Q: My 44-year-old friend started having swelling in his hands 2 years ago. Since then he has swelling on his arms and now on his tongue. He also has swelling on his forehead and on the top of his head. The tests showed nothing and he was put on anti allergens. But nothing has seemed to help. His wife is getting very worried, because of the swelling on the tongue. Please advise.

A:While allergies are a possibility I do not think this is the cause of your friend's swelling. Unfortunately I do not have too many details about your friends history to help me. Is he taking any medications? Certain blood pressure medications can do this. Having said that it is unusual to get swelling in the areas you described except the tongue with the blood pressure medications. There is a rare condition called C1 esterase deficiency that can present with unusual swelling in different parts of the body. I suggest he be tested for this if he has not already been tested.