Sudden unexplained swelling, hands, feet, lip, wrists

I just ran across this thread and am fascinated. I am a 62 year old female and in the past year have had 3-4 episodes of lip swelling. It starts feeling like a fever blister is forming and withing minutes just blossoms out, always on either one side or the other, sometimes upper and sometimes lower. This morning my chin started itching and it became hard and swollen, then the left upper lip did the same thing. At the times of these episodes, including this morning's, I was just getting up so hadn't eaten anything or even brushed my teeth. I hadn't been in physical contact with anything unusual nor changed laundry detergent, etc.; also nothing new like pajamas, sheets, bed clothes. WEIRD!!!

As crazy as this sounds, I am soooo glad to hear that I am not alone! I have been experiencing these same symptoms for about 5 or 6 years now (maybe more). It started with a small spot on the bottom of my foot, but now swelling occurs anywhere on my body - hands, feet, fingers, toes, lips, eyes, chin, scalp, neck, ears, shoulders, sides, thighs, ankles, shins, etc. Literally, I have had swelling everywhere on my body at some point or another. It has progressively gotten worse, now showing up in multiple areas. In the past few years, the swelling is not only an itchy burning (hot to the touch) hive, it is sometimes accompanied by bruising, blistering, and even hair loss in some areas. I have been tested for many things, including allergies, but no diagnosis yet. It is sometimes debilitating, as it can be difficult to walk when my feet are swollen or hard to use my hands, or see when my eyelid is swollen shut. It can be brought on by illness, stress, or even bumping into something, but often there is no explanation. My doctor has me taking an anti-histamine daily, and it helps a little, but not completely. The only time the swelling was almost non-existent was while I was pregnant, but it came back the day my daughter was born (I was in the recovery room and my hand starting swelling and itching). My insurance is a limited benefit plan, so it doesn't cover much, but I can have as much blood work done as I need for FREE, so I am still hoping for an answer!

Well it's good to hear that I'm not the only one, however this scares me because the doctors have not a clue what's causing this. I developed a swelling on my lips in 2007 one time. It went away and return October 2010. I went to my doc and she referred me to an allergy doc who perform environment and food test. All came out clear. She suggested I stop a particular Blood pressure medication that cause hives and possibly lip swelling. Medication was discontinued. This swelling rolled over in the 2011 year and the top/bottom lip,chin swellling including hives continues. I take the benedryl when I know its coming and that don't work immediately. Sometiimes I go to bed with the swelling. (scary) I get this tinkling sting first and then the lip starts to swell. I've been told from friends and family that its stress. Which I am going through family and work stress issues. I'm going to have a blood test done to rule out any other problems. If this blood test comes out negative, then I know its stress related. I'll keep in touch.

Hi all! My new Dr increased my Zoloft from 50 to 100mg even when I told her that I had a reaction when my old Dr did it, and the 50 was working fine! then i started having headaches, subsided into rash and hives, then my lips started swelling, follwed by facial and tongue swelling. she cut me back to 50mg, gave me a steriod shot and a prednisone pack to take on a Tue, by wed night my swelling & rash was all gone, then Thur awoke up with facial and tongue swelling again. no explanation. finished prednisone pack and only have minor itching sparaticlly in 2 weeks since. last night about 7p lips started swelling began taking 75mg benadryl every 4 hrs. now 18hr later face and tongue are swollen lips look like angelia jolie got a bad botox job.... taking 75mg benadryl and still getting worse- dr doesn't know why- giong to ER for steriod shot now. if anyone finds a reason for this unexplained swelling please please post asap.

I am one of the young Moms from Florida that posted back in 2009. Yes, I am still having sudden swelling. It much more worse. It's everyday that something is swollen. Now on my face & hands mostly, top of shoulder, forehead, sometimes just the wierdest places. I went horseback riding and got saddle sore, naturally, but what happened to my butt after that is crazzzy. My private parts swelled up!!!! It's like they had a reaction to my butt being sore and just swelled up for 2 days. Also, my right hand middle & ring knuckle tendon pops from left to right. It swells and is painfull. I can't get a job because of this. I look like I am abused when I swell. I am fighting depression and have since quit smoking. I am working on getting insurance before I finally go see a doctor and get blood tests, just in case it's something more severe and expensive. Just the initial doctor visit is $275. OUCH.  My question is to everyone who has posted they were going to the doctor. What happened??? We would all like to know. It would at the least give us an idea what to ask the doctor to test for or look for. I would like to say Thank you to all the ones who did post. I didn't realize Iodine could be an irritant. Good Luck to everyone. Your not alone:)

Hi all.

