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Swollen Lips After a Night of Partying-An Allergic Reaction to Ecstasy?
Ann Sophie Schröder1, Hilke Andresen-Streichert1,2, Sven Anders1
1Department of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Butenfeld 34, 22529, Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Ecstasy (MDMA) is a mood-lifting drug with numerous somatic side effects, for example, dehydration or continuous chewing and biting. We describe the case of a young woman who underwent a forensic medical examination for suspected sexual assault. She claimed to have suffered from a memory lapse, and she had a painful swelling of her lips with a plaque-like coating on her lips and buccal mucosa. The attending physician suspected that these findings might have been caused by strong sucking pressure on her lips within the context of a sexual assault. A toxicological examination of a blood specimen verified that she had been under the influence of an extremely high dose of ecstasy (1.456 mg/L MDMA and 0.0213 mg/L MDA). Pursuant to the forensic medical assessment, the described findings on her lips, and buccal mucosa were interpreted as an allergic and mechanical reaction (through continuous chewing and biting) to ecstasy.
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