Suggest Treatment For Burning Sensation And Swelling In The Lips

Posted on Mon, 14 Nov 2016

Question: I woke up a month a go with swollen, burning lips. I don't know how to cure or treat the condition. I just had my annual physical last week and my blood work is great. I am 73, a heart patient (15 years since open heart surgery and my thalium tread, echo and other tests were great two years ago.) I exercise 4-5 times a week, eat organically. The only thing that bothers me is my neck is stiff from working (I am a writer and administer 11 Facebook pages for my company, plus blogs, ads etc.) I've taken the same medication for 15 years. My doctor thought it might be my toothpaste which I had used for several years. So I am clueless. Waiting for your answer.

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
allergic to something

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
It sounds like you have become allergic to something. Even if you have used a product or been exposed to an allergen for years you can still develop an allergy to it. What you have sounds like angioedema. If you look at google images of this term you can see many people with swollen lips. I once had a patient that got swollen lips every time he mowed the yard. It turned out he was allergic to grasses.
Taking a non-sedating antihistamine like loratadine may help but you really need to find out what is causing this reaction. You can do this by getting allergy testing or by eliminating things from your diet ad environment. If you choose to do eliminations, try to decide what is most likely then eliminate it for 2-3 weeks and see if the situation resolves.
Please let me know if you have further questions
Dr. Robinson

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

Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (14 minutes later)

Thank you so much! I know I'm allergic to a lot of things: grasses, molds, etc., but this one baffles me. I'll try eliminating first. I've been three days with an all-natural toothpaste. Will give it 3 weeks. Then, I'll try other things (maybe what I'm washing my sheets with.) Can I get loratadine over the counter, or do I need a prescription?

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
thanks for the feedback

Detailed Answer:
Good luck, it sounds like you have a good plan. Loratadine is generic Claritin, it is over the counter.
Dr. Robinson

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