Peeling Lips

[yalith]

I am 25, and for several years I had a terrible habit of biting my lips. (Like actually biting the skin off of them). I have since managed to stop biting them (very difficult) but have been disapointed that they will never heal. I have this problem for a couple of years now: the skin grows back, hardens, and when it gets wet, turns white, and peels. It just wipes off if I touch it.

After searching on the internet, I found another forum where people have the EXACT problem as I do, only, one of them has to been to doctors, to no avail. He's baffled all kinds of doctors and tried all kinds of medications and nothing works.

The reason I used to bite my lips is because they constantly felt like they had something on them, like paper, and I had to get it off. Now I am wondering, if all along, the reason I was biting, was because of a problem with the skin?

Does anyone know what this is?

-There is no pain (unless I peel too soon, then skin underneath is raw)
-Skin dies every 2 to 3 days
-It's only half my lip, the half closer to the inside of my lip, and inside of my lip (the outer part of my lip is still normal type of skin)
-There is a distinct different in the two types of skin - one is hard and not stretchy, one is normal
-If I don't peel, the hard skin peels away from the normal skin... it looks ugly

What could this possibly be?

This is the other discussion I was referring to. My symptoms match the first poster and many of the replies:

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Dermat...ges/31789.html

I hope somebody can please help me get to the bottom of this I want my lips back!!! I'm 25 and this has been going on far too long!

[Unpopular101]

Hi, my name is Jenni, i am 14 going on 15. I have the exact same condition as you, i have had it since i was about 4 or 5. It just plain sucks! I have never bitten my lips or anything. i dont want to go to my doctor because i know he wont do anything. I hate this condition so much, it is ruining my life!! Please, if you find anything on how to treat this condition, tell me!

[Deima]

Resolution! I found something very good!
After MANY YEARS of peeling and biting my lips I decided it's time to stop. I have been reading a lot of "lip peeling" forums lately trying to figure out best solutions. First I was ready to see a dermatologist, then I was planing to buy steroid creams and such, but before that I decided to try something simple and cheap. And VOILA! This is my fourth day without peeling lips!!! I I am very excited and hope it will last! The remedy: Blistex Lip Medex. You can find it in any pharmacy stores. Here is the link so you can take a look at it: http://www.blistex.com/Lip%20Medex.htm . It is absolutely the best thing I have ever tried! I bought it four days ago and applied to my cracked, half-peeled, sore lips. Few minutes later lips felt wonderfully soft and hydrated. I applied it a few times more later that evening and just before going to bed. When I woke up next day - my lips were wonderful and smooth! No peeling, no flaking, no inflammation - NOTHING!
So, the key is - apply a thin layer on dry lips, whenever you feel they are getting dry or scratchy, or after eating. TRY not to lick or touch them. Let the skin heel properly and you will see what I am talking about! Like I said - it's my fourth day with great looking, soft and KISSABLE lips! Keep doing that and maybe the problem will go away completely. Good luck!

[Arti]

Hi I'm 22 years old and im also facing EXACTLY i mean EXACTLY the same problem faced by yalith and jenny. I'm suffering from this for the past 2 years. Its really embarassing when we eat out. The color of the lip changes as soon as it gets wet.Its terrible and im searching for a solution all over the web .Pl Pl help us!!!

[Sadie12]

Put moisturising cream on your lips and fingertips . This is stop the dryness of your skin and automatically you will find that you have stopped bitting yourself.



-------------------------------

[WOW!!]

I always thought that i was the Only person with this problem until i just looked this up looking for a solution
i am 19 years old and i always bite my lips and i feel i bite my lips because they peel and i thought my lips peeled because i would bite my lips.. it's also like that for me every morning i wake up my lips are hard and cracked
when i brush my teeth they turn white and start peeling after i get out of the shower they feel raw and i continually bite them
im constantly applying carmex and that does nothing but make them even more raw and they start to peel and i start biting.. i was even biting as i was reading this forum
i dont let guys kiss me because of the fear that my peeling lips will get onto there's
i would like to be able to kiss again
i would like to hold a conversation without biting my lips and holding my head down so that whoever im talking to wont be disgusted and distracted by my white peeling lips
i thought that i had some type of disease or something until i just read this

im going to go out there and try something because i am soooooooooo sick of this!!! i really am!

[ering]

I have the same problem, only mine is seasonal (mostly when the seasons change) and it started when I was 18 (24 now). The doctors didn't know what it was either so they put me on all kinds of medications that only made it worse. Then I asked my podiatrist brother-in-law and he said it just needs to be moisturized.....What works for me: mix Aquaphor (Healing ointment/Advanced therapy) and Cortaid (1% hydrocortisone) and massage for a few minutes onto lips and surrounding area after brushing/showering/washing face. Always apply to clean skin. I do this 2x a day. During the day I use Blistex or Curel intensive lotion--I massage these in for a minute or 2 also.

Hope that helps!

