Swollen lips

17 May: I was going out. I got ready but I realised that I did not have a lipstick in my bag. I asked my colleague Lina to lend me her lipstick. She gave it to me and praised how amazing that lipstick is. "It will plump up your lips", she told me. I did not care about any plumping effect. I applied it and gave it back.

25 May: My lips feel excessive dry. As if someone is stretching the skin. It is a bit discomforting but I think it will pass soon.

26 May: My lips are still dry and the stretching continues. I believe there is nothing to worry about.

28 May: This morning when I looked in the mirror I felt that my lips looked a little bigger, not swollen though. They are still very dry. I guess I should use a lip balm.

30 May: Something is not right. My lips look bigger than they were 2 days ago. They are itchy. They are painful to touch. They look swollen as if they are holding fluid. I am looking like those reality TV actors who get their lips bigger by using treatments and other interventions. I look like those influencers. I really need to do something. Should I visit the doctor?

31 May: My lips are definitely getting worse with every passing minute. They are bigger and inflammed. They are itchy and numb. Also the area surrounding the lips is painful. I should visit the doctor but it is a Sunday, so I will have to wait till tomorrow.

01 June: It was a good day and bad day.

In the morning I went to the office as I had some urgent work. I was working at my desk. A colleague Piya came to talk to me. We discussed the plan towards our work that day. Once upon discussion got over she asked me, "are you unwell? What happened to your lips?" Her question definitely made me skip my heartbeat. It just confirmed my suspicion. It confirmed that whatever I was seeing in the mirror was true. My lips have definitely gone bigger and now that was noticeable.

" Is it that obvious? I am feeling some discomfort around my mouth area. I don't know what has happened" I replied.

"You should definitely see a doctor. It probably could be an allergic reaction. Don't wait for things to worsen," Piya advised and left.

A couple of more people asked me if I had done something to my lips. I felt really embarrassed when people were assuming that I had taken a lip treatment.

Now let's come to the good part.

I visited the doctor that evening. She confirmed that it was an allergic reaction. She asked me very specific question about which product I had applied to my lips, "do you remember if you had applied any cosmetic to your lips which you had not used earlier? A new lip oil, ointment, or any lipstick or gloss that claims to be plumping up the lips?"

Her question immediately rang a bell. I rememberd I had applied a lipstick from my colleague Lina which contained some ingredients which were supposed to plump up the lips. I told my doctor about it and she confirm that I had got an allergic reaction to that ingredient. She warned me that I should not use such products because they have a high potential to cause allergic reactions. She prescribed medications and told me that within a day or two the reaction would subside.

After visiting the doctor I realised that I have learnt a lesson: never use any product without reading the potential adverse effects of it.