I too have experienced loads of swelling in my entire face, hands, wrists and feet over the last couple of years.  As a Holistic Health Professional it was extremely frustrating to say the least and very embarrassing coming to work looking like the elephant man! I now haven’t’ had a problem with it for about 5 months after looking at it from many different angles and being honest with myself about the changes that were happening in my life at the time being a new father. In other words, my professional opinion is, my body’s reaction to change (i.e. STRESS) was inflammation. Wherever my body wanted it! The answer is not in a ‘pill for an ill’. Your body is not lacking Benadryl or any ingredient found in an over the counter anti-inflammatory product. Any inflammation is your body’s immune system working hard in response to some sort of stress within your body. What has changed within your life from ‘normal’ within the last period of time you have experienced this?

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Brad

im 15 years old and im experiencing swollen fingers, wrist, lip and feet. its ichy and red and uncomfortable. i got sent to tha hospital last night to get xrays and blood work. doctors dont know whut is wrong with me yet. the swelling comes and goes as it pleases and i cant control it. ive been extra tired lately and kinda moody. im really very worried bout whuts going on. my parents are concerned as well. 

Hi

As I write this I am suffering from similar symptons. Started with the bottom of my left foot then went to the right foot and this morning I woke up with the right side of my lip and cheek swollen and this has now spread to my complete bottom lip. I had a similar experience 6 months ago including swelling of my testes and groin region. In both these cases I have had flu like symptons and felt very run down at the end of a stressful time at work. I previously went to the doctor and the A & E department at hospital with these symptons but they gave contradictory diagnosis. These symptons worry me as there seems to be no clear explanation and I woory that there may be more serious long term implications. Does anyone have any further information that might help?

Regards Adrian

I have had these exact same reoccurring systems for several years.  I also have been to several doctors and none could tell me what was the cause.  I have noticed sometime just a little extra stress can cause the itching anywhere on my body then the swelling starts and can run from my hands up my arm to my elbows with a blistering reddish tingling itch.  My entire face has swollen up, my feet, legs, just about anywhere and I mean some places that you can't see unless you are nude and they swell up three  times there normal size.   Benadryl seems to be the only medication that stops it from getting worse but isn't a cure.  The stress is only my personal guess but I too am not allergic to anything and have been tested by several doctors.  You just have to live with it as I have. It's uncomfortable when it happens but won't kill you.  Try to avoid stress of any kind whenever possible.  Breathing exercises do help but sometime I just wake up in the middle of the night itching and then I know what's coming next.

I am so glad I found this post while searching on bing for some answers! I am sitting here as Iam typing with the whole left side of my top lip so swollen it looks unbelievable!! This has been happening to me for so long I cant even remember when it started! My lip swells up(top or bottom), the palms of my hands, bottom of my feet, and wrist are other areas that the same thing occurs. Tonite tho I was debating over going to the E.R because my lip is so swollen you can almost see through it! But I kno they will just give me some Benodryle & send me home! I thought that I was the only one this happened to, I tried to also blame it on different foods, detergants, animals, allergies, you name it I have thought it was the cause for this! I wish someone had some answers because its not only painful & irritating, but it is also embarrassing! I have to work in the morning and am hoping that my lip has gone down by then. I too have noticed that the affected area will start to itch & within a few minutes will become enlarged, hard, bright red, and sometimes has a feeling that its numb! When my palms or wrists are the affected area I am constantly washing them thinking that I have touched something that has caused it, but no matter how many hand washes I do it does not help them go down! Ice packs dont even help the swelling! Its embarrassing going places and this occurs, you cant just run home and hide, so if it happens to be your lip or cheek you are just outta luck and have to deal with stares & whispers! I wish there was something to do about this. If anyone finds something out I hope you post it for the rest of us to be informed.

