Pimple on Lip: Causes, ( Upper, Lip Line) Swollen, Treatment, Get Rid, Home Remedies

Pimples are irritating, no matter where they appear. But, what is more frustrating than getting a pimple somewhere on your face? Getting a pimple exactly on your lips. Oh, it is really irritating! The feeling of a pimple on lips makes eating or drinking so hard. It makes it embarrasing to talk to anyone.

A pimple on upper or lower lip line can give you a boring look. Is it a cold sore or a mere pimple on your lip? In this page, we have comprehensively covered this topic.

A pimple can be said to be a small hard inflamed spot on the surface of the skin. The common cause of these bumps is the infection and clogging of the sebaceous glands. This clogging leads to the swelling, redness with fluid filled bumps on the surface of the skin. The bumps can be infected to become very painful and irritating.

Despite being related to bacterial infections, most dermatologist insist that pimple are not contiguous. However you should not be careless to deep kiss a person with popped lip pimple. The content of the pimple or the opening in itself could be a very easy way of transmitting virus like those causing HIV/AIDS.

Pimple on My Lip or Cold Sore

Though not conclusive, there exist a visible relationship between cold sores and pimple on lips in terms of appearance and other characteristics like pain, irritation and inflammation. By definition, cold sores are bumps of inflamed blisters near or in mouth. Unlike common skin pimples, cold sore bumps are caused by herpes simplex virus.

Pimple on Lip or Cold Sore. — Pimple on Lip or Cold Sore?

Cold sores are also known as fever blisters. They are tiny viral infections. The blisters are usually group together in patches unlike the pimples which appear clustered. When the bumps break, a crust forms over the resulting sore. The bumps can heal on their own within a week or two without medical treatment.

The other fact about cold sores is that they are very contagious, unlike pimples, cold sore can be spread from one person to the other through close personal contact. The sores can be spread by kissing or having oral sex. The virus responsible for genital herpes can be transmitted through oral sex.

Compared to lip pimples, cold sore appearing on lips will in most cases pass through different stages. A person will start by first feeling an itching, burning or tingling sensation around lips before small hard painful spots can appear. The bumps will then get filled with pus, blood and other fluids to form painful blisters. Finally the bumps will start to ooze and crust leaving shallow open sores.

Unlike with pimple, those with fever blisters will develop the following symptoms:

Swollen lymph node around neck and other parts
Muscles aches
Sore throats
Painful gums
Fever
For children the bumps can develop inside mouth and are in most cases confused for canker sores.

Once diagnosed with the virus causing sold sores, your health care provider can prescribe drugs that will help manage and relieve the symptoms. Currently, there is no cure for cold sore or the herpes simplex virus causing the cold sores. To reduce cracking and soften scabs, look for medicines that contain numbing agents such as phenol and menthol. Abreva a topical treatment, can also be used to reduce pain and speed the healing of the cold sore.

Pimple on Upper Lip

As said, a pimple on lip can be very discomforting and painful. Due to the immense pain cause by these pimples, most people find it difficult to eat, swallow or talk comfortably with these bumps on either lower or upper lip line. What then are the cause of these bumps? Should you pop and drain them or should you just wait for them to heal on their own?

Depending on what the underlying cause of the pimple are, we would probably suggest you wait and see what happens. A painless bump poses no health risk on its own, however, for painful pimple accompanied by the swelling, inflammation and irritation on lip, a professional doctor’s diagnosis is very important to help establish the underlying cause of the pimples.

The common cause of these pimples on lip is oral herpes inflection. This is a contagious viral infection known to cause cold sores also known as fever blisters. This are painful fluid filled blister that appear on lips or inside mouth for children under the age of 5 years. The bumps are caused by herpes simple’s virus the same virus that causes genital herpes. No treatment option is available for the virus. The symptoms can however be managed with simple OTC ointments and creams.

The other possible cause of these painful bumps on lips and mouth is canker sores. This are small shallow lesions that develop on the soft tissue. They are common on the base of gums, on inner lips and the inner mouth linings. Unlike cold sores, canker sores will not often occur on the surface of the lips. Hey are however painful and can make eating and talking difficult.

