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Swollen Upper Lip. Had Strep A Infection, Taken Amoxilin. How To Reduce Pain & Swelling?

Posted on Tue, 3 Jul 2012

Question: I have a clogged pore on my upper lip. I do NOT have herpes! I just had strep A and now one of my kids has a secondary strep B infection, all cultured by pediatrician. I finished my amoxicillin two weeks ago. I do not have a pimple just a very swollen upper right lip. Any advice to help reduce pain and swelling? Already have ice in the works.

Answered by Dr. Raju A.T (3 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for your query.

The lesion on the lip could be either due to the Strep infection or the medications you had.The description makes me suspicious of it being an inflammatory reaction.Hence , an anti-inflammatory medication would suffice.

I suggest you to take Tab Motrin 400mg twice daily after food for three days.This will reduce the inflammation thereby reducing the swelling and pain.

Also continue applying ice over the affected area.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,

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

Follow up: Dr. Raju A.T (1 hour later)

Thank you for your reply. However as I mentioned I'm already applying ice. I have taken the step of adding ibuprofen. Since my strep A and Amoxicillin were two weeks ago I'm not confident they are the cause. I volunteered them since it was recent (last month) and since one of my children became sick again and was clear of strep A but suddenly positive for strep B. and yes, he was retested for A but negative when they discovered Strep B.
I was hoping for a more insightful or directive reply as to whether either Strep A or B might be involved. I didn't want to bother being retested for A or ask for B if they could not be the cause. And if in that case there was more I could do? Again I'm already applying ice. What other remedies might be helpful? And could this be strep after a full course of antiobitics two weeks later when another member of the family (my child) is positive for strep B?
Thank you,
K

Answered by Dr. Raju A.T (19 hours later)

Hi ,

Thanks for writing back.

I consider there is no need to get retested .The inflammatory cheilitis is due to strep A infection.Such inflammations are triggered by structural antigens of the bacteria after they have been killed by penicillin group antibiotics.Such antibiotics kill the bacteria by rendering their cellwall damaged and cause leakage of numerous structural antigens from the bacteria leading to non-specific inflammations in sensitive sites.

For such non-specific inflammations anti inflammatory medications like NSAIDs would suffice.Since Motrin is a over the counter medication I could only advice you that.You can go for any better NSAID like diclofenac, phenylbutazone etc with the help of your treating doctor as you may need written prescription for the same.

Do consume blueberries, spinach, papaya , pineapple and strawberries which contain powerful antioxidants such as flavanoids which hinder the progress of such immune inflammation in the body.

Hope I answered all your questions. Please use any answer clarification before closing and rating this answer. I will be happy to explain or expand on any issue you may have.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

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