New symptom: swollen lips
Hello,
I am having my second experience with chronic idiopathic urticaria. The first was 15 years ago, and after nearly a year of trying different treatments while never identifying a cause, they cleared up. Because they abated immediately after my wife gave birth to our first child, I concluded that it was probably stress-related.
This year the urticaria has returned. It may once again be stress-related. I am managing fairly well taking antihistamines. But last night I developed a new symptom: swollen lips. My lips and even my cheeks around them are very swollen. This never happened at all during my first bout. The Allegra I am taking for the hives does not seem to help with this new symptom. I just took some Benadryl and feel like that may be starting to work.
Has anyone else experienced swollen lips during a hives outbreak? I will point out that I have never been diagnosed as having any allergies at all, and there has been nothing new introduced in my environment or diet.
Thanks!
Hello
Thanks for reaching out. Swollen lips may be a sign of a severe allergy. We always recommend bringing any new or changing symptoms to your healthcare provider's attention. I do hope others may chime in with their own personal experiences. In the meantime, I thought I'd share this article that may provide some helpful information: https://chronic-hives.com/living/mast-cells All my best, Doreen (Team Member)
I ALWAYS get angioedema when my chronic hives flare up! Sometimes, it's the first symptom I get. It's the lips or the eyes or both. It can even sometimes be 1/4 of my lips, or just an eyelid. You should see your allergist, and an epipen is a good thing to have for safety's sake. I wish my flares were 15 years apart-mine are more like 5-7. I don't have allergies or inherited angioedema or vasculitis, or an autoimmune disorder. I just. get. hives. I hear that Benedryl is not the best help for angio. Please see an allergist. You can take more than the once-a-day dose of some antihistamines, but you should talk with a doctor about it first. If you think it's stress related, you should discuss that with a doctor also.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
We're glad you are part of this community.
Be well, Doreen (Team member)
I often have one swollen lip, and my eyelids also swell. I've tried quite a few antihistamines and find that chlorpheniramine works best for me. The soonest appointment I could get with an allergist is April!
With any luck your hives will be gone by then! Since you are reviving this thread I do have one update: I've had swollen lips/puffy eyes a couple more times since posting my original message, and it seems to coincide with me having taken Ibuprofen for headache or some other unrelated issue. I'll don't often use pain relievers but I'll be trying a different brand the next time that I do.
