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Dr. Chrysoula I. Liakou MD, PhD
- Treated online: Partly. A doctor can assess swelling with normal breathing on camera, find the likely cause and prescribe; throat swelling is an emergency, and hereditary angioedema needs a specialist.
- What it is: sudden swelling in the deeper layers of the skin, most often the lips, eyelids, face, hands, feet or genitals.
- Main causes: an allergic reaction, a medicine, most commonly an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure, a rare inherited condition, or no cause found.
- How long it lasts: usually 1 to 3 days; swelling in hereditary angioedema typically lasts 3 to 5 days.
- Emergency: call 112 for swelling of the tongue or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or a change in your voice.
Do not book a video appointment if your tongue, mouth or throat is swelling, your throat feels tight, you are struggling to breathe or swallow, your voice has changed, or you feel faint, confused or drowsy. Use an adrenaline auto-injector if you have one, call 112, and do not drive yourself.
Can an online doctor treat angioedema?
Partly. Swelling of the lips, eyelids, face, hands or feet with normal breathing shows clearly on camera, and the story usually points to the type: an allergy, a medicine, or no cause found. The doctor prescribes antihistamines or steroid tablets when they will help, and changes a blood pressure medicine that may be causing it. Swelling of the tongue or throat is an emergency, and hereditary angioedema needs blood tests and a specialist.
How an online consultation helps with angioedema
- The type worked out: Allergic, medicine-related, inherited or idiopathic, because each is treated differently.
- Your medicines checked: Blood pressure medicines called ACE inhibitors are the most common medicine cause, and are switched for another.
- Treatment that fits: Antihistamines and steroid tablets help allergic swelling, but not every type.
- A referral when needed: Blood tests and a specialist for swelling that keeps coming back without hives.
What the doctor checks in an online consultation for angioedema
The doctor checks your breathing, voice and swallowing first, then looks at the swelling and works out the type. The doctor asks about:
- Warning signs: swelling of the tongue or throat, a hoarse or changed voice, difficulty breathing or swallowing.
- The swelling: where it is, when it started, whether it itches, hurts or burns, and how long earlier episodes lasted.
- Hives: whether you have itchy, raised bumps with the swelling, which points to the histamine type.
- Triggers: food, stings, new products and anti-inflammatory painkillers before the swelling.
- Medicines: especially blood pressure medicines, including ones you have taken for months or years.
- Family history: relatives with swelling episodes or unexplained tummy pain attacks.
Before the call, take photos of the swelling, ideally next to a photo of your face or hands when they are not swollen, and make a list of every medicine you take.
What is angioedema?
Angioedema is sudden swelling in the deeper layers of the skin and the lining of the mouth, throat or bowel. It often comes with an allergic reaction, but not always. It most often affects:
- the face, especially the lips, tongue and eyelids
- the hands and feet
- the genitals
- the throat, which can affect breathing and is an emergency
- the bowel, which can cause tummy pain
Angioedema is closely linked to hives, the itchy, raised rash on the surface of the skin. About 40% of people with chronic hives also have episodes of angioedema. See hives.
What do the letters HAE stand for?
HAE is hereditary angioedema, a rare inherited form of angioedema described below.
What causes angioedema? The five types
Most angioedema is caused by histamine released in an allergic reaction, or has no cause found. Medicines, most commonly ACE inhibitors for blood pressure, cause a different type, and a rare inherited condition causes hereditary angioedema.
Swipe sideways to compare →
| Type | Cause | Clues | What treats it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allergic | A reaction to a food, medicine, sting or other allergen | Starts soon after the trigger, often with itchy hives | Avoiding the trigger, antihistamines, sometimes steroid tablets; adrenaline in anaphylaxis |
| Idiopathic | No cause found; often part of chronic hives | Keeps coming back over weeks or months | Regular non-drowsy antihistamines |
| Medicine-related | Most commonly ACE inhibitors for blood pressure | No hives; often lips, tongue or face | Stopping the medicine and switching to another |
| Hereditary (HAE) | An inherited shortage or fault of a blood protein called C1 inhibitor | No hives; tummy pain attacks; a family history | Specialist medicines; antihistamines and adrenaline do not help |
| Acquired | Very rare; linked to lymphoma or conditions such as lupus | Found with blood tests | Specialist care of the underlying condition |
Blood pressure medicines and angioedema
ACE inhibitors, the blood pressure and heart medicines whose names end in -pril, such as ramipril, lisinopril and perindopril, are the most common medicine cause. The swelling usually starts in the first week of treatment but can start weeks or months later. It comes without hives, often affects the face, lips and tongue, and can be severe, so swelling of the tongue or throat needs emergency care. If a medicine is the cause, the doctor switches you to a different one. Anti-inflammatory painkillers and antibiotics such as penicillin can also cause allergic angioedema.
