Is chapped lips caused by dryness?

In the cold winter, many people's lips are repeatedly cracked and peeling, and they can't help licking them with their tongues. As a result, the more they lick, the drier they become, and the drier they become, the more they want to lick, forming a vicious cycle. Many people mistakenly believe that this is due to lack of water or the dry climate in autumn and winter, and that as long as they moisturize well, it will be fine.

In fact, this statement is not comprehensive. In winter, lips are repeatedly cracked, peeling, and red and swollen. This is cheilitis, which is a chronic desquamative cheilitis.

There is another type of cheilitis, called erosive cheilitis. Erosive cheilitis sometimes forms erosions, sometimes small papules or rashes, and itchy feelings. Some children have eczema, and small blisters and peeling around the lips will also appear, and there will be itching, and they can't help scratching, resulting in erosion and exudation.

Chronic desquamative cheilitis and erosive cheilitis are two common types of cheilitis, and chronic desquamative cheilitis is more common.

Why do you get cheilitis?

Chronic desquamative cheilitis is characterized by dry lips, swelling, desquamation, cracks, etc. The cause is not very clear. Especially in autumn and winter, lips do not have sebaceous glands and do not secrete oil, so they are prone to peeling when dry. In addition, many people have the bad habit of licking their lips and peeling their skin due to wind and sun exposure. The more they lick and peel, the more likely it is to form a vicious cycle. The air in the south is humid, so the incidence of cheilitis is relatively low.

Erosive cheilitis is related to systemic factors, and the cause is very complicated. It may be related to cold stimulation, dry climate, eating spicy food, repeated lip licking, and decreased body resistance.

Current research suggests that vitamin deficiency can cause dry and flaky lips. But relatively speaking, dry and flaky lips are more closely related to environmental factors and bad habits.

Can wet compresses provide relief?

Dry and flaky lips can be treated with wet compresses. There are many wet compress methods to remove dry skin, such as wet compresses with antibacterial drugs, or some Chinese medicines. Wet compress drugs have antibacterial and healing effects. After wet compresses, gently wipe off the dry skin, do not pull or tear it off, and then apply a layer of lip balm, and it will gradually return to normal.

In the outpatient clinic, people often ask, can dry and flaky lips be treated with light salt water compresses?

It is generally not recommended to use light salt water for wet compresses. If you are allergic, you should not use light salt water for wet compresses to prevent the high salt concentration from irritating and damaging the mucous membrane.

Lip balm is sometimes useless

For chronic desquamative cheilitis, generally you just need to correct bad habits, stop licking your lips and peeling your skin, and apply some daily lip balm, and you can return to normal without any medication.

For more serious cheilitis, such as those that have formed cracks, ointments are needed, and antibacterial drugs should be applied to the infected area.

At the same time, we should also pay attention to some systemic factors. For example, diabetic patients are prone to dry lips, which requires patients to first lower their blood sugar and control it well. Patients with hyperthyroidism, Sjögren's syndrome, etc. will also experience dry lips, and the primary disease needs to be treated to improve the symptoms.

Are there any side effects of frequently applying lip balm to dry lips?

There are no side effects of choosing daily lip balm. People with chronic cheilitis should avoid contact with irritants as much as possible. When choosing lip products, pay attention to prevent allergies. Do not change brands frequently. The frequency of use should not be too high. Use it twice a day, morning and evening. If the lips are very dry, you can use it once more at noon.

If the symptoms of dry and flaky lips cannot be relieved after adjusting bad habits and doing lip balm, it is recommended that the patient go to the hospital to seek help from a doctor. General specialist hospitals have oral mucosa departments and have departments specifically for the treatment of lip diseases.

Lip red is also part of the skin. Dermatology can also treat chronic cheilitis, and dermatology has more medicines.

(The author Sun Zheng is the chief physician of Beijing Stomatological Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, and Si Yan is the chief physician of Peking University Stomatological Hospital)