A swollen lip is not only ugly and interferes with speaking and eating. A slight damage on the inside of the lip can be a sign of various serious pathologies.
Lip swelled inside - probable causes and symptoms
The lip can swell differently. For example, its volume may increase completely, and this will be visible from the outside. Another option - swelling may have a limited volume, but it interferes even more than a uniform lip augmentation.
Swelling of the lips from the inside is manifested by a violation of diction, pain and discomfort during a conversation. During the meal, biting of the affected area is possible, sometimes quite strong and leading to injuries. Lip sensitivity may be impaired. If the swelling is strong, then it is visible externally - the patient's face is distorted.
There are several reasons why this happens, each of them will be discussed in more detail:
Inflammatory edema;
Allergic edema;
· Traumatic edema;
· Conducting various medical interventions.
Overcooling, spicy foods, irritating substances can provoke increased edema. The emotional state also plays a role - the action of the main causes is much stronger against the background of stress, neurosis, and depressed conditions.
Infectious diseases
The infection enters the mucous membrane of the lips through injuries or from neighboring organs during dental diseases or when the mucous membrane of the lips comes into contact with contaminated objects or hands. The combination of these factors is almost guaranteed to cause swelling of the lips from the inside.
Symptoms of this condition are severe edema and pain, impaired sensitivity, local temperature increase. Perhaps a general malaise, a feeling of heat on the face, a slight numbness. Such a lesion is often combined with stomatitis, carious teeth, gingivitis and acne.
The infectious process on the lip mucosa is dangerous because it can easily spread to other tissues of the face, and also cause infection to enter the brain membrane through the blood (especially the upper lip). The vascular network of the head is rich in anastomoses, which makes it very vulnerable to bacteria and viruses.
Allergy
Several factors can cause an allergic reaction on the face. It can be insect bites, contact with food or inhaled allergens, irritating substances. Also, rashes and edema, similar in symptoms to allergic, often accompany nervous diseases, stress, neurodermatitis.
A bite of an insect
When bitten, irritating substances contained in the saliva or poison of insects always enter the skin or mucous membrane of a person. Therefore, the bite is always accompanied by itching, local edema and redness. On the inner surface of the lip, these phenomena acquire a pronounced character due to the structural features of the subcutaneous fatty tissue - on the face it is loose, and the mucous membrane of the inner side of the lip is quite thin. As a rule, edema in these cases is asymmetric, it is clearly visible from the outside, noticeably impairs diction.
Irritation from a bite can be combined with hypersensitivity, and then the edema quickly spreads, can occupy a significant part of the face, cause life-threatening reactions.
Allergens in food and air
This route of entry of allergens often leads to the fact that the lip swells from the inside. What to do in this case? First of all, it is necessary to identify the allergen and stop contact with it. For people with allergies, it is important to know which substances cause an allergic reaction and to avoid contact with them.
Features of symptoms - violation of facial sensitivity, soreness when touched, pronounced edema. Perhaps a deterioration in well-being, the appearance of a rash on the face and other parts of the body.
Neurodermatitis and atopic dermatitis
These diseases are not actually allergic, but they are similar in manifestations. They are characterized by a sharp appearance of a rash and edema in several areas of the body. A provoking factor can be stress, overwork or hypothermia. Typical symptoms are severe edema, severe facial asymmetry, severe itching of the face and body.
Injury
Any injury to the skin or mucous membrane causes a local inflammatory reaction. If microorganisms are not involved in it, then inflammation is aseptic. Inflammation is a natural response to damage that is necessary for the tissue regeneration process to begin.
The peculiarity of this inflammatory process is that it passes quickly enough. The causes of aseptic inflammation as a result of an injury can be a piercing, accidental biting of the lips from the inside, bruising of the face. If you provide peace and purity to the affected area, then such an inflammatory process does not pose a great danger.
An infection can be introduced into the mucosa during an injury. Most often this happens with accidental injury. It can also occur if the lip piercing is performed incorrectly if the rules of the procedure or the care of the damage are violated. In this case, a sharp increase in pain occurs, purulent discharge appears, obvious signs of an inflammatory process of a bacterial nature.
Medical interventions
What to do if the lip is swollen from the inside as a result of medical intervention, the doctor can warn during the procedure. In some cases, this phenomenon is normal. For example, after anesthesia for several hours, a feeling of numbness and swelling persists. In this case, the lip can really swell and increase in size. Diction becomes slurred, while chewing lip bites from the inside are possible. That is why the patient after treatment is recommended to refrain from eating until anesthesia passes.
In other cases, numbness and swelling of the lips can be a sign of damage to the mucous membrane of the lips, blood vessels or nerves during manipulation with improper doctor actions. In this case, numbness persists for a long time, does not stop for several hours. If swelling and numbness of the lip does not go away after a day, and additional symptoms appear, for example, a taste of blood in the mouth, soreness, slight damage is visible during examination, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible.
The most common manipulations in which damage to the lip mucosa occurs are tooth extraction, dental treatment, root filling, installation of supporting structures for fracture of the jaw, prosthetics and dental implantation. When performing them, the doctor has to be especially careful, and it is important for the patient not to distract the specialist and follow his recommendations.
Diagnosis and treatment
To identify the reasons why the lip is swollen from the inside, you must consult a doctor. The specialist will begin to identify the causes with a detailed history taking that indicates trauma, dental manipulation, allergic reactions or an insect bite. Also, possibly provoking factors will be immediately identified. A careful examination is also important, which will reveal the causes and associated symptoms.
Further treatment depends on the cause of the disease. If there are signs of an infectious inflammatory process or if there is an injury that is received under clearly unsterile conditions, a course of antibiotics in tablets is necessary. For allergic reactions and insect bites - antihistamines in the form of tablets or gels. It is also important to eliminate additional provoking factors.
The doctor will also recommend what to do to alleviate the condition if the lip is swollen from the inside. To do this, you can use local remedies with a calming and anti-inflammatory effect. It is necessary to rinse your mouth with local antiseptics - chlorophyllipt, miramistin. You can cauterize an inflamed area with furacilin, hydrogen peroxide. Ointments with dexamethasone and lidocaine give a good effect - they reduce the severity of pain and inflammation.
During treatment, you should follow a diet. The affected area must be spared, avoid contact with irritating substances - sharp seasonings, plenty of salt, hot and cold food. With obvious signs of an inflammatory process, sweets should be limited, as they are a breeding ground for bacteria.