Hereditary angioedema
Hereditary angioedema affects about 1 in 50,000 people. It runs in families, though it can also start with a new gene change. Swelling of the skin, the tummy or the airway comes in attacks that typically last 3 to 5 days, often after minor injury, dental work, surgery, stress or an infection. It does not cause hives, though some people notice a non-itchy rash before an attack. Symptoms usually start in childhood or the teenage years. Antihistamines and adrenaline do not help an attack: specialist medicines that replace C1 inhibitor or block bradykinin, the chemical that causes the swelling, do, and preventive treatment lowers the chance of attacks.
Can stress cause angioedema?
Stress is a recognised trigger of attacks in hereditary angioedema, and emotional stress can also set off hives, which often come with swelling.
What are the symptoms of angioedema?
Sudden swelling, usually on one part of the body, such as the lips, eyelids, cheeks, hands, feet or genitals. The skin is usually its normal colour or slightly red, and the swelling tends to burn or hurt rather than itch, though hives on the surface often itch. Allergic swelling usually starts in the first 1 to 2 hours after contact with the allergen. Swelling of the bowel causes tummy pain, feeling sick and being sick.
Angioedema or anaphylaxis?
Swelling of the lips, eyelids or face with normal breathing, a normal voice and no faintness is angioedema on its own, which can be assessed online. Swelling with difficulty breathing or swallowing, a hoarse voice, wheezing or feeling faint is anaphylaxis, which needs adrenaline and a 112 call. See anaphylaxis.
Why is my lip swollen for no reason?
A lip that swells suddenly, without an injury, is often angioedema: an allergic reaction to something you ate or used, a blood pressure medicine, or idiopathic angioedema, where no cause is found. If it keeps happening without hives, the doctor also thinks about hereditary angioedema. Swelling from an injury or an infection can look similar, and a doctor can tell them apart on camera. See allergic reaction.
Abdominal angioedema
Swelling of the bowel wall causes cramping tummy pain, feeling sick, being sick and sometimes diarrhoea. It is typical of hereditary angioedema. Severe tummy pain needs urgent assessment in person.
How long does angioedema last?
Most swelling settles within 24 to 48 hours. Allergic angioedema usually goes in 1 to 3 days, and attacks of hereditary angioedema typically last 3 to 5 days. Idiopathic angioedema often comes and goes over a long time. Regular non-drowsy antihistamines control many cases, and a specialist can help when they do not.
How do you get a swollen lip down quickly?
For allergic swelling, a non-drowsy antihistamine is the usual first step, and a doctor may prescribe steroid tablets for severe swelling. Stop the suspected trigger. Medicine-related and hereditary swelling do not respond to antihistamines, so they need a doctor. Any swelling of the tongue or throat needs emergency care.
How is angioedema treated?
It depends on the type: avoiding the trigger and taking antihistamines for allergic or idiopathic swelling, stopping the medicine for ACE inhibitor swelling, and specialist medicines for hereditary angioedema. Mild swelling may need no treatment.
What you can do yourself
- Stop and avoid anything that seems to trigger the swelling.
- Ask a pharmacist about a non-drowsy antihistamine, such as cetirizine, fexofenadine or loratadine.
- Do not stop a blood pressure medicine on your own: speak to a doctor, who can switch it safely.
- Keep a diary of each episode, with photos, foods, medicines and anything unusual.
- Carry adrenaline auto-injectors if you have been given them, 2 at all times.
Prescription treatment
A prescription is never issued without a consultation. The doctor may prescribe antihistamines, a short course of steroid tablets for allergic swelling, or a different blood pressure medicine. Hereditary angioedema is treated by a specialist. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
What does not help
Antihistamines and adrenaline for hereditary angioedema. Waiting to see whether swelling of the tongue or throat settles. Carrying on with an ACE inhibitor after angioedema.
Which treatment might the doctor recommend for angioedema?