[iRebe]

I had (and still every know and then have) the same exact problem. My lips would become raw and chapped then later the skin would harden (and look awful) and then it would start cracking and peeling. Also the skin around my lips started to darken drastically. I went to an expensive dermatologist and she told me its because I lick my lips too much. The ensembles in your saliva break down the sensitive skin around your mouth and cause it to become irritated, chapped, and eventually peel. She prescribed me a cortisone like cream called 'Desonide' to stop the itching and irritation (and also the licking of the lips because it tastes absolutely horrible) and told me to apply a great conditioner called Aquaphor when i felt my lips were becoming dry. This stuff works great. and when applied just right, looks like a high fashion lip gloss. (I just wouldnt suggest slathering it on all over your mouth unless you want to look like you just dove face first into a bucket of KFC :-) I hope this helps

[julia_lovely]

[QUOTE=yalith;68278]IQUOTE]



Id just like to say that i developed exacly the same problem 2 years ago and the skin litterally falls off my inner lips like pieces of disgusting cornflakes once the skin has dried out. And the softer pink raw skin exposed underneath is tender but not sore. My outer lips remain perfecly intact and with the normal darker pigment. The only thing that i can attribute to this cycle is that 2 yrs a go i was really stressed and anxious therefor biting my lips a little more. I was also exposed to a lot of cold harsh weather and often let my lips completely dry out. I had also started a new medication Lamotrogine for depression and I have a slightly low blood white count. Oh yes and i was eating loads of chillies and Cayene pepper to the point that my throught was on fire and lips burned from the chillies in the spicy dishes. I then noticed in the 2nd yr it gradually got worse and hit its ultimate worse when i went away to Africa and got quite bad sunburn and my lips for the first time started to blister and bleed. I returned back and there has never ever been blistering since that once but the skin cells on my lips reproduce at an unaturally fast rate ever since.
The good news is that iv possibly found a cure- bepanthene. Its an ointment my mother used to use on me when i was a baby. Its a nappy care ointment and its produced here in the UK by Bayer PlC, Bayer House,Strawberry Hill,Newbury,Berkshire,RG14 1JA. ive been on it for a week now and my lips have stayed moist and soft with no peeling for the first time in 2 yrs.its a miracale,it really is and its cheap. I rekon a culmination of all the things above caused my lip problem and possibly a lowered immune system but i have no proof just feeling. Ive just had tests to see if i also have thyroid disfunction as thats associated with the way the body can repair its self.
I hope this all works for you too.

-

[MikeCCCC]

Hello friends. I'm 22, and I've been having the same problems as you for years. It's terrible. My lips are just a mess. The skin peels off in patches over and over again. White junk often develops on them at random times, though most often after a shower, while eating/drinking, or after talking at length. It's very embarrassing. Many times I've been out in public with people, only to get back in my car, look in the rear view mirror and realize my lips looked nasty. It's so frustrating because there's nothing I can do before going out to prevent this from happening. I carry a small mirror in my pocket just to do "lip checks" once in a while. Though that's not always available since I'm a guy and don't want others to see me pull out a mirror in public.

When I was younger, I had assumed I had this problem just because my lips were chapped from weather and/or licking, but I've realized that's definitely not the case. I don't lick my lips. They are rarely exposed to cold weather or the sun and I take good care of my skin/lips, often using lip balms. At one point I thought the white junk was residual chap stick, but even after long boycotts of lip products I still had the problems.

I decided to try a non-petroleum chap stick... Things looked better for a while and I thought I had cure, but the symptoms returned. I've noticed that any body product, not just for lips, seems to work well for a while but then I get "immune" to it.

I recently heard of a product called "lip exfoliator". I figured this would help, reasoning that it would gradually remove dead outer skin microscopically from my lips in a controlled way so that it wouldn't need to peel off in chunks later.... But I was WRONG!

I've been absolutely disgusted with this problem. In my room I have 9 different lip balms laying around with every imaginable ingredient it it, which all represent failed attempts to fix this problem. I saw someone here recommended lip medex, but I've tried that too so don't bother. (In fact, FYI, I was also investigating another issue I had with my lips, "fordyce spots" on the upper lip. When browsing the internet I saw someone say blistex lip medex cured them magically too. I suspect that blistex is systematically spreading false praise about their products to boost sales, so beware.)

I haven't bothered to go through the hassle of seeing doctors, since unless you're dying, all they know how to say is "it's best to leave it alone," "don't worry about it," etc...

But just a few minutes ago I came across this article:
http://curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=1050295
The article points to the problem called Exfoliative Chelitis:
http://www.wikihow.com/Cure-Exfoliative-Cheilitis

It seems like I'm onto something because these are my symptoms exactly. What we have must be some medical condition because I know this can't be happening to everyone. The good news is that we may finally know what's wrong with us. The bad news is, however, the solution- "detoxifying the whole body" - is quite vague and sounds cumbersome. There's no concrete set of procedures we can follow, and I'm surprised I could have an internal problem like this since I'm otherwise very healthy.

But I'm going to continue browsing and look more into this. Hopefully this helps you. Good luck!