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Forum Name: Dermatology Topics

Question: Bumps on upper lip

abittroubled - Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:44 pm

I am a healthy 29 year old male with no medical history so to speak. I recently (2 weeks ago) noticed a couple of small white bumps on my upper lip that I had never noticed before. I've been monitoring the area. Now there is a small raising of the skin around these areas and a bit of irratation. I don't believe them to be cold sores, as I have never had one before. But coincidentally or not they did begin to appear at the tail end of a bad cold. I am curious if you might have an idea of what might cause such symptoms and if it would be helpful I could snap a photo of the region. Thanks

Dr. Safaa Mahmoud - Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:06 pm

Hello, These lesions could be due to: - Seborrheic Dermatitis occurs on any part of the body where the skin is oily or greasy like lips. They usually flare in winter and become less in summer. Secondary bacterial infections may occurgiving rise to whitheaded lesions. -HIVES, is a skin reaction to an allergen, medicine or infection. - Herpetic eruptions are extremely painful red blisters that usually crust off. - Folliculitis is an infection of the hair follicles forming small, white-headed Bumps in hair follicles (roots). Lesions may be Itching. -The other possibility for these lesions in your age is Acne. It is a common skin problem that may present with red bumps, pus filled lesions or black headed. Direct clinical examination is essential to reach the proper diagnosis. Keep us updated.

abittroubled - Tue Jan 02, 2007 3:29 pm

Would a dermatologist be my best bet for this?

Dr. Safaa Mahmoud - Tue Jan 02, 2007 8:27 pm

Hello, Yes that is correct. Keep us updated. Best regards.

abittroubled - Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:39 am

I've schedule an appointment with my dermatologist but unfortunately he can not get me in until the 7th of February. So I am going a bit crazy here as I've been researching on the internet to see what this might be. I've looked at each of the possible causes you listed above but none seem to fit. What I have found is two things that might be a match. 1) fordyce granule (okay with this) and 2) oral warts (not okay with this). A bit more detail might help. 1. the bumps (lesians) are on my upper lip and a couple on my lower lip 2. They appear to be slightly raised though this is hard to tell due to the texture of my lips. 3. They are circular in nature and I would guess 1 to 2mm in size. 4. They appear to be a bit more noticable than 3 weeks ago (when I first noticed them) and maybe one or two more, though this I can't say for sure. Maybe you can help here? The biggest thing that scares me about this is that I have not found any journals describing fordyce granules gaining in number or becoming more visible later in life. Unfortunately I've seen several journals state that fordyce granules or sometimes a misdiagnosis of oral papilloma. Though every image I've found of this (and this is now 100's) look really nothing like my lip. But the fordyce granules really do. My lip has spots that look identical to the ones in the first image link below. Just not as many and on the outside where they are slightly visible. Maybe you can help, maybe not but figure its worth a shot since I've got over a month to wait and worry Thanks

Dr. Safaa Mahmoud - Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:27 pm

Hello, They look like Fordyce's spots. They are non-infectious and a normal variant for the occurrence of sebaceous glands on the body. The condition is seen in the majority of adults. Sometimes adjacent glands coalesce together forming a larger cauliflower-like cluster similar to sebaceous hyperplasia of the skin. They however look like inflamed and infected. Thus a local Antibiotic may be recommended by your Doctor. Keep us updated. Best regards.

abittroubled - Wed Jan 10, 2007 4:40 am

That is just a picture I found that looks very similar to mine. Sorry for the confusion. Q. can Fordyce's spots become more visible at times? Also these showed up after a pretty severe sinus/flu'ish cold. Could a cold or something else cause you to have small white spots on your lips? Sorry I am a bit unnerved at this and February 7th is still very far away. Thanks

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