What causes puffy face, and swollen salivary glands?

Question

Hi doctor,

My current diagnosis is food sensitivity. I have swollen glands, itchy skin, and bloating with no weight loss. I am a male with a weight of 170 pounds and a height of 5 feet 8 inches. I do not smoke, have no drug use, and am not taking any medications currently. What would cause somebody to have the symptoms below for 2 to 3 years? More and more symptoms are presenting. There is no weight loss or severe pain.

I have a puffy face, neck pain, itchy skin all over, rashes and visible blood vessels or red spots on the skin, a vertical dent in the forehead, swollen salivary (parotid, submandibular, and sublingual) glands and lymph nodes, voice hoarseness, occasional shortness of breath while standing and sitting, bloated stomach pain or discomfort or indigestion, food insensitivities and intolerance, mental illness, insomnia, depression, possible blackouts, flushing, facial redness, red hands, Raynaud's phenomenon, and bent pinky fingers or possible Dupuytren's contracture.

Might it be any of the following diagnoses: liver disease, cirrhosis, fatty liver, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune disease, Sjogren's, lupus, Crohn's disease, cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

First, I would like to know in detail each and every symptom you have mentioned, i.e.,

Since when has the symptom been present?
Is it worsening or improving over time with or without medicine?
Do symptoms come and go, or are they just persistently present?

Second, the symptoms you have mentioned can be present in disorders like Hypothyroidism, infectious mononucleosis, and any leukemia or lymphoma. Now, the thing that will help differentiate among these is the detailed clinical history that I asked for above. That is why these details are important.

Apart from this, I will advise you to get a routine blood checkup like CBC (complete blood count) with peripheral smear, LFT (liver function test), KFT (kidney function test), urine routine microscopy, thyroid profile, ECG (electrocardiogram), CRP (C-reactive protein), and lipid profile. Once the reports are available, please share them to reach a conclusive diagnosis. I suggest that these symptoms are more specific to hypothyroidism, and you can easily get rid of these symptoms with proper diagnosis and treatment.

Thank you.