Does this sound like an allergy?

[SwollenEyeHelp]

I'm somewhat desperate as I've had the same 2 issues consistently for about 6 months now and can't get a doctor's appointment. I don't know if it sounds more like an allergic reaction to something, or an infection.

My left eyelid keeps swelling, this is the third time in six months now. At one point both of my eyelids have been swollen and very irritated, but I put that down to a vitamic C serum allergy.

I've also struggled with my lips lately, they've been very chapped for about 6 months and it recently seemed to turn into an infection, they were very itchy and irritated, I've needed antibiotic cream and they're slowly getting better, but not fully healed.

I'm not asking for anyone to diagnose me, just if anyone has had similar and if they have any advice. If it sounds like an allergy, how do I even go about dealing with it? Should I start cutting out various foods?

Any advice would be amazing, I'm at my wits end and can't seem to get any help.

I had a thought this morning that maybe it's got something to do with nail varnish or acetone. I haven't worn any in years but started again this summer (mainly on my toes) and I think the timing would add up but it seems strange that only my eyes and lips would react, and not my toes/feet/nails/hands.

It could be a food allergy. Keep a diary and note a swelling within two hours of eating something.

Mine isn’t a food but I have a serious allergy to things that can be inhaled eg a type of air freshener. It took them 3 years to find out what it was.

I would suggest you ask the GP to refer to a dermatologist and immunology. Might be a long wait though.

Ps my eyes swell first then my face and then my neck and then have to Epipen - the immunology consultant really thought it was food. But by sheer chance a friend had brought round the thing I’m allergic to and said ‘can you help me with this’ it’s very specific so I’m going to say it’s like an air freshener and as I went go plug it in / it set off a serious reaction. It takes me about 3 weeks to recover with steroids.

I recovered and deliberately did it again - and it went again.

This is a typical product in most homes - I got rid of it two years ago and don’t go anywhere near it at work and haven’t had a reaction in 2 years.

Could be an allergy.

Also be sure it's not dental related. My face swelling was the first sign I had a hairline crack in a tooth and ended up needing root canal

@Thestrawberrydrill It's difficult to tell because the swelling happens during my sleep, so each time I've only noticed an issue when I've woken up. I'll keep a diary though and see where that gets me. Don't think it's anything air freshener related, we don't have any in the house, we usually use incense/candles and they've not caused a reaction before. I'm glad you managed to figure out what yours was, how scary!

@ARichtGoodDram Don't think it's dental, I saw my dentist about a month ago and everything was fine.

I'm also thinking potentially it's a clogged duct/pore maybe. I noticed my eyelids were a little irritated last night so put on some moisturiser and a thin layer of vaseline to keep it in place overnight, so perhaps that's caused it. It's so difficult to pin point!

Could be a million things.

Washing powder, face cream, something eaten or drink, medication, animal ….. something air born.

I had to use double base to wash in for a year and wash my clothes with powder and then rinse them etc

Took me over 10 years to figure it out.

It's really difficult, isn't it. I'm trying to connect the dots for the most recent outbreak. Common denominators for every outbreak include something that's potentially clogging pores (I had used a new oil based cleanser to remove eye makeup, and now Vaseline) and thus causing the swelling. For the irritation, I think it's using anything but water on my eyelids, I think creams/serums are triggering that part of it maybe.

Then that also leaves the acetone/nail varnish.

Those are the only "out of the norm" things I've done around each outbreak.