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Noticed Swelling And Redness On Upper Lips, No Tingling Or Numbness. What To Do?

Posted on Sat, 20 Apr 2013

Question: i woke up yesterday with a swollen upper lip on the left side. There is no tingling or numbness, just a little redness. what could this be? by the way, this happened out of the blue. what should i do? could it be a zit under my skin?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (3 hours later)

Hi and welcome to XXXXXXX
Considering your photo few causes can be considered. If it happened suddenly and during the night you might had insect bite or contact allergy caused by cosmetics or detergent. Put some ice on it and apply some of antihistaminic cremes. It is hard that zit could cause such surronding swelling.
Also it can be the beginning of herpes infection, if you notice blister after few days it is definitely herpes. The most important thing is to see is this gonna spread. If does or if you experience fever or headache, vomiting and nausea you should visit doctor because antibiotic treatment may be necessary.
Now I wouldnt prescribe any particular medicine but ice and antihistaminic or corticosteroid products.
Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (5 hours later)

i remember maybe burning my lip in that area while eating a grilled cheese before bed. could that be it? i just dont know if that would cause it because i removed it almost immediately.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (7 hours later)

Of course it can be that. even a second can cause mild combustion especially in area around lips.in this case it will heal soon. try not to touch it or lick it beacuse infection can occur.just wash it with clean water and soap every few hours and apply some neutral lips cream on it.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (8 hours later)

i put ice on it every now and then and it seems like the swelling goes down, but every morning i wake up, the swelling is back and it is still red as it was before. How long should it take to heal and become normal size again? it has been two full days now and still looks exactly the same.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ivan Romich (19 hours later)

Wait for 2-3 days more. it will go down fo sure. it is important that it doesnt get worse. if it last more than 5,6 days after you ve noticed you should visit doctors and do some tests to find did it become infected. if you dont have fever,pus discharge or spreading redness i wouldnt saythat it is infected. also be sure not to apply irritating cosmetics. Inform me about improvement

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar