to burst. There is no redness, no dryness, no discoloration of any kind, no marks, no cuts, no bruising, no liquid or excess liquid of any kind, no distaste, no nothing and very little pain, only mild discomfort and she gets extremely self-concious and embarrassed. It's the single weirdest thing I've ever seen happen to a person.

We've considered everything:

- Allergic reaction to possibly the cat, Nurofen (which she took), some noodles she was eating before. The only real thing she did before it began this second time was come home, eat and sweep the floor.

- Stress related.

- Some disease or more serious underlying cause.

At the moment it's a complete mystery. The only thing that gives any clues at all is the fact that the swelling always starts (3 times altogether it's happened) after 7pm, so it's always in the evening. This is around the time she greets the cat, eats something after work etc.

We're both very clean, have a monogamous relationship and are basically illness free so it's a definite mystery.

I'm definitely going to try that Benadryl because any relief will be good relief for her if it hits the fourth time and she's going to have a full blood and allergy test and consult with a doctor about it.

If anyone has anymore information, I'd really appreciate it.

Guest · Guest

Hate to tell you guys in denial this, but this is Herpes. This is a virus that is usually gained very young, and rears its ugly head for a year or so every 5-10 years. Remember, chickenpox is a form of the herpes virus, that lies in your system forever and usually comes back as Shingles, which is also Herpes.

The 15 year old daughter?

Its possible she is having sex.

The monogamous couple?

Its possible the wife has had this virus all her life and it is just now happening.

If you have a swollen painful upper lip that is reoccuring, grab some Abreva and join the other 60% of America that has the virus.

And be happy, this is a minor occurrence of Herpes , it will actually strengthen your system to fight off other forms of the Virus.

goodhealthfirst · Newbie Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1

Hi, When I was college student living in upstate NY I use to break out in hives in the winter time. this would happen when I came in from the cold. A change in environmental temperature CAN cause this. If the house is cold and I get in a hot bath this happens to me on other parts of my body. Since living in Tucson, this doesn't happen to me very much.l But, recently it is happening a lot. I called my doctor and she insisted I come in. She has heard of this condition and was concerned about my mouth being swollen. This c an happen in the throat she said and immediatel perscribed zyrtec and prednsisone. I shared this with someone at work and she was shocked to hear that someone had the same issues that her daughter had, and yes, her daughter's doctor would not let her leave the office until her lip was doen. Now, strangely enough, I had a bad mouth ache, generated from a cracked crown a few weeks ago. I am convinced that the swollen lip that followed was a result of the pain, in other words I had an allergic reaction to the pain. The dentist would not touch me, she was afraid that I would go into anaphalactic (sp?) shock if she gave me novicane. She nor anyone else in her office understood my condition. I had to wait to go to an oral surgeon the next day. But the hives are still with me unless I take Zyrtek. Good luck, but go to the doctor!

Swelling of upper lip in teenage daughter

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