How to treat a swollen lip

Introduction to swollen lips

We all know what lips are. They are a central feature of the face and they are very visible, and often one of the first things that a person sees when they look at someone’s face.

The muscles of the lip are not only used to open the mouth for eating and drinking, but are also help to make almost every possible expression of the face.

When a person has a swollen lip it will be an immediately noticeable trait.

In order to know how to treat a swollen lip it is first important to know the cause, which is most of the time some kind of trauma to the lip area. A swollen lip can also result from allergies or an insect bite to the lip.

In order to treat it, the source must be known, but it is usually obvious what is to blame for the swollen lip.

Treatment

The first thing you must do in the case of a swollen lip is to apply a cold compress to that area. This holds especially true if it is caused by an injury, such as a fall in which the face is injured.

When applying a cold compress it is important not to have direct contact between the lip and ice because that can cause burning and even more irritation. Make sure that the ice is wrapped neatly in a cloth when you are putting it on the lip.

If you do not have any ice, you can use a bottle of cold water or perhaps a frozen fruit. Even a cold utensil will work. If none of these are available, soak a cloth or towel in cold water and use that instead.

The cold compress to the lip will decrease the swelling and pain. Be sure to hold the cold compress on the lips for in between ten and 30 minutes.

Swollen lips can also occur from an allergy of some sorts. A person can be allergic to many different things, including foods, dust, animal hairs or pollen, among other things.

If the lips start to tingle and feel itchy, it is probably that an allergy has begun, which means that the lip will swell in a number of minutes.

Antihistamines are usually prescribed by a doctor in the case of an allergy. However, if the person is extremely allergic to whatever is causing the allergy, it is best to head right over to the emergency room for treatment before it gets out of hand.

It is important to know or at least guess what might have caused the allergy, so that the proper medications can be prescribed. If you are not allergic to anything that you know of, it might be a food allergy, in which case it is good to try and remember what the last thing was that you ate before the swelling began.