Expert: Joanne - 3/7/2008

Question
I have been bulimic for about 10 years now and have never had facial swelling before. Just recently it seems very noticable and my face looks very fat. It's right over my jaw area and not very attractive. Is there anything that can help the swelling go down? I heard once if you suck on sour candy to make the glands produce saliva it helps, do you know if this is true and how long it takes for swelling to decreas? And could it be fixed like any other swelling by putting ice over the area?

Answer
Ashley

Unfortunately, I have not heard of any method of reducing the swelling other than to quit the purging!

This definitely sounds like the salivary glands are swollen, and this happens with constant purging as the glands work over-time.  There is not a time-frame on how long it will take to disappear, but will definitely not improve unless you stop vomiting!

If they are painful to touch, the skin's red and warm above them, or they are quite solid, I would go get them checked out to make sure that there isn't infection there!

Joanne