An Illinois woman told her followers that she had chewed on her lip while sleeping, which led to a very noticeable case of swelling. It was so bad that the woman had to be transported to the emergency room. And while she was convinced of her belief, the medical staff were quick to give her an explanation.
Lily, also known as tornado_girl12, shared her lip story on TikTok. She occasionally posts a variety of content on her account, but the clip attached above, in a little over two days, became her biggest ever. It garnered 4.8 million views, 279.300 likes, and over 2,600 comments.
Her first clip featured her with swollen lips. The Illinois woman announced that she was on the way to the emergency room, explaining that, apparently, her swelling was due to lip chewing while sleeping. She added, “It hurts so bad. I’ll keep you updated.”
A Side Effect
And keeping everyone updated, she did. In a follow-up, Lily, now from the hospital, provided a less dramatic explanation for her facial situation. According to the doctors at the ER, her condition had nothing to do with a chewed-on lip or anything of the kind.
“Turns out a medicine that I’ve been on for about 10 years, that’s called lisinopril, has this side effect. […] The side effect is called angioedema,” she explained.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, angioedema is the swelling of the tissue under an individual’s skin. While this reaction can be triggered by allergies, vibration, and other health conditions, medication side effects, such as the ones listed for lisinopril, sometimes cause angioedema.
If severe, angioedema can be life-threatening, as it can obstruct airways or cause blood pressure to suddenly drop.
The Illinois woman continued explaining her dilemma, saying, “So as you can tell, my lips are quite less swollen. I still got some chipmunk cheeks. I still am in quite a bit of pain.”
Lily was admitted for overnight observation and was given an EpiPen.
Reactions
The videos sparked multiple responses.
Some viewers immediately knew what Lily was going through. One said, “My nursing judgment says you either got the amoxicillin biscuits or take lisinopril.” Another one commented, “You take any medicine that ends in ‘pril’?“
Other users wanted her to take action, with one viewer saying, “Hey! You should report this to the FDA and the drug manufacturers!” Finally, some shared their own lip swelling photos, with one user commenting, “Been there, over a dozen times, and I have never found out what causes it,” while others just quipped, with someone asking, “Do you have bees for teeth by any chance?”
In a third clip, Lily revealed that doctors told her to be on the lookout moving forward, as another angioedema episode could be much worse. It is safe to say that the Illinois woman will be off lisinopril for the foreseeable future.
