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What Causes Swelling Of The Lips?
My daughter, 6 yrs old was receintly tested for allergies b/c her lip swelled enormously at school. This was after eating lunch (pears, potatoes, bread). She also was upset and crying b/c an incident made her upset. I had to pick her up from school and her lip was swollen for 24 hours along with her eyes/face (but lip was worse). They tested her & she's allergic to Birch, cats and numerous other outdoor trees/grasses (just can't remember the names). She is on medicine at night along with two injections twice/week. However she was very upset yesterday and started crying and her lip swelled up again. I wonder if this has nothing to do with being allergic to foods/outdoor pollen and is a cuase of anxiety? Will she outgrow this? any help is very much appreciated!
Wed, 30 Jul 2014
Hello.
Thank you for asking at HCM.
I went through your daughter's history.
I would like to ask further questions here like - Detailed description of each episode of lip swelling, whether she has hives associated, whether she has any other allergic disorders, whether she has abdominal pains with such episodes, whether she has any other medical conditions, whether she takes any other regular medications, etc etc.
However, from your given history, I would like to make following suggestions for your daughter:
1. Though she has tested positive for some allergens, personally I would not surely say she is "allergic" before knowing details of her symptoms. It is very important to remember that some allergy tests can be positive despite the child being non-allergic.
2. For foods, I would suggest you to correlate foods with symptoms. In past, if she has reacted to particular food within 2-3 hours after eating, then only consider she is allergic to that particular food.
3. Were I treating her, I would suggest her investigations like complete blood counts, ESR, CRP, urine and stool routine & microscopic examination. These would give clue to cause of her symptoms.
4. If she has no hives and only repeated episodes of swelling, I would also suggest her to investigate for serum C4 levels to screen for hereditary angioedema.
5. Till her diagnosis is confirmed, I would prescribe her daily montelukast and an antihistamine like levocetirizine/cetirizine and also would give her a course of anti-parasitic drugs to treat intestinal parasites which may be causing the symptoms.
6. In nutshell, yes, it is possible that this may not have anything to do with her allergies to food/pollens.
7. Whether she can outgrow of the condition can only be told after getting her exact diagnosis.
Hope this will be helpful to you.
Wish your daughter the best of the health.
Should you have any further query, please feel free to ask at HCM.
Thank you & Regards.
Thank you for asking at HCM.
I went through your daughter's history.
I would like to ask further questions here like - Detailed description of each episode of lip swelling, whether she has hives associated, whether she has any other allergic disorders, whether she has abdominal pains with such episodes, whether she has any other medical conditions, whether she takes any other regular medications, etc etc.
However, from your given history, I would like to make following suggestions for your daughter:
1. Though she has tested positive for some allergens, personally I would not surely say she is "allergic" before knowing details of her symptoms. It is very important to remember that some allergy tests can be positive despite the child being non-allergic.
2. For foods, I would suggest you to correlate foods with symptoms. In past, if she has reacted to particular food within 2-3 hours after eating, then only consider she is allergic to that particular food.
3. Were I treating her, I would suggest her investigations like complete blood counts, ESR, CRP, urine and stool routine & microscopic examination. These would give clue to cause of her symptoms.
4. If she has no hives and only repeated episodes of swelling, I would also suggest her to investigate for serum C4 levels to screen for hereditary angioedema.
5. Till her diagnosis is confirmed, I would prescribe her daily montelukast and an antihistamine like levocetirizine/cetirizine and also would give her a course of anti-parasitic drugs to treat intestinal parasites which may be causing the symptoms.
6. In nutshell, yes, it is possible that this may not have anything to do with her allergies to food/pollens.
7. Whether she can outgrow of the condition can only be told after getting her exact diagnosis.
Hope this will be helpful to you.
Wish your daughter the best of the health.
Should you have any further query, please feel free to ask at HCM.
Thank you & Regards.
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