Swollen lip after local anaesthetic

[EmilysMum]

Hi. Daughter had extraction with local anaesthetic yesterday .(back tooth)
3 hours later her lip ballooned twice size.
Out of hours said maybe allergic and was given antihistamines
Today swollen much more dentist looked and said keep on with antihistamines until friday
.Daughter very uncomfortable .dribbling and very worried .
Is this normal ????

 

[KVMCruces]

Hi EmilysMum,

To be honest... usually when this happens everyone is quick to say "its an allergic reaction". While in some cases this may be true however, in other situations that isn't the case.

About 90% of the time the swollen lip occurs from biting while numb. Patients (kids especially) may not be aware that they're doing this.

1. In general, allergic reactions do not produce a localized ulcerated area away from the injection of the alleged allergen. The appearance of this is simply not consistent with an allergic reaction.
2. The injection site is nearly always located far away from the traumatized area – in some cases nearly two inches. If it were an allergy, why then is the injection site totally normal?
3. Lack of systemic sympotoms; even less severe allergic reactions will produce other symptoms such as dry mouth, hives, and other findings. None of these are typically present in lip biting.

 

[MattKW]

Hi. Daughter had extraction with local anaesthetic yesterday .(back tooth)
3 hours later her lip ballooned twice size.
Out of hours said maybe allergic and was given antihistamines
Today swollen much more dentist looked and said keep on with antihistamines until friday
.Daughter very uncomfortable .dribbling and very worried .
Is this normal ????

Quite common for kids, and sometimes adults to bite cheeks and lips post-op. Always happens within area of numbness, e.g. lip, cheek, or tongue. And that also means usually only one side of the mouth. I always warn parents about this possibility and make notes that I've warned them. Here's a picture of a kid from a few weeks ago. Give her simple analgesics like acetaminophen, and soft food; it's mostly bruising. LA allergies are extremely rare nowadays, I've only had 1 confirmed (in 1983).