Going crazy?!
Question: my lips are driving me mental. the area around them is red and keep feeling like they are drying out. i've tried mosturising them, vasaline, vit e and i've taken anti allergy tablets incase i'm elergic to anything but nothing helps. Been to the dr and i'm gonna go again but is there anything you can suggest?
Answers: my lips are driving me mental. the area around them is red and keep feeling like they are drying out. i've tried mosturising them, vasaline, vit e and i've taken anti allergy tablets incase i'm elergic to anything but nothing helps. Been to the dr and i'm gonna go again but is there anything you can suggest?
Most people get chapped lips from time to time. They usually apply lip balm to their peeling and cracked lips and then forget about it. But sometimes this does little to remedy the condition. Experts agree that using balms before the damage is done is most effective.
According to experts, using petrolatum or lip balm is the best treatment for dry and peeling lips, particularly before it occurs.
In the winter there are more chapped lips because it is so dry out. In winter, low humidity outdoors as well as indoors aggravates the lips of people who have a predisposition for chapped lips.
Chapped lips is the drying and flaking of dehydrated lips and is common in people with other skin conditions like eczema. Certain medications, like those used to treat acne and allergies to cosmetics and skin-care products, can also contribute to dry and irritated lips.
The Army has conducted several studies to assess the scope of the lip ailments affecting soldiers.
One study performed in the early 1980s, "The Prevalence Of Environmental Induced Lip Pathology Among Active-Duty Soldiers," found that chronic lip damage was as common in soldiers working mostly indoors as those working primarily outdoors.
The study also found that people with the lightest complexions are most likely to experience chronic lip damage resulting from exposure to environmental factors.
Another study conducted in 1985, "The Prevalence Of Lip Injury During U.S. Army Cold-Weather Exercises," and another performed in 1997, "The Prevalence Of Chapped Lips During An Army Hot-Weather Exercise," attributed chapped lips more to dehydration and moisture content than any other factor.
The 1997 study states:
"Commercially available lip protectants may offer increased protection from dehydration but only if they are applied before chapped lips occur."
It is important to look for lip balms that say SPF 15 sun block on them to block the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, particularly in the summer.
Soldiers are normally issued some type of lip balm when they deploy, and experts recommend they begin to use it before they start to experience chapped lips.
Chapped lips are not something to be overly alarmed about, though. It's simply a matter of humidity.
The big thing, experts say, is to drink a lot of water so that the lips are being moisturized from the inside, use lip balms and stop licking the lips. Licking one's lips tends to cause more irritation. Saliva actually dries the lip more.
It is most important to stay hydrated. Don't drink too many caffeinated beverages. They cause the drinker to lose water. Instead drink a lot of water.
On rare occasions, infections can occur as a result of chapped lips. Carcinomas on the lip are another problem seen in some patients over 40. These patients typically have red and white blotchy lips. Sometimes this can be hard to detect because chapped lips conceal abnormalities.
Anyone who is worried about a worsening in his or her lip health should discuss it with a dentist and possibly get a referral to see an oral pathologist.