Hi, my names Sarina and I am in the process of being diagnosed with SS. I am 20 years old and I noticed ehen I was six years old my face/cheeks would swell up pretty badly and it was very painful. Mostly after eating sweet, sour or tangy items and now the swelling can happen without me even eating or drinking anything. I cant touch my cheeks or let my hIair brush against because it starts to burn and tingle and swell up. It messes with my emotions and sometimes I get really angry or cry when it starts. Has anyone ever had this sort of reaction from sjogrens syndrome, or anything similar?
Welcome Sarina De Aragon,
Please stick around to learn and be supported. I can't begin to tell you the benefits of participating on this site.
This link is to a great article in Wikipedia about Sjogren's. It also has internal links that link to even more information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sj%C3%B6gren%27s_syndrome
The touchy cheeks are from swelling of the parotid glands, one of the major and largest salivary glands: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parotid_gland
Both great links to learn about Sjogren's Syndrome in depth. Sjogren's also affects other organs and body systems. Dry mouth is kind of the flagship of the disease. This information provided in Wikipedia is a good place to start. As already mentioned, The Lupus Foundation has a boat load of research articles.
So glad you found this site.
You may want to take a look at the Sjogren's Syndrome Foundation site. They have an incredible amount of information there. And they are the one's leading research and awareness for us. Its solid, reliable info that is specifically for SS.