Mucocele

I noticed a small lump on my lower wet lip last December. I didn’t think of it as anything but singaw.

A few days ago,  I felt that the cyst had become bigger.  Syempre nerbyos na ako.  I didn’t know which doctor to go to.   Edmund suggested that I show it to my dentist kasi it’s inside the mouth,  so covered daw yan ng dentist.

I did go to the dentist and he said it’s a tissue that got inflamed and could easily be removed using electrocautery and the procedure can be done in his dental clinic, no need to go to a hospital.  Since I am traveling soon,  he said we could do it when I come back.

I wanted to get a second opinion so I went to Dr. Gerald Sy of Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan City this morning.  I was lucky because he just got back last night from a 10-day European tour with other doctors.  Today was his first day in his clinic. Perfect timing ako.

He said what I have is mucocele, a small cyst that develops when the salivary glands get plugged. Sometimes it disappears without any need for procedure and sometimes it stays and becomes bigger and needs to be taken out.   He said to just observe if it continues to grow.  He advised me to press or roll it from the outside against my teeth because in some instances it just pops.

It’s good to know that this is not cancer.

I did some research on possible remedies without going under the knife. Number one is to avoid biting it. Warm water with salt as mouthwash 3x a day. Put an ice cube on the mucocele or drink iced water 3x a day making sure to swish the ice-cold water on the cyst area.

Dr. Sy was not wearing a mask.  He said he only wears one when he’s going to operate on a patient.  He is not paranoid about the coronavirus. He said so many Filipinos are tuberculosis carriers and hepatitis too which is a highly contagious disease. He just told me to avoid crowds, drink plenty of liquids, sleep 8 hours a day.    He and his family have stopped going to church.  They just pray at home.   At the airport, he wore a mask but removed it when he was already on the plane. He also doesn’t believe in getting annual flu vaccines. He doesn’t believe in flu vaccines at all.

Tonight, we didn’t go to the church to avoid the crowds.