Gaby
For years, doctors have warned that eating too much fried food raises your risk of heart disease. Now they’re flagging a different, more unpleasant consequence.
Fried Foods Can Cause Blood Blisters in the Mouth
Doctors say fried foods can trigger a rare condition marked by painful but benign blood-filled blisters in the mouth. The condition, called angina bullosa hemorrhagica (ABH), can also be triggered by hot foods and drinks. Dental procedures such as fillings and crowns can also set it off.
Japanese doctors reported a 50-year-old man who went to them complaining of bleeding from his mouth. He said he had experienced throat bleeding for 20 years whenever he ate fried foods such as pork cutlets.
He tried to stop it by cutting those foods from his diet. But he told doctors a new episode of bleeding began shortly after he grilled dumplings for lunch.
As reported by the Daily Mail, doctors found an abnormal blood-filled blister about 17 mm by 18 mm on the right side of his throat. Blood tests showed his clotting function was normal.
At first they suspected von Willebrand disease, a common inherited disorder that causes a tendency to bleed more easily — frequent or prolonged nosebleeds and heavy bleeding from cuts. But von Willebrand disease doesn’t cause blood blisters.
“Food Trauma” from Fried Foods
Because the bleeding recurred, doctors diagnosed ABH instead. With ABH, bleeding usually stops within a day and the blisters heal without scarring within a week.
In this case the man’s bleeding stopped within 24 hours. Most blisters — which range from 4 to 30 mm wide — heal on their own and usually don’t need treatment.
Rarely, a large blood blister can block the airway and require surgical intervention. The patient said he had avoided fried foods and had not had another episode for more than a year after the hospital visit.
Medical experts reviewed 45 studies on ABH. They found that “food trauma” was the most common trigger. Physical or chemical trauma during eating — especially from hard, hot, or crunchy foods — was frequently reported.
Food trauma is the most consistently identified cause. Blood blisters from fried foods can appear at any age.
Still, the phenomenon is most often seen in people 55 and older. Periodontal procedures, such as deep cleaning above and below the gum line, can also trigger angina bullosa hemorrhagica.
