Parotid Itching and Swelling

[Blue Hydrangea]

I get a very intense itching on my parotid gland which is usually brought on by food.  I therefore always thought it was a food allergy.  The gland also gets hard, swells and hurts to touch.  But usually goes back down quickly at least within a day usually. 

For anyone else who has parotid issues can you tell me if a)it's brought on by food and could it be a food allergy and b)does it itch?  Mine itches so badly that I've torn the skin on my face right under my ear more than once.  The problem I'm having now is that it seems to happen at least three or four times a week and I CAN"T STAND THE ITCHING.  I've never had anything itch like this in my life and unless you've experienced it I don't know if you can appreciate what I'm talking about.  Fortunately though the gland stays swollen for longer, the itching usually stops within an hour or so. 

Lately it can start just from being near food or on occasion for no reason at all.

I hate the thought that this is Sjogren's destroying my salivary gland.  It's been predominantly on one side but the other side is starting to get a slightly milder version of the same thing. 

I just had this happen so thought I'd ask others if there are similar experiences especially the itching.   From everything I've read so far about Sjogren's I guess it would be fair to assume that it's the Sjogren's attacking my salivary gland.  Does that sound right? 


I

[Kerrikins]

That sounds like a food allergy rather than sjogrens to me. I know exactly what you mean about the itching! Once I tasted raw bisquick with a wheat and barley allergy and then bloodied the inside of my mouth "scratching" it with my teeth.

Sjs, for me at least, causes intense pain in the parotids. Other people may have different experiences though.

[Jellyb]

Hi blue, my paritids would swell horribly when ever i had artificial sweeteners of any kind. They started itching a few times like crazy and i thought my tongue was swelling, and it ended up being cantalope.  I also have them swell after eating cereal. But since i have been gluten and corn free the last 6 weeks or so ih ave not had the swelling or itching.
Yours might be food related. Keep a food diary.

[Guing]

I wish to be able to find out who wrote about the parotid itching and swelling because I could not have described it any better than he/she did.  I experience exactly the kind of itching and Im desperate to find out what happened since the post in 2011.  I saw an ENT but did not get any answer nor relief other than a prescription of an topical anti itch medicine.  I had both submandibular gland and gland on in the floor of my mouth taken out already a few years back.  I know the parotid glands (both) are acting up right now due to my sjogrens but the itching is something new and unbearable at times....please, whoever you are from 2011 - let me know what treatment/actions if any were administered to get relief from the intense itching. 

[Sharon]

Have you tried oral antihistamines?

[Guing]

I take antihistamine every day and im also in the shot program for my allergies.  I was recently prescribed atarax for the itch but of course it makes me sleep. 

[Sharon]

Do the antihistamines actually help with your itching?
If not it might be due to something besides allergies.

[Guing]

Antihistamines do not work for me for this kind of itching at all.   The kind of itching that I get from my parotid glands acting up/hardening is more an appropriate word to describe it, is indescribable. I practically tear my skin up from scratching the side of my face below/around my ears. What's more puzzling nd frustrating is they can itch at anytime without knowing what triggers the itching aside from the fact that when my parotid glands start hardening, itching starts and they are both sides. 

[Sharon]

Sounds like it's somehow related to the inflammation of the parotids.
You may want to consider having a steroidal injection to the parotids.
That may actually help.
I had mine flushed out with a steroidal solution once for the swelling. 

[irish]

This is a shot in the dark, but I am wondering if the itching is related to the swelling of the parotid gland due to sudden filling of the gland with saliva that is triggered by the smell of food or ingestion of food. Our glands are made to secrete the saliva when stimulated by food smell/taste.,etc.

When the tissue in our face is stretched quite fast the circulation is decreased and this could cause a reaction such as itching. I think I am reminded of this by the fact that our really cold hands and feet will itching and burn after they start to warm up following being too cold or frost bit.

It may not be an allergy at all but a reaction to the saliva filling up the gland and stretching the tissues. This can start an inflammatory process that is not specifically an allergic response. Might be that putting cool clothes on the tissue of your face would help cool down the glands secretion and response. Just a thought. Irish.

[Guing]

That makes perfect sense because the itching starts everytime my parotids start hardening/aching.
I believe that this is not allergies at all but direct response to parotids being stimulated  - whether it is inflamed or not , I wish there's something I can do. Today, my primary care physician ordered a Ct scan with contrast on my parotids and I hope to get an answer soon.  Thanks for the input.