Other cause of the pimples on lip will include using substandard or expired lip care products, poor oral and lip hygiene, hush cosmetics and hormonal fluctuation especial when pregnant, stressed or during puberty. All these and other causes are discussed below.

Pimple on Lip Pictures

Below and throughout this article, we have provided some images to give a visual impression of how the lip pimple appear like. It is good to note that the appearance might vary from one person to another depending on the underlying cause of the bumps.

For some people the pimple cam be a companied by a swollen lip, the size may either be small or large. Some people can also develop pimple with white heads whereas others develop a blind pimple. A blind pimple is a painful bump that develop under the skin surface. The pimple can also be filled with blood, pus or other body fluids.

Pimple on Lip Line

The lip line is either of the fleshy structures that surround the opening of the mouth in humans. It is the smooth brownish o reddish border of the lip. The lip line is not the only part of the body the lips can develop on. The pimples are able to project anywhere in the body. Before rushing to treat the bumps on your lip line, it is important to first establish whether the bump are pimples or cold sores.

A common cause of these pimples could be allergic reaction to lip balm, lipsticks or other cosmetic products. Your lip skin could become allergic to any of the various ingredients used in the manufacture of these products. When this is the case, please discontinue the use of the product and seek medical attention. The bumps could otherwise heal on their own with time.

Different stages of growth can also be manifested with pimple developing on different parts of the body. The lips are no exception. This changes are caused by hormonal fluctuations common during puberty and pregnancy. This can be caused by increased or decreased production of sebum.

Poor hygiene and too oily skin are the other possible triggers for the formation of these pimples. This can be said to be due to the blocking and clogging of the hair follicles or the damaging of the same. When this happens the pores could become clogged filling up with blood, pus and other skin fluid to form these painful pimples on lips.

Most of the times, the symptoms accompanying the pimples will vary depending on the underlying cause. Common symptoms will include irritation, itching, a burning or tingling sensation, inflammation, swollen lymph nodes and the swelling of the lip. This can be discomforting as it may cause difficulties in swallowing, chewing and at times talking. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, you can seek medical attention or manage them at home.

Pimple on Lip Vs Herpes

Oral herpes is an infection of the lips, mouth or at times gums due the infection of a highly contagious herpes simplex virus. When infected, the virus is known to cause small, painful blisters commonly referred to as cold sores or fever blisters. According to the University of Maryland medical center, most people are infected with the virus by age 20 in the United States.

It is at times difficult to differentiate between herpes caused bumps and pimples on lips. To say the truth, most of the symptoms associated with cold sores can also be felt by people with normal pimple on lips.

It is common for people who develop herpes infection on mouth to get ulcers when they first come I contact with the virus. Other people may however show no symptoms especially for adults. Symptoms are however common in children between 1 and 5 years. The symptoms will include the following:

Itching lips and skin around mouth
Burning sensation around lips and mouth
Tingling on lips
Painful fluid filled bumps-blisters
Swollen glands

Seek medical diagnosis to establish whether the pimples on your lips are caused by herpes infection or another underlying medical condition.

Pimple on Bottom Lip

A pimple on lips can be painful or discomforting regardless of where it forms, that’s is it does not matter whether the pimple forms on the upper lip or the bottom lip. Though the cause for the formation of the lip might vary, the characteristics and symptoms associated with the said pimple might still be the same.

Pimples appearing on the bottom lip are most like to be caused by Waxing or threading which cause the damage and irritation of the hair follicles appearing the lower lip. With this damage, the skin pores can become clogged and filled with blood, pus and other skin fluids to form painful pimples.

Lip piercing is another possible cause of these painful pimples appearing on the bottom lips. This can be through allergic reaction of the metal that made the ring used, bacterial or viral infection. Poor hygiene can also contributes to the woes cause your lips to develop the said pimples. If that is the case, remove the ring, wash the resulting wound with antiseptic solution then apply some antibiotic powder or ointment to kill bacteria and other micro-organism causing infections.

Pimple on Lip Won’t Go Away

A lip pimple that won’t go away even after applying different treatment options is a clear sign of an underlying infection. It is possible for a pimple to fail to go away if it is infected with a bacteria or a virus.

