Chronic chapped lips

Are your lips always sore and painful with cracks and bleeding patches causing discomfort when you eat, drink or even smile? Do you feel as if your lips will fall off sometimes? Do white flakes of skin on your lips appearing similar to dandruff mar your appearance? If so, you may be suffering from chronic chapped lips.

Chronic chapped lips are painful both physically and emotionally. They hurt constantly, the white flakes and patches of dead skin are unattractive, the cracks can bleed and also there is a danger of infection due to the break in the protective coating which skin is. Emotionally those with chronic chapped lips are not only dealing with pain and the stress which chronic pain causes, but the feeling that everyone is looking at raw, flaking and bleeding lips.

Rightly or wrongly, our society places a great deal of emphasis on one’s appearance and feeling less than your best is troubling emotionally.

Chronic chapped lips would be a situation where the lips were sore and cracked all the time or where the sufferer had repeated bouts of pain and irritation with periods in between where the lips seemed nearly normal. Topical remedies may seem to work for a while, but then the condition returns for no apparent reason.

In dealing with chronic chapped lips, it is best to begin by ruling out as many potential causes as possible. Annoying habits such as licking or chewing on the lips can cause them to be dry and painful, especially in severe weather conditions such as sun or wind. Salt in the saliva can dry on the skin and cause the natural moisture present to be depleted. Chewing or sucking on the lip or even a nervous rubbing in one area can cause the lips to become sore and inflamed.

A deficiency in the nutrient B-2 (riboflavin) will cause chapped lips, a blood condition called anemia is another cause of chronic chapped lips. Insufficient amounts of water during the day can also cause your body to dry out. Another major cause of chronic chapped lips is an allergic reaction to either foods or to a cosmetic product which you are using. Determination of an allergic reaction can be done by home testing methods or by visiting an allergist or dermatologist.

Once these probable causes have been eliminated through research and sometimes trial and error, the cause can be harder to find. In these situations, it may be best to treat the symptoms with either prescription, over-the-counter or home remedies.