This has been happening to my mother for 2 yearrs now, its sad.

I was really relieved when I came across this discussion. I have been having this exact problem since 2009 (random, unexplained swelling that looks like an insect bite on the soles of my feet, my wrist and thumbs, and my bottom lip). It comes on very suddenly and can take 2-24 hours to go. It's not too painful, but more uncomfortable and can feel numb and very hot. I've been tested for all kinds of things by my doctors (from thyroid to auto-immune illnesses like lupus and vasculitus) and everything is normal. Lots of people on here have mentioned stress and I think that plays a huge part in it.

My first ever swelling in my foot was when my mum was rushed to hospital with kidney failure in 2009 and I first noticed a huge egg shape swelling on the sole of my right foot. Since then, when I am stressed I tend to get the swellings and like most people on here, antihistamines don't reduce the swellings. I have moved house twice since May this year, and have had even more swellings than normal (in lip, hands and feet). It's really disturbing that no one who seems to have this has been able to get a diagnosis from their doctor. If anyone does manage to get any more answers or ideas what this might be, I'd love to know.

My husband is having these same symptoms. Have you been diagnosed with anything yet  or heard more of what this could be?

What you are describing match what I have experienced for the last four years.  My doctor classified it as angioedema.  It appears that the medical world does not have a complete understanding of angioedema.  However, I have related it to MSG (which has many hidden names and is in many, many store bought foods), stress and hormones.  My doctor said that it is not serious and should not effect my health in any way.  It is something that I wanted to get rid of  or at least lesson.  I recommend keeping a food journal.  In the beginning, eat a very simple diet of veggies and rice, nothing that is overly processed.  Then, add dairy, coffee, soda, one at a time to see what your triggers are.  Good luck.

I managed to stumble across this whilst waiting in a UK NHS Walk-In Centre. Having been once before (about a month ago), I was told to come back when I actually had swelling. So, I did today but having sat in the waiting room for 2hrs, the swelling had almost gone (can last between an hour or a day).

I have exactly the same symptoms that have been described - ichy, red, swelling hands, feet, lips, cheeks and tongue. This has been going on for around 6 months. At first, it started on my feet and I put it down to spending half a day playing on my Xbox whilst I was under the weather with a cold - my floor (back in my old flat) was a wooden one, so I assumed it was because I'd had too much pressure from the way I was sat that had caused it.

No more problems occured for a month or so. Then I moved in with my girlfriend into a new flat and have seen this issue increase - the worst being my left foot swellong up 3 times the size one day, followed by my right foot the day after, then my right hand, followed by my left hand, then my lip and cheek, and finally my tongue - all in successive days, but neither lasted longer than 24 hours. This is when I first went to the NHS Walk-In Centre an told to come back when I had the swelling again.

Because I live 35 miles from the Walk-In Centre I can only really go when I'm at work (a 5 minute walk away). Anyway, today was the first time I had swelling and was near by. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the swelling today (cheek and right foot) only lasted a couple of hours, so was pretty much non existant, so I left the Walk-In Centre before being seen.

I'm a 30 year old male and had nothing like this until 6 months ago. The only link I've managed to find so far (looking for allergies - clothes, washing powers, food, drinks, flooring, weather, siiting position - you name it!) is that when the swelling comes on (it is instant, I just suddenly feel a bit of an itch and then I'm inflamed somewhere within 5 minutes) I drink a couple of glasses of water. This settles it down all the time - not immediately, but does start working straight away as once I've drank the water I can feel the swelling and ichyness (is that even a word?!) going.

Carrying on from this, I have also noticed that when my water intake is good (I tend to drink a lot of water at work, and barely any at home) I go through weeks (even a couple of months) with no swelling. When I feel a bit de-hydrated I tend to get the swelling - or at least that is what I think; it could just be me wanting to find a reason (and solution) for it.

So, from today I am going to make sure I drink the recommended amount of water EVERY day without fail and see what happens with the swelling. If it continues, I'll go straight to my GP so I don't have to sit around in the NHS Walk-In whilst the swelling goes down and therefore a wasted journey.