Treatment depends on where the swelling is, whether you have hives, and what you take. This is the framework the doctors use:
Swipe sideways to compare →
| What you have | Likely first step | Suitable for online care? | When in-person care is needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swelling of the tongue or throat, a changed voice, or breathing difficulty | Emergency treatment | No | Call 112 now |
| Swollen lips or eyelids with hives, after a food or sting | Antihistamine, steroid tablets if severe, avoiding the trigger | Yes | If breathing, swallowing or the voice changes |
| Swelling while taking an ACE inhibitor | Switching to a different blood pressure medicine | Yes | Emergency care for any tongue or throat swelling |
| Swelling with hives coming back for weeks | Regular antihistamine and a diary | Yes | Specialist care if it stays uncontrolled |
| Swelling coming back without hives, or tummy pain attacks | Blood tests and a specialist referral | Partly | Immunology or allergy clinic |
| Known hereditary angioedema | Your specialist’s attack plan | Partly | As your plan says, and for any throat swelling: call 112 |
Swelling that keeps coming back, or a swollen lip you cannot explain? A doctor can look at it and work out the cause in one consultation.
See available times →Special situations
Dental work and operations
Minor injury, dental work and surgery can set off an attack in hereditary angioedema, so tell your dentist or surgeon in advance: preventive treatment can be given before a planned procedure.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before taking an antihistamine. Loratadine is usually recommended if you need one in pregnancy.
Children
Mobi Doctor consultations are for adults aged 18 and over. A child who is unwell needs a paediatrician or a local doctor in person, and emergency signs in a child mean 112.
When angioedema is treated online, and when you need in-person care
Treated online: swelling of the lips, eyelids, face, hands or feet with normal breathing; working out the likely type; antihistamines and steroid tablets; switching a blood pressure medicine; and follow-up on photos.
In-person care: swelling of the tongue or throat, breathing or swallowing problems, severe tummy pain, blood tests for hereditary angioedema, and specialist care for hereditary and acquired angioedema.
When to get in-person care
Call 112 or go to an emergency department now for:
- sudden swelling of the lips, mouth, throat or tongue with any breathing difficulty
- a tight throat, difficulty swallowing, or a hoarse or changed voice
- breathing very fast or struggling to breathe
- skin, lips or tongue turning blue, grey or pale
- sudden confusion, drowsiness or dizziness, or fainting
Get medical advice the same day for:
- sudden swelling of a part of the body, such as the lips, eyelids, hands, feet or genitals, with normal breathing
- swelling while taking a blood pressure medicine
- swelling that keeps coming back without hives
- tummy pain attacks with swelling elsewhere
How Mobi Doctor works
- Book a time that suits you: daily 7am–11pm CEST. You can see a doctor over video, usually within 15 minutes. No subscription, and the exact price is shown before you pay.
- Speak to a licensed doctor about the swelling: show it on camera, say when it started and whether you have hives, and have a list of your medicines ready.
- Leave with a plan: what to take, what to stop or avoid, and which signs mean you should be seen in person. If the doctor prescribes, use the prescription at a pharmacy near you.
No sign-up needed
Swelling of the lips, eyes or face can have more than one cause. Tick every symptom you have to see each condition page that mentions it. It finds the right page, not a diagnosis: a doctor gives you that on a video call. If you have an emergency sign listed on this page, call 112 instead.
Tap the body — an area or a point — to browse symptoms anywhere
Similar symptoms, different condition? Allergic Reaction can start the same way. Compare them, or look up any other symptom in the full symptom checker.
Frequently asked questions about angioedema
What is angioedema?
Angioedema is sudden swelling in the deeper layers of the skin, most often of the lips, eyelids, face, hands, feet or genitals. It is often part of an allergic reaction, but medicines and inherited conditions can cause it too.
Is angioedema dangerous?
Angioedema of the lips or eyelids with normal breathing is usually not dangerous. Swelling of the tongue or throat can block breathing, and needs a 112 call.
What causes angioedema?
Angioedema is caused by an allergic reaction to a food, medicine or sting, by a medicine, most commonly an ACE inhibitor for blood pressure, by the rare inherited condition hereditary angioedema, or by nothing that can be found, which is called idiopathic angioedema and often comes with hives. Which type you have matters, because the allergic and idiopathic kinds respond to antihistamines and the other two do not.
Why is my lip swollen for no reason?
