What causes swollen face and lips with numbness on the tongue?
Patient: My husband is 64 years of age and is having ? swollen face on one side, lip on one side very swollen. It starts on the lip then travels up the right side of his face. On the first occasion his tongue went numb and he was admitted to hospital and was treated for an allergic reaction to something. Then Instructed to buy an epi pen. He has now had two more attacks and has been given tablets to take at the onset. These attacks last up to 12 hours and have only been the swelling of the lip on the right side. He has had blood test and allergies. Tests today. Nothing is making sense as he wakes up in the morning with it. Can you help me. Doctor: Hi,Thank you for your query. I can understand your concerns.Your husband has angioedema of lips which spreads subsequently to face.Angioedema can affect tongue with numbness due to compression of nerves. He should take tablet Monteleukast (10 mg) and Levocetrizine (5mg) at bed-time for a longer period.Since it has now become chronic ,a short course of oral glucocorticoid (steroid) will help. Epinephrine (epi-pen) will be life saving if the swelling spreads to upper respiratory passage (larynx or voice box) causing acute breathing difficulty.Regards Dr. T.K. Biswas M.D.Mumbai