What You Should Know About Blood Blister in the Mouth
Blood blisters are painful, red bumps on your lips or gums caused by infection. They may appear anywhere from once every few months to several times per year. These bumps usually start out small and get larger over time until they become large enough to cause pain when touched. They can also bleed profusely if scratched or bitten into (especially around the edges).
The most common symptoms include:
Painful red bumps on your lips or gums.
Swelling of the affected area.
Redness and swelling of surrounding skin.
You can see that these blood blisters are often located near the corners of your mouth where you chew and swallow frequently. When you have a cold sore, it’s likely that the bumps will be located close to your teeth. If you have a toothache, then this could mean that the bumps are located near your gum line.
If there is no fever present, then the bump may not hurt much and won’t require treatment. However, if you do experience any sort of flu like symptoms such as chills or cough, then seek immediate medical attention immediately! These symptoms could be a sign of something more serious, or an underlying health issue that needs to be addressed immediately. If the symptoms are not caused by an illness, then they might be caused by an allergic reaction to a new food item or medication that you recently ingested. Please note that this is not common, but it is possible and must be taken seriously.
If you have had a recent injury to your mouth, lip, or gum, then this could also cause these symptoms. In this case, you may need to get the area examined by a medical professional to make sure that you don’t have an infection or another underlying medical cause.
In cases of blood blisters around the corners of your mouth with no other symptoms, try rinsing your mouth with warm salt water (table salt mixed in warm water) and applying a cool compress to the affected area. You can also take an over the counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen to help with pain and swelling.
If the blood blisters have appeared around your tongue, then making an appointment with your dentist is recommended. This is especially true if you are experiencing tooth pain whenever you bite down or touch the area around your mouth and teeth. In this case, addressing the issue with your dentist as soon as possible is vital in preventing the spread of infection to other parts of your body through your bloodstream.
As mentioned before, there are some medical conditions that can cause blood blisters in and around your mouth. If you have a fever, sore throat, or other flu-like symptoms then you should seek medical attention immediately. Some of these conditions include:
Immunodeficiency diseases
If you have a weakened immune system, then this will make it easier for viruses to invade your body and cause infection. These viruses could include the one that causes blood blisters around the mouth. You can have a weakened immune system for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to:
Blood Cancer
If you have blood cancer or are undergoing treatment for it, this can reduce your body’s ability to fight off infection. You should always let your doctor know about any unusual symptoms as soon as they appear so that they can be addressed as quickly as possible.
Blood blister infections
Infections are caused by viruses and bacteria that enter the body through germs such as the common cold and then multiply excessively. This causes an illness, such as the common cold, which we all experience from time to time. In some people, however, this process can be more damaging because their immune systems don’t fight off infection as well as they should, which is why these people have a weakened immune system.
When the body is infected with a virus or bacteria, it will try to send antibodies to fight off the infection. In people with a weakened immune system, this process doesn’t always work as well as it should. Sometimes these people’s bodies don’t even know there is an infection present. Viruses and bacteria also mutate, which means they can change from the original form. When a mutated virus or bacteria enters the body, the immune system doesn’t recognize it and it is able to spread through the body unchecked until it causes illness.
This is why people with a weakened immune system are more susceptible to acquiring illnesses such as colds and flu that people without a weakened immune system can fight off more easily.
Lymphomas and leukemia are types of blood cancers that can cause a weakened immune system. Other conditions such as autoimmune disorders and AIDS also affect the immune system, making it weaker than normal.
When you have a weakened immune system, you will need to take extra preventative measures to keep yourself healthy because illnesses such as colds will become exacerbated. You will need to wash your hands often, get plenty of sleep, and eat nutritious foods. If you are in contact with people who are sick, you should avoid them. If you are sick, stay home from work or school and avoid public transportation.
Treatments for weakened immune systems
When an immunity system is weakened, there are several treatments that can help a person regain their strength. Because autoimmune disorders cause the body’s own defenses to attack healthy cells in the body, the most effective treatment is often to reduce the severity of these attacks.
You will be prescribed immunosuppressive drugs and corticosteroids, which can help reduce the frequency and intensity of the autoimmune responses. These drugs can, however, have serious side effects and should only be taken under close medical supervision.
Anti-cancer drugs such as fludarabine and cytarabine can also be used to treat weakened immune systems caused by lymphomas and leukemia. Chemotherapy can also be used to destroy infected cells in the body. This is another treatment that requires close medical supervision because it can sometimes be just as damaging as the disease itself.
When a weakened immune system is caused by AIDS, the treatment will rely on preventing infection and the development of opportunistic infections. Antiretroviral drugs are used to prevent the virus from becoming active in the body and antibiotics can be used to fight off specific types of infection.
Frequently asked questions
Q.
Are antibiotics effective?
Antibiotics are not effective when the body’s immune system is severely weakened. When this happens, it is important to try to keep yourself from getting infections that can be common in people who have a weakened immune system such as pneumonia or tuberculosis.
Q.
Are supplements effective?
Many patients believe that taking large quantities of vitamins, minerals, and other supplements will help their immune systems, but in most cases, they will not.
Sources & references used in this article:
What every patient should know… pretransplantation and posttransplantation by AJ Bahruth – Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 2004 – journals.lww.com
Veterinary realities: what is foot and mouth disease? by J Law, A Mol – Sociologia ruralis, 2011 – Wiley Online Library
Oral manifestations of thrombocytopaenia by RAG Khammissa, J Fourie, A Masilana… – The Saudi dental …, 2018 – Elsevier
What is in this leaflet? by YOUSSTT IF, SOF BREATH, STOR COUGH… – medsafe.govt.nz
What the mouth has to say about diabetes: Careful examinations can avert serious complications by LS Finney, MO Finney… – Postgraduate …, 1997 – Taylor & Francis
