Help Chapped Lips

Chapped lips are hard to avoid, and can't be instantly fixed. For most people, prevention is the best cure. For others, chapped lips aren't preventable. Instead, they are a long-term symptom and side effect that must be dealt with and lived with. Most chapped lips can be remedied (and prevented!) with water and lip balm. For severely or chronically chapped lips, consult your primary care physician.

Steps

Treating Chapped Lips

  1. Apply lip balm. Opt for a plain beeswax balm, or one that contains sunscreen. [1] Lip balm shields your lips against the weather, so don't forget it on dry, sunny, or windy days. Lip balm also seals cracks in your lips, preventing infection. Apply before going out, after eating or drinking, or whenever you notice it has worn off.
    • Avoid flavored lip balms if you have a habit of licking your lips. Opt for a nasty-tasting balm with SPF.
    • Avoid lip balms in pots, as repeatedly dipping your finger into the balm can breed bacteria that you may spread into your cracked lips.[2]
    • Wrap a scarf or hood across your mouth on a windy day. Avoid irritating it as it heals.
  2. Avoid picking. Scratching, peeling off flakes of dry skin, and biting chapped lips are all tempting, but equally bad for your mouth as it heals. Picking at chapped lips can irritate them and cause bleeding, which will slow the healing process and may invite an infection. It can also trigger cold sores if you are prone to them.[2]
    • Do not exfoliate your chapped lips! Your skin should be treated gently as it heals. Exfoliating can lead to infection.
  3. Hydrate to heal. Dehydration is a common cause of chapped lips. Drink water and apply moisturizer to your skin. You can heal a mild case of chapped lips in a few hours by drinking water. A more severe case will take longer: drink water with every meal, before and after you exercise, and whenever you feel thirsty.[1]
    • Dehydration is especially common in the winter. Avoid heating your house with dry heat, or invest in a humidifier.
  4. Visit a doctor. If your lips become red, sore, and inflamed, you may have cheilitis. Cheilitis is caused by irritation, or by an infection. If your lips get so chapped they crack, bacteria can enter that causes cheilitis. Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic or antifungal cream for you to apply until the cheilitis subsides.[2] Lip licking is a common cause of cheilitis, especially in children.
    • Cheilitis can be a symptom of contact dermatitis. If you are prone to rashes, talk to your doctor about the possibility of a contact dermatitis diagnosis.
    • Cheilitis can be acute or chronic.
    • Certain drugs, medications, and supplements can increase your risk of contracting cheilitis. The most common are retinoids. Others are lithium, high doses of vitamin A, d-penicillamine, isoniazid, phenothiazine, and chemotherapeutic agents busulfan and actinomycin.[3]
    • Chapped lips are a symptom of many medical conditions, including autoimmune disease (such as lupus, and Crohn's disease), thyroid disease, and psoriasis.[4]
    • People with Down syndrome often have chapped lips.

Preventing Chapped Lips

  1. Stop licking your lips. You might unconsciously lick your lips to hydrate them when they begin to feel dry. Unfortunately, lip licking has the opposite effect, since it washes the natural oils off your lips, causing dehydration and chapping. If you notice yourself licking, put on a lip balm. If you lick your lips compulsively, consult a doctor, and ask for a reference for a therapist or counselor. Compulsive lip licking, biting, and chewing can be symptomatic of many disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body-focussed repetitive behavior (BFRB).
    • Apply a lip balm frequently to remind you not to lick, chew, or bite your lips. Opt for an unpleasant flavor with SPF.
    • Children between the ages of seven and 15 are prone to developing lip licking cheilitis.
  2. Breathe through your nose. Breathing through your mouth can dehydrate your lips. If you tend to breathe through your mouth, practice nose-breathing to get in the habit. Sit for a few minutes each day and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try sleeping with a nasal dilator strip to encourage your nasal passages to open.[1]
  3. Eliminate allergens. Keep allergens and dyes off your mouth. Even a mild allergy or intolerance to a food can cause chapped lips. If you are not diagnosed with any allergies but have other symptoms, such as digestive issues or rashes, along with your chapped lips, consult with your doctor. Ask for a referral to an allergist if the problem is difficult to diagnose.[5]
    • Check the ingredients of your lip balm. Avoid anything you may be allergic to, such as a red dye.
    • Some people are allergic to para-aminobenzoic acid, which is found in many lip balms with SPF. If you experience swelling of the throat or shortness of breath, discontinue use of the lip balm and call 911.[6]
  4. Hydrate and protect. To best protect against chapped lips? Act like you already have them. Drink water with every meal, and keep a glass nearby for whenever you're thirsty. Apply lip balm when you're headed outside or when the heater is on. Cover your face on windy winter days, and use a lip balm with SPF on sunny days.
    • Unless you are training yourself not to lick your lips, you probably don't have to wear lip balm every day. Wear it on windy and sunny days if you don't want to wear it all the time.

Warnings

  • If you notice abnormal bleeding or infection of the lips make sure to see a doctor immediately.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-skin/expert-answers/chapped-lips/faq-20057819
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dry-lips/Pages/Introduction.aspx
  3. ↑ http://www.skinsight.com/adult/cheilitis.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.symptomfind.com/health/causes-of-chapped-lips/
  5. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dry-skin/expert-answers/chapped-lips/faq-20057819
  6. ↑ https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002723.htm
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