Numb Lips

Numb lips’ is a condition marked by loss of partial or complete feeling in the lips. Numb lips can be chronic or acute. It can occur due to minor causes or serious underlying diseases; hence it is important to seek medical attention for all instances of numb lips for proper diagnosis and relevant and effective treatment.

Symptoms

Besides loss of sensation in the lips, numb lips may occur along with the below listed signs and symptoms:

• Burning sensations
• Bleeding
• Pricking or pins and needles sensation
• Tingling and/or other abnormal sensations
• Warmth, redness, and/or swelling
• Digestive symptoms like
  • Bowel movement changes
  • Loss of bowel or bladder control
  • Nausea which may occur without or with vomiting
• Neurological symptoms like
  • Weakness of muscles
  • Muscle co-ordination loss
  • Falls, walking problems, and/or balance issues
  • Spasms, muscle twitching, and/or seizures
• Severe symptoms like
  • Sudden and unexpected swelling of lips, face, and/or tongue
  • Slurred or garbled speech; loss of speech
  • Swallowing problems
  • Breathing issues like breathlessness, wheezing, labored respiration, and/or choking, etc.

Causes of numb lips

Numb lips may occur due to medication side effects, allergic reactions, exposure to extreme cold, and/or intake of chemicals or poisonous plants, etc. A few common conditions which may cause numb lips are listed below:

• Peripheral Neuropathy: One of the major symptoms of peripheral neuropathy is numb lips, particularly if the condition causes damage of the sensory nerves. The numbness often begins in the lower limbs and later travels upwards, thereby causing problems in maintaining balance when walking.
• Hyperventilation: It is a condition caused by increased stress or anxiety. A hyperventilating person exhales and inhales quite rapidly thereby resulting in carbon dioxide shortfall in the blood. This then further aggravates the anxiety. In addition to numb lips, the patient may also suffer from muscle twitching and numbness in hands and feet.
• Hypocalcaemia: This condition is marked by reduction of calcium in blood. Loss of calcium in blood can occur due to use of certain medicines or due to some other underlying disease. Affected people may suffer from muscle spasms, numb lips, pain, and twitching. Testing phosphate and calcium levels in blood can help an easy diagnosis of hypocalcaemia.
• Ciguatera poisoning: This condition is uncommon and occurs due to eating a fish with ciguatoxins in its body. These toxins are released by tiny underwater plants called dinoflagellates. These plants are the main source of food for small fish. Intake of such plants contaminates the body of small fish; when bigger fish eat such smaller fishes then their bodies also get contaminated. The toxins increase in concentration each time this occurs. Patients with ciguatera poisoning may suffer from numb lips, numb tongue, and even hallucinations.
• Reynaud’s Phenomenon: It is a condition marked by constriction of the blood vessels occurring below the skin of toes and fingers. Such blood vessel narrowing occurs after exposure to cold. Constriction of vessels limits the supply of oxygen to them which then causes the skin to turn blue or even whitish. Affected people may experience tingling and numbness in lips, nose, and/or earlobes.
• Transient Ischemic Attack: Transient ischemic attack, also called a mini stroke, is a condition that precedes a stroke. It is marked by formation of a blood clot in the bloodstream which then blocks supply of blood to the brain. Its symptoms are similar to a stroke, but they are not lasting. Other symptoms experienced by patients include numb lips and numbness on one side of arm and leg.
• Guillain-Barré Syndrome: It is an autoimmune disease marked by damage to nerves. The nerves get attacked by the immune system which results in numbness and weakness in legs and arms. The numbness rapidly migrates all across the body and may cause partial or total paralysis, including numb lips. Patients do not need to be hospitalized unless the disease spreads rapidly or the symptoms are severe.
• Multiple Sclerosis: It is an autoimmune disorder and one of the main causes of numb lips. The disease is marked by inflammation and subsequent damage of the myelin sheath that cover the nerve cells, which then prevents the nerve cells from communicating with one another. The loss of signals between nerve cells can cause numb lips, facial numbness, and numbness in other areas of the body along with tingling and muscle spasms.
• Lyme disease: It is caused due to infection by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria which gets transferred to humans via bites of carrier-ticks. The ticks with the bacteria typically live in grassy and wooded areas. Infection by the bacteria may result in development of Bell’s palsy and/or meningitis. Both of these diseases are marked by symptoms like numb lips, tingling and numbness in limbs and lips, and/or impaired muscle movement.

Treatment of Numb Lips

Treatment of numb lips is dependent on the underlying causative condition. Hence, patients need to visit a doctor for treatment.

Minor cases can be resolved with below listed home remedies:

• Avoiding foods that cause allergic reactions
• Use of petroleum jelly on lips to counter cold temperatures
• Avoiding drinks with carbon dioxide