Often it is angioedema: an allergic reaction, a blood pressure medicine, or idiopathic angioedema, where no cause is found. If it keeps happening without hives, a doctor considers hereditary angioedema.
Is it angioedema or something else?
Angioedema is soft, sudden swelling that tends to burn or hurt rather than itch, has no clear edge, leaves no mark and fades within days. A hot, red, painful swelling with a high temperature is more likely cellulitis or a dental abscess; a swollen, itchy eyelid with crusting suggests contact dermatitis; and swelling that persists for weeks needs a check. Angioedema with hives points to an allergy, while swelling without hives on a blood pressure tablet points to the medicine.
How long does angioedema last?
Angioedema usually lasts 1 to 3 days, with the swelling building over a few hours and then fading without leaving a mark; attacks of hereditary angioedema typically last 3 to 5 days. Swelling from an ACE inhibitor stops recurring once the medicine is changed, though it can take weeks, and idiopathic angioedema tends to come and go for months or years.
Does idiopathic angioedema go away?
Idiopathic angioedema often comes and goes over a long time, with attacks for months or years before settling, and in many people it eventually stops. Regular non-drowsy antihistamines, sometimes at higher than usual strength under a doctor, control most cases, and a specialist can add other treatments when they do not or when the swelling keeps affecting the face.
What does HAE stand for?
Hereditary angioedema, a rare inherited condition that causes attacks of swelling of the skin, the tummy and the airway, without hives. It affects about 1 in 50,000 people.
Can stress cause angioedema?
Stress can trigger attacks of hereditary angioedema, along with minor injury, dental work and infections, and it can set off hives, which often come with the allergic kind of angioedema. Stress alone does not cause the ACE inhibitor type. Knowing your own triggers, keeping a diary of attacks and lowering stress where you can reduce how often angioedema returns.
Do antihistamines work for angioedema?
For allergic angioedema and most idiopathic swelling, yes: a non-drowsy antihistamine is the first treatment, and a doctor may add a short course of steroid tablets for severe swelling. Antihistamines do not help hereditary angioedema or the swelling caused by ACE inhibitors, which need different treatment, so angioedema that does not respond to them needs a review of the type.
What can I do at home for angioedema?
For swelling of the lips, eyelids, hands or feet with normal breathing, take a non-drowsy antihistamine, hold a cool compress on the area, avoid the likely trigger and anything that heats the skin, and keep a note of what you ate, took or touched in the hours before. Sit upright rather than lying flat if the lips or tongue are involved, and have someone with you. Call 112 for angioedema of the tongue or throat, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or a hoarse voice.
Can blood pressure tablets cause angioedema?
Yes. ACE inhibitors, such as ramipril and lisinopril, are the most common medicine cause of angioedema. The swelling can start weeks or months after starting them, and a doctor switches you to a different medicine.
What are the symptoms of abdominal angioedema?
Abdominal angioedema causes cramping tummy pain, bloating, feeling sick, being sick and sometimes diarrhoea, from swelling of the bowel wall, with no rash to show for it. It is typical of hereditary angioedema and is often mistaken for a stomach bug or appendicitis; attacks last a few days, and anyone with a family history of unexplained swelling should mention it to the doctor.
Can angioedema be prevented?
It depends on the type. Allergic and idiopathic angioedema are prevented by finding and avoiding the trigger, with antihistamines for swelling that keeps coming back; ACE inhibitor angioedema stops once the medicine is changed, which the prescriber arranges; and hereditary angioedema has preventive treatment that lowers the chance of attacks. Mild swelling of the lips or eyelids with normal breathing can be assessed online, and any swelling of the tongue or throat means 112.
Can an online doctor treat angioedema?
Partly. A doctor can assess swelling with normal breathing on camera, work out the likely cause and prescribe. Throat swelling is an emergency, and hereditary angioedema needs a specialist.
- Angioedema, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 25 August 2026.
- Angioedema, DermNet, New Zealand, updated August 2024.
- Hereditary angioedema, Cleveland Clinic (US), reviewed 31 March 2025.
- Urticaria and angioedema, Allergy UK, national charity, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Hives, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 26 April 2024.
- Antihistamines, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 16 May 2023.
- Anaphylaxis, NHS, National Health Service (UK), reviewed 21 June 2023.
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for a medical consultation. Guideline links are provided for transparency; treatment decisions are made with your doctor.
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