Help me look human again.

November 20, 2006 9:26 AM

Two days ago I got what I thought was the beginning of a cold sore at the corner of my mouth. Today I woke up and my entire face was a puffy mess. What's going on?

My whole face is red and noticeably puffy. The cold sore has proceeded to act like a typical cold sore. It seems like there's a connection to the sore and the rest of my face, as the swelling has slowly spread upwards. Could the virus have spread to the rest of my face? Any idea on what this might be? My ladyfriend thinks it looks like an allergic reaction but is at a loss as to why it would be only on my face. I'm avoiding antihistamines for right now because they put me to sleep and I have work to do, though.

Any ideas on how to make a puffy face look a little less horrifying, or what could be causing this?

posted by honeydew to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

I have no idea if the two symptoms are related, but Valacyclovir or Acyclovir seem like the first course of treatment. That is, not necessarily leaping to the conclusion of an allergic reaction to the Herpes virus. It's possible that the virus has infected your lymph nodes which gives the appearance of some swelling.

Those two medications are anti-virals which can slow and help heal viral related problems a lot quicker.

To conclude, see your doctor who will probably give you some anti-virals.
posted by jourman2 at 9:49 AM on November 20, 2006

very much sounds like an allergic reaction. there are antihistamines that do not cause drowsiness. I'd probably start with Loratidine (aka Claritin) if you need over-the-counter. IANAD.
posted by mcstayinskool at 9:50 AM on November 20, 2006

Here's some more really good general information.
posted by jourman2 at 9:50 AM on November 20, 2006

My friend had something similar when she first had an allergic reaction to mangoes. She had what looked like a bunch of cold sores on her lip and her face swelled up. Eat anything different recently? I know they gave her a shot of something when she got diagnosed, I don't know what it was though, maybe cortisone?
posted by rmless at 9:53 AM on November 20, 2006

2nd rmless -- the oil in mango skins is similar to the oil in poison oak & poison ivy. Many people (like me) develop a cross-allergy to mangoes. I reacted just as she described -- sores on my mouth, followed by itching and swelling on my lips, nose, and eyes.

I went to an allergist for over 6 months; they ran a full battery of tests, and gave me a prescription for Prednisone to take whenever I swelled up -- but my allergist never figured out that it was a food reaction. I finally started keeping tabs on everything I'd eaten before a flare-up, and made the connection myself. Probably best if you see a doctor or an allergist soon, but there's no guarantee they will pinpoint what you reacted to.

Prednisone was the only thing that really helped my symptoms, but to ease the itching I would buy a box of oatmeal bath (Aveeno or the cheaper store brand) and mix a little water into the oatmeal mix to make a paste. Smearing this all over my swollen, itchy face helped a little. So did applying cool cloths every so often.
posted by junkbox at 10:16 AM on November 20, 2006

I third the food allergy suggestion. A friend of mine used to get seemingly random face swelling. He was unaware of any food allergies, but is allergic to latex. Turns out several foods can trigger latex allergy. The last time he had a flare-up, he ate bananas, avocado, and melon in one meal, which are 3 of the foods that have a similar protein structure to latex and trigger the allergy.

The ER gave him Pepcid and Benadryl, as well as Prednisone. Pepcid is an anithistamine and binds to a different histamine receptor than Benadryl does, so the combo usually does the trick in severe reactions. In any case, if your lips swell and/or you feel like you have ANY difficulty breathing whatsoever, get thee to a doctor ASAP.
posted by bedhead at 10:38 AM on November 20, 2006

I had a friend once who had a herpes simplex flare up that ran wild. From a canker sore inside the right corner of her mouth, it flared to create a marked swelling of her entire cheek.
Ignored and unchecked, such large scale flare ups are potentially quite serious. IANAD so go see one right away. The drugs the first poster describes are what she got prescribed for and it was under control in a day or two.
posted by Fupped Duck at 10:41 AM on November 20, 2006

Through personal experience, I also vote for allergy to mango.
posted by unknowncommand at 11:47 AM on November 20, 2006

If it's a poison oak-like reaction, you're in luck, since the treatment I was prescribed when I had poison ivy all over my face was a course of steroids (not the muscle-building kind, I forget the word). I was up all night and painted my room just to burn off the energy. Maybe you'll get all your work done.
posted by salvia at 12:39 PM on November 20, 2006

I have no idea about mango, but allergic reaction sounds right to me. One halloween, as a wee tot, I went trick or treating as McGruff the crime dog, and used some brown face paint. It totally made my whole face swell up.

I'm definitely not a doctor. You should probably see one.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 12:40 PM on November 20, 2006

I hope it's an allergy, but the fact that it slowly spread upwards from an initial nidus raises the specter of cellulitis or erysipelas. You should see a doctor to rule these out.
posted by ikkyu2 at 3:11 PM on November 20, 2006