For the case of cold sores, no treatment exist to treat the virus. That therefore means that, it is possible for the sores to recur even after they have been treated and cleared. The other possible reason a pimple will fail to clear is failure to treat the underlying condition causing the pimple to appear.

If you have been treating the pimple at home with natural remedies, it is important to have a professional health provider diagnose the condition to establish the underlying cause. This way, the solution can be given to the actual problem rather than the symptoms exhibited by the condition.

Painful pimple on Lip

Pain is one of the most common symptom associated with lip pimple. The other symptoms include irritation, severe itching, tingling, redness, swelling and inflammation. Depending on how severe these symptoms are they can be managed at home or using over the counter topical ointments and emollients.

Pain, swelling and irritation can also be managed using home remedies such as aloe Vera gel, tea tree oil and, or honey mixed with chamomile tea. Seek medical attention if the pain becomes severe and unbearable.

Pimple inside Lip or Inside Mouth

Although most cases of pimple on lip appear outside mouth, those caused by canker sores are known to appear inside mouth. These sores also referred to as aphthous ulcers, are small lesion that develop on the soft tissues inside mouth.

Another cause of inflammation and bumps inside lips or mouth is oral lichen planus. This is a chronic inflammatory skin condition affecting about 2% of adult population. This condition can appear as white, lacy patches, red, swollen tissues or open sores. The lesion are known to cause burning, pain and discomfort.

Pimple on Lip Line Swollen

Most of the people with lip pimple will in most of the case complain of swollen lip line. The swelling will in most of the cases clear on its own with or without medical care depending with what is causing the pimple to appear.

A simple cold or warm compress twice a day ca shrink the swelling and relieve the lips of symptoms such as pain and itching. See you doctor is the swelling becomes severe or unbearable.

Lip Pimple Causes

As said the cause of the lips will vary from person to person. Below is a list of the possible causes and triggers of the pimples on lips.

Poor quality lip sticks
Allergic reaction to cosmetics
Oral herpes causing cold sores or fever blisters
Poor diet or malnutrition which causes poor immune system which means lack of proper defense against infections
Hormonal fluctuation- especially during puberty, pregnancy or general stress
Excessive oil secretion by the skin that could lead to clogging and damaging of the hair follicles
Excessive smoking
Poor oral hygiene
Fordyce spots which are visible sebaceous glands present in most individual. They can appear in the mouth, face or genitals.
Drug allergies could also be a possible cause of these pimples

Lip Pimple Treatment, Cure or Medication

The treatment for the pimples will solely depend on the underlying cause of the bumps on lips. For those whose cause are viral infections as in the case of cold sore, oral or injectable antiviral drugs can be administered.

If on the other hand the pimples are caused by bacterial infection, your doctor is most likely to prescribe antibiotics together with other medication. For severe lip swelling, a corticosteroid injection may help shrink the swelling and relieve the symptoms like itching and inflammation.

Regular exfoliation can also help keep the skin fresh and free from germs, dead skin cells and unwanted sebum accumulation. Seek medical attention in time to increase the efficiency of the treatment.

How to get rid of a Pimple on Lip Line, Inside Lip or Upper Lip – Home Remedies

At home most the symptoms discussed above can be managed using natural remedies such as the following:

Use benzoyl peroxide to unclog the skin pores and kill bacteria responsible for the pimples and other cystic skin lesion
Drink plenty of water, this can help flush out toxin and cleans the skin from inside.
Stick to a mild toothpaste
You could apply lemon juice, it contains citric acid rich in antibacterial properties responsible for eliminating bacteria that might be causing the spots on lips
Keep away from lip balm for a while until the pimple disappear completely
Make sure you wipe your mouth after eating
Cold compress using an ice pack can be helpful in relieving swelling and constrict the oil glands in your skin
Steam treatment could also offer relief the discomfort caused by the pimple by opening skin pores to let the dirt and bacterial flow out of the pimples and lips.
Avoid popping the pimple
Multi-vitamins and mineral supplements

Sources and references:

Pimple on Lip, Upper, Swollen, Lip Line, Treatment, Causes, Home Remedies