Puffy Lips

Puffed up lips on women have been a sign of beauty and sensuality for centuries. In Victorian times, young women "practiced their P's" - that is they repeated words that began with the letter P - in the hope of developing a permanent set of pretty, perky, and puckered lips with which to woo suitors.

Today, unless a woman is genetically endowed with luscious lips, puffy lips are more likely to be a sign of collagen injections than lip exercise. But puffy or swollen lips can also signal an allergic reaction to something you have eaten, drunk, or put on your lips to beautify them.

If your lower lip is puffy and has reddish or white crusty spots or sores on it, you may have ACTINIC CHEILOSIS, a progressive erosion caused by sun damage. This condition usually occurs after age 50 and is more common in men than women. Unfortunately, the damage to your lip is permanent. As with most sun-related skin problems, people with fair skin are at particular risk. Actinic cheilosis is usually a precancerous condition, although it may be an early warning sign that you already have skin cancer on your lower lip.

Chronic puffy lips may be a sign of MIESCHER-MELKERSSON-ROSENTHAL SYNDROME, a neurological disorder that tends to run in families. People with this condition, which usually first occurs in early adulthood, may also have facial swelling, facial nerve palsy, and a fissured tongue. Over time, more signs such as hard, cracked, scaly lips may appear. These same signs are also common in patients who have sarcoidosis, a serious inflammatory disorder that affects many other parts of the body, such as the eyes, ears, and nose as well as internal organs.

A bump or sore with hard edges and a brownish center on your lips may be a sign of keratoacanthoma, a rapidly growing skin lesion that commonly forms on the lips. Like many skin growths, it is linked to sun damage. While it may pop and go away on its own, leaving only a small depression, it may be precancerous.



If your lips suddenly puff up and you have trouble swallowing or breathing, seek medical help immediately. You may be having a life threathening allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock).