Eating a cold apple leads to fat lip...

Or, the more humorous title: my apple gave me a fat lip!

The other night, I was eating an apple. Said apple had been in the fridge, so it was mighty cold. I started eating it, and as I did, my lip (my lower lip, specifically) started getting cold and uncomfortable. I chalked it up to the fact that my lips often get chapped, but after awhile (ten, fifteen minutes?) I got up and saw that my lower lip had swollen up. So I continued with the apple a little longer, but eventually gave up.

I was a bit freaked, so I put my lip on ice for awhile, and the swelling went down. It was fine this morning, if a little red. So I’m wondering, was this apple poisoned? I’ve never had a reaction like this to apples before, so I didn’t think it was allergies. And I washed the apple off before I ate it, if that means anything.

I’m going to try eating an apple again under similar circumstances again. I can try reconstructing the experiment, with control groups and so forth if no one has any ideas. But if you have experienced this, or know anything, I’m very curious. Thanks, all!

My grandmother has a fat lip allergy too, and we don’t know what causes it. I know one time she ate a tomato (cousin to the apple, I believe) and it gave her a fat lip but other times she eats them and nothing happens.

I had the same thing happen to me when I was playing my trombone… I had played for 4 years and never had a problem, then fat-lipped twice in one week. Never happened any other time, and has not happened since. I am interested in the verdict on this as well. (BTW, the mouthpiece I was using was supposedly pure silver)

That’s really strange. Thanks for the replies, SnoopyFan and Phage. I hope we find out what it was. It really is disconcerting to have your lip swell up. And it has never happened to me before.

OK I have to ask…

Did you wash the apple before you ate it?

Could be a pectin allergy… My aunt has one, she can eat cooked fruit but not fresh fruit.