Angioedema (swelling)

Angioedema is a skin reaction with abnormal swelling either with or without hives (urticaria). The swelling is due to fluid leaking from your blood vessels.

Angioedema that occurs over a short period (minutes to days) is often caused by allergies to foods or medications.

Angioedema that occurs over a longer period of time (weeks to months) is referred to as chronic. Often times there is no identifiable trigger.

Hereditary angioedema is a rare inherited disorder that can cause life-threatening swelling.

The most common locations of angioedema are your face, lips, eyes, tongue, hands and feet. Angioedema can often be disfiguring and greatly impact patients’ qualities of life.

Our specialist will work closely with you to help identify the cause of your angioedema. Simply avoiding substances that trigger your angioedema can help reduce your symptoms and need for medications

Treatment Options for Angioedema:

• Avoidance – Following up on your allergy testing results, we can help you avoid exposure to specific allergens that trigger your allergic angioedema.
• Conservative treatments – We can advise you on using ice, rest and over-the-counter antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), cetirizine (Zyrtec), loratadine (Claritin) or fexofenadine (Allegra)
• Advanced medications – Our proven medications can help control your inflammation and swelling, such as corticosteroids (prednisone) and medications that calm your overactive immune system
• Allergen immunotherapy – Allergy injections help desensitize your immune system to your unique triggering allergens, to reduce your swelling and inflammatory response

If you would like to learn more about how Relief Allergy & Sinus Institute can help you get your angioedema under control, request an appointment today online or call (630) 513-1691.

PATIENT EDUCATION: