Lip Service

It started with a tingle that turned into a burning sensation that morphed into the largest lips since Mick Jagger! Actually, that last part is an exaggeration, I don't think my lips could ever reach that level.

Yesterday, I had this odd feeling, at the corners of my mouth, that my lips were starting to get chapped or had been sunburned. Since it isn't the middle of winter and I have barely seen the sun since '98, this seemed a bit strange. I'm no hypochondriac, so I just shrugged my shoulders and applied a little extra chap stick.

It was a rough night, I tossed and turned, my mouth was dry, and when I awoke, I realized I had been sleeping with my mouth open! "Whatever, Sara" you may say, "many people sleep with their mouths open." To that, I can only tell you that ever since I heard the statistic that the average human swallows about 4 spiders a year in her sleep*, I worked hard to train myself to sleep with my mouth closed. Of course, there is no guarantee that I ALWAYS have my mouth closed, but I like to think I do and years of waking up with my mouth closed have confirmed this to my satisfaction.

So anyway, the fact of open-mouthed sleeping had to be explained, and it happened because of my severely swollen upper lip! I felt like a sunburn had punched me in the face. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn't believe what I saw and I was having trouble closing my mouth even fully awake.

I will confess, I panicked a bit at this point. I grabbed some ice from the freezer to try to reduce the swelling. I googled "my lips are swollen" and found a number of compatriots. The most frequent advice was ice and/or an antihistamine. Luckily, the last time my brother was here, he left his Benadryl. I took a dose and hopped into the shower wondering if I would have to leave for work looking like my lip had been in a fight with a syringe filled with collagen, and the syringe had won. Unfortunately for me, the drugs didn't take effect quickly enough for me to catch a train without a case of puffy lip. I practiced tucking my upper lip in a little and trying to look casual in the mirror. I also practiced my phone answering mantra from work, "Center for Talent Development, this is Sara. How may I help you?" to make sure the lip wouldn't turn it into "Thenther for Thalent Pthhhhhh..." When I was satisfied, I hurried off to work.

The inflammation seemed to have calmed down by the time I got to the office, since my co-workers didn't look at me in a way that suggested I appeared crazier than normal. We all laughed at the story, and throughout the day they assured me that it was looking better. It still feels a little tingly and the swelling hasn't completely subsided, so I may take another Benadryl before bed.

The photos in this post were taken approximately 12 hours apart.


*I do not have documentation to back that up, but google it and you'll see!
*If you read this blog, you get how I feel about such things.