It all started with a heaping plate of steamy stir-fry. It smelled so delicious as the rich scent of grilled peppers and onions mingled with the aroma of perfectly done sirloin tips. I was pregnant, and that strong smell sent me to the stove with a mission. I heaped a large mound of that delicious meal onto my plate and started eating. The onions were the best. They tasted like absolute heaven, which was ironic since I had always hated onions. I don’t think I had ever even tasted an onion because the smell was so offensive. But the pregnant monster craved those onions and ate them until I sat back in satisfied bliss.
Thirty minutes later, I looked like I had undergone a black market collagen injection. My lips swelled and swelled until they took over my face. I looked lack a cartoon character. To make matters worse, my tongue started to swell up too. I couldn’t even speak and I worried that I wouldn’t be able to breathe if I didn’t do something fast.
So my husband called my doctor as I scribbled furious notes about what I had eaten. He told her about the onion fascination that had left me with a ton of onions in my big round belly. Then he listened quietly for a minute before he said, “Well, she looks like she has two huge red balloons on her face. Or maybe sausages. Yeah, definitely sausages. Her lips are so big she can’t even talk. She looks really weird, doctor. What should we do?” Pregnancy hormones couldn’t take the insult of sausage lips and I started crying, but it came out like a muffled roar from behind the swelling. Tears fell over the puffiness until I couldn’t see enough to even check the mirror. Upon doctor’s orders, my husband doped me up on Benadryl and I cried until the swelling subsided.
Swollen lips are a classic reaction to an allergy, whether it be food or chemical. I’ve heard stories of people who blew up a latex balloon only to have the same grim fate. Children with nut allergies often have the swollen lips before a more severe, life-threatening reaction follows. My allergy to onions taught me quite a lesson about trying new foods. It’s all about moderation until you’re sure that your body likes them as much as your tastebuds.
Swollen lip reactions can be caused by anything from Chapstick to toothpaste, but what should you do when you feel those puppies start puffing up? The key is to act quickly. Start with the appropriate dose of Benadryl. It will make you sleepy, but your lips will slowly deflate. second, wash your mouth and face thoroughly with soap and water to remove any leftover allergens. This is particularly important if the culprit has come from a contact allergy like latex. Third, apply ice to your lips for twenty minutes. Repeat this once an hour for three hours. The ice will numb some of your discomfort and ease any itching. Try not to scratch or you’ll have claw marks that long outlive your puffy lips.
Once the swelling has subsided, use your common sense and avoid the guilty allergen completely. For me, this means I don’t even touch onions or eat any foods that have touched onions during preparation. No gourmet French Onion soup is worth the trauma that I know will follow. If you aren’t sure what caused your reaction, then see a doctor. A simple allergy test can shed a lot of light on the situation and reveal any potential dangerous allergy triggers.
It’s also vitally important to call the doctor during your allergic reaction if you have trouble breathing or swallowing. If the Benadryl doesn’t cause the swelling to die down, you also might want to head to the doctor. For children, swelled lips are a reason for an immediate trip to a physician, even if it means you have to sit in the Emergency Room for a few hours. Allergies can be potentially deadly in children if they are not treated quickly, so don’t hesitate to call the doctor or just jump in the car and go. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
One other suggestion that is strictly personal: Hide the camera. If you have those beautiful sausage lips, make sure you hide the camera if you have a husband like mine. He thought that was the perfect opportunity for a hilarious picture. The next Christmas, my relative had a nice long laugh over his surprising personalized Christmas cards. I, on the other hand, was not so amused. My big lips matched my bigger pregnant belly and I looked like the female version of the Pillsbury Dough Boy. So take it from a woman with a history of swollen lips, pictures won’t ever be funny no matter how much time passes.
