Facial angioedema is a form of swelling caused in the epidermis, or the top layer of the human skin. This illness is caused in one of two ways, and for each of these there is in fact a specific name. Acquired facial angioedema is caused by allergic reactions to outside stimuli, and is one of the common symptoms of many food or skin allergies with which people suffer.

However, allergic reactions are not the only cause of this illness, as it can also be genetic if passed by the dominant gene in pairing. Regardless of the cause of this illness though, the symptoms of it are fairly identical across the board, and depending on person and severity of the cause, can vary in level of seriousness.

Facial angioedema symptoms are fairly easy to detect, allowing response time to the illness to be fairly quick once one knows what to look for. A common case of facial angioedema swelling will result in puffed skin on the face, often in the cheeks and eyelids. Someoen suffering from this swelling may be unable to either open or close their mouth to speak, and often cannot open their eyes during the height of the swelling.

The severity of this illness comes not from the swelling effect of the skin itself, but rather what can be a side effect of this swelling. Temporary blindness due to the inability to open one’s eyes is not only alarming and unpleasant, but can be downright dangerous for many reasons. This can render a person unable to function normally for periods of time, and can be quite distressing as well.

Another problem can be the inability to eat or take in fluids, if the swelling has caused troubles using the mouth. Dehydration or lack of sufficient nutrition can be a result of prolonged facial angioedema, and are not something to be taken lightly in that scenario. A related side effect of swelling around the mouth can be some difficulty breathing, which if severe enough is far more dangerous than dehydration or lack of nutrition.

Reaction to facial angioedema swelling depends on the patient’s history, and how long the current instance of swelling has taken place. Acquired facial angioedema is the result of allergic reactions, and is something to be addressed immediately as the allergy may have other problems alongside the swelling that can be more serious yet.

For patients with genetic facial angioedema, it depends more on the aforementioned history of the patient. If they have a history of prolonged swelling when symptoms flare up, then it’s important to be proactive and respond immediately when the patient shows signs of swelling. However, if the patient is prone to very short-lived swelling on occasion, due to a milder case of the illness, then less concern is necessary.

Treating facial angioedema swelling

In cases of allergic or acquired facial angeioedema swelling, the treatment is usually to address the allergy or irritant itself, rather than the swelling. Considering the allergy is the cause of the swelling, this should eventually remedy the problem.

However, when it comes to hereditary swelling, the treatment is a bit more direct to the swelling itself. The swelling is still due to some form of stimuli (external cause), as it can’t just randomly happen for no reason on its own. This is a case of knowing a patient’s history, and avoiding the stimuli known to cause swelling relapses in the patient.

No two patients are identical, as the human body is a diverse and complicated machine. It is best to consult a doctor whenever hereditary swelling occurs, as they are the best equipped to determine which stimuli may have caused it, and what to do to address these in the future.