Blisters above the lip

rayhandri6859 · New Member Joined: 01 Aug 2021 Posts: 8

Hello everyone,

I have been playing trumpet for about 4 years and am a sophomore in high school, but I would consider myself to be relatively advanced, all things considered. I have spent a lot of time playing the trumpet, and I frequently get blisters above my top lip, right where I place my mouthpiece. These are fairly painful to play through, but I have a lot of marching band commitments from this week onward and will have to be playing constantly. Does anyone know of a way to treat these quickly, preferably over night?

Thank you for your thoughts.

Jaw04 · Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:37 pm Post subject:

If it's cold sores use lysine from the store. It won't heal overnight, unfortunately. But it's helped me recover faster and reduced pain from a cold sore on my lip.

If it's pimple-based, make sure you are cleaning your mouthpiece regularly.

If it's from playing trumpet, you need to stop playing for a while and when you do come back, focus on not beating your face up so much when you play. Play softer, take breaks, figure out not overblowing. In any case, blisters won't heal overnight.

JoseLindE4 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 791

I don't have a way to heal a wound overnight, but if it keeps happening, maybe you have an allergy to your mouthpiece material.

TrumpetMD · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:29 am Post subject:

Sorry to hear about this. Based on what you said, we don't really know what it is. It could be herpes, acne, a sebaceous cyst, or other skin eruption. And while we appreciate your concern, there is likely nothing you can do to eliminate these overnight.

You mentioned that this is happening frequently. Since this is a recurring problem, my suggestion is that you go see your doctor when they're active. This way, you can get an accurate diagnosis and figure out the best way to treat them.

Mike
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.

cheiden · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:16 am Post subject:

I had more than my share of lip trouble when I was in high school including acne, canker sores, and general abuse from using too much pressure. None of my symptoms could rightly be described as blisters. I'd definitely have a dermatologist try and nail down a root cause. This doesn't sound typical.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

royjohn · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:05 pm Post subject:

I'm with the folks who think that blisters sounds atypical and a good reason for a medical consult.

If you're talking about acne or pimples, avoiding milk/dairy and adding more veggies to the diet will improve that. That and keeping the face and mouthpiece clean.

If it's actually blisters, I would try a plastic mouthpiece in case it's a brass or silver allergy and see a doctor. You can use an antibiotic ointment on sores or broken blisters, but there is no magic way to heal them in one day...
_________________
royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . .

alan_o · Regular Member Joined: 08 Apr 2021 Posts: 19

royjohn's mention of food makes me think of food sensitivity or allergy. For me the issue turned out to be nuts. I've never been allergic to them, but I get roughness on my lips which is enough to interfere with trumpet playing. After cutting out the nuts, the problem went away.

Maybe think about what's in your diet that sometimes has an allergic response in some people, and try cutting out one thing at a time (or a few things at a time, up to you).

Another thing that bothers me is fresh mango. Mangos have a chemical in the skin similar to what's in poison ivy. Depending how processed it is I can have a similar issue with that.

I've seen suggested on this forum before (when I was searching for info on my problem), that mouthpieces (and horns) can harbor bacteria if they don't get to dry out. I started leaving my mouthpiece out of the case. Maybe drying your mouthpiece and swabbing/cleaning the horn will help you as well.

alan_o · Regular Member Joined: 08 Apr 2021 Posts: 19

You know another thing that's worth mentioning is that licking your lips is really bad. I had always thought this was only because the tongue is rough, but what I also didn't realize until it was pointed out to me by my wife is that just wetting your lips with saliva (without the tongue) isn't good either because saliva contains enzymes which are designed to break down food for digestion. It turns out that's not good for injured (or non-injured) lips.

Most people if they have some kind of injury in their mouth have a tendency to lick it or touch it with their tongue. Sometimes it makes a positive feedback loop of making your injuries worse. Try not to do that.

I've found staying well hydrated helps everything mouth-related, particularly lips. It can be hard to stay hydrated during marching rehearsals, but it's worth making an attempt.

omelet · Veteran Member Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Posts: 245

"Blister" implies fever blisters, AKA cold sores AKA herpes. There are medical treatments for this that the doctor may prescribe.
If it is acne, you can see the doc for that too, I guess. The quick fix for acne is to pop it, to relieve the pressure within the pore, but in this case, it is not good to pop zits in that region between the mouth and nose because it can cause a brain infection.
Licking the lips for wet embouchure should not be an issue because there are countless people who play wet with no problem. Your skin should get used to it.