Are you among those who are big fans of swollen mouth lips, a la Miss Angelina Jolie? Or when you wakeup, the first thing you notice in the mirror are your swollen lips in the morning? Swollen lips can be genetic or can be the aftermath of myriad reasons including pregnancy, wrong medicines, unsuitability of drugs and medicines, side effects of cosmetic treatment to name a few. These should be treated without delay as they can be the bodily intimations of certain disorders. In this article, we will try to understand the diverse reasons of what causes swollen lip and what do we do to ensure that this does not happen again. It will also educate us on the multitude symptoms and signals that the body sends to the mind to let us know that something is amiss. Let us proceed further to know the symptoms and causes for swollen lips.
The present scenario:
With the advent of smart advertising and other technological advancements, it is possible to ape the lives and beauty secrets of celebrities. Some people are born with a swollen lip but there is no real necessity to change your lips into something like them. Of course, you can achieve the appearance of swollen lower lip or upper lip according to your wishes using make up tricks. But there are some people who wish to achieve the same using surgery or other cosmetic injections. This may or may not suit them. But oblivious to all the dangers, women still get the lip enhancement surgeries done in order to look like their favorite star. Many of us do not realize that if we do not treat swollen lip in time, it could lead to
• Deformity of a permanent nature of the lip
• Anaphylactic shock resulting in difficulty in breathing which can leave you gasping for breath
• Removal of the skin or tissue of the lip through surgery
• Spreading of the problems and toxins to other areas such as blood
The amount of complications arising out of the situation is many and even beyond the comprehension of the common man. Therefore, it is imperative that one pay adequate attention to the problem and not fidget around with what is genetically provided to him.
Lip Swelling – Symptoms:
Lip swelling has many symptoms. Occurrence of any of them should make you alert and go for proper medical diagnosis. In case of a swollen upper lip, if there are other symptoms as well such as the ones enumerated below then it may be a cause of worry.
• Presence of warm tingling sensation accompanied by redness of the skin
• Occurrence of blisters on the lips
• Presence of swollen chapped lips
• There is noticeable shift in the color of the skin of the lips
• Occurrence of fever, headache, fatigue in the bones and a chilly feeling all the time
• The skin of lips is filled with pus-filled sores or has a feeling of pain
• Discoloration of the lips or nails to a bluish tinge
• Presence of hives and swollen lips in conjunction
• Occurrence of swollen tongue, breathing related problems and even choking
• Mental pain or feeling of tightness in the throat
Lip Swelling – Causes:
Lip swelling is also known as lip edema. The reasons for swollen lips can be trauma to the lips, presence of malignant cancer, irritation to a particular substance or even a side effect to a chemical or any treatment. Therefore, do not experiment with hitherto unknown object as the reaction could be disastrous. The swollen lips causes are many including the following:
• Infection of any kind such as bacterial, viral or even fungal
• Allergy to drugs such as penicillin
• Allergy to foods such as prawns or any other sea food
• As a reaction to hot and spicy food items
• As a counter reaction to dust or pollen grains
• As a side effect of hay fever
• As a reaction to an insect sting such as a bee or a wasp
• As a reaction to dental fixtures
• Direct wounds and cut to the lip too can be the causes of a swollen lip
• Surgery of the mouth or of the lips
• Injection on the lip or anywhere near it such as the Botox
• Severe sunburn
Apart from the above mentioned causes of swollen lip, there are other causes too. Some of them are enumerated below:
• Reaction to blood transfusion
• Can of the lips
• Due to water or fluid retention during pregnancy
• Suffering from Cheilitis which is a rare condition and causes swollen bottom lip
• Suffering from Hereditary Angioedema in which there is swelling of the throat and nearby areas
• Malnutrition
• Preeclampsia which is a serious condition for pregnant women.
• A rare nerve disorder called the Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome
• Organ failure
Since there can be many reason for the condition, the course of swollen lips treatment needs to be done very carefully after sophisticated tests.
There can be many different reasons or causes of swollen lips. It is imperative that you can pin point the correct reason for the sudden swollen lip. This will help you to get appropriate treatment and help in the swelling coming down rapidly. Although many teenaged girls are opting for cosmetic surgery to enhance the shape of their lips so that it can resemble a pout but when similar conditions happen to your lip without you having a hand in it, it is time to watch out. One may perceive itchy swollen lips as a normal and harmless condition but it can spell disaster if not taken seriously. Lips are very sensitive. Therefore, abstain from experimenting with medicines or household treatment on them. If you have similar conditions then do not waste time and consult a doctor immediately so that there is proper diagnosis of the cause of swollen lips and correct medicines or treatment can be prescribed.