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My mom is 86. She has Parkinson's, is immobile, has recurring UTI's, has recurring bouts of oral thrush, can no longer lift her head so it's bent down, and has excessive drooling. I honestly cannot remember when the lip swelling started because we were unable to visit her indoors due to Covid and it seemed hard to keep up with all of my mom's ailments by phone. We would be dealing with one thing and then something else popped up and were onto that and I would get some information from my mom...not always accurate...then more accurate information from the nurse...then something else was wrong and I forgot about what was wrong three ailments ago. Ugh. She is in an assisted living facility and they do a really good job caring for her, but sometimes I need to be proactive. They recently started allowing me compassionate care visits, so I can see her in her room (masked, etc.) and feel like I'm more in touch with what's going on daily. Does that make sense?


For many years she has had issues with her lips getting sores on the inside prior to the above issues and before moving to assisted living. Especially in the winter. But this is different. The doctor doesn't seem to know why this is happening. It doesn't change when she is off the antibiotics for the UTI's. She uses Nystatin for the oral thrush. Does anyone have any thoughts on why this might be happening? Thanks so much.

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Swelling can be an allergic reaction to drugs that are not antibiotics. My husband used to get angioedema from acetaminophen and ibuprofen. It sometimes happened on his face. In your mom's case it seems to come and stay consistently. Can you talk to her pharmacist about any of the other medications she is on so that you can at least discount medications as a cause?
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ChrisInOregon Apr 2021
That's a good idea. I will talk to the pharmacy to see if they have any insight. Thanks.
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There is often involuntary mouth action with patients sucking their mouths in and out over teeth. The oral thrush can also cause the swelling and the itching, some reddening and fragility of the oral membranes. This is something for the doctors. As she is already on the nystatin they must be thinking this is caused by what I said. For someone with the problems you mention, the use of nystatin lozenges is difficult to use in the proper way. My worry is that with mouth thrush and the UTIs and the antibiotics so often you could soon run in the C-difficile in the bowel, which would make all this look lightweight, as it is a killer quite literally. If they are willing to administer a broken open capsule of the tasteless D-Mannose supplement over her food daily it could help with frequency of UTIs. It is a simple supplement that works much like cranberry but better for keeping bacteria from adhering to the bladder walls. As an RN I am not into supplements and vitamins over all but swear by this one.Cheap at 120 capsules for about 29.00 on amazon. I use Source Natural myself, but suspect one is much like the other. Capsules large and hard to swallow, particularly for someone with the forward head problem you mention, so that should not be tried, but comes in powder, or capsule can be broken, and is tasteless.
I suspect over all this is the oral thrush, but could come of the drooling, the mouth action that is involuntary with the drooling.
Hope someone has better advice for you than I do. wish you luck.
I don't think that this is allergic reaction due to no other symptom and fact this is ongoing with no antibiotics being given now, but it COULD be, so that should be ruled out. If there is swallow deficit, check for CERTAIN. Choking, swallowing difficulty, speech change all indicators for throat swelling from allergies.
Certain foods do this. For instance if I eat peaches with the skin on I look like I just got botox injection to the lips.
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ChrisInOregon Apr 2021
Thank you for your response. All of the information is very helpful. I will look into the supplement and talk to her doctor about it. She's been taking cranberry pills forever for UTI's and they used to help. She might need something different now.
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Dumb as this sounds, could it just be because her head is hanging down?
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ChrisInOregon Apr 2021
That is not a dumb thought at all. It's crossed my mind. With her head down I thought maybe there was more pressure on her lips and she also drools more. Then with the drooling...I wondered if the"thrush germs" were getting on her lips.
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My mom is in end stage Parkinson’s disease in a hospice house.

She lived with me for many years. I have never seen her with swollen lips.

Certainly, consulting a doctor is necessary for her care.

Parkinson’s effects everyone differently. My uncle had speech problems at the end stage of his Parkinson’s. He also had swallowing issues. Not sure about swollen lips. He lived in another state. I never saw photos of him with swollen lips though.

The first thing that popped into my mind was some sort of allergic reaction.

Best wishes in finding a resolution to this issue.

Take care.
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