Raw lips! Help!

[chrissy0123]

Recently, I've been suffering severely from very raw, sensitive and burning lips (very hard to describe). The skin pretty much just disappears off my lip rather than peel off. They aren't like chapped and again they aren't peeling. It's only affected on the lip not around it or inside the mouth. When looking at it in that condition it looks normal which is good and bad as it doesn't look then half as bad as it feels! It's complete torture and I've even said that if this continues for the rest of my life that I can't go on with it. I've visited a dermatologist and she gave me prednisone which did get rid of it the first time (about a month ago). She also prescribed Protopic which didn't really do anything except help moisturise my lip as all sorts of lip balms just do not stay on my lip for even a second when it's in that condition! They just don't seem to stick at all. However, it did reoccur again about 2 1/2 weeks after it cleared up and once again she prescribed more prednisone to help give some relief from the excruciating pain. At the moment it is a little better from it but my course of the steroid is finishing now and I'm terrified that it will return. The first time it occured I had just started taking vitamins for a week (emergen -c multivitamin packets). I stopped as I wasn't so sure if they could be the cause of it. The second time I started taking One a Day womens and after 2 days of taking it, it came back. The doctor isn't so sure if there is a connection between the vitamins and the raw lips because I had taken them quite soon after so said to stay off vitamins for a month and give her a call after to advise her of whether I'm good or not. She has researched various oral issues/ diseases but can't seem to find anything. She already tested for candida and does not think its cheilitis. I feel so helpless. Some extra info is that I am on Effexor but I'm currently being weaned off antidepressants for good by my doctor. I was definitely much better emotionally but this lip issue is really worrying me as I'm terrified it will be a forever thing! I've been on Effexor since January and on antidepressants in general for about 6 years. I have no idea what it is. I've googled everything possible and can't find anything that matches what I feel. Please help!

[chrissy0123]

Hello,

I've been off Prednisone for over a week now and I'm hoping it does stay away. My dermatologist believes that I am allergic to a certain vitamin so I'm terrified to take any as that's when the problem started. Hopefully after a month I would still be free from any lip issues and I guess I'll have to get my vitamins from my food instead. Thank you so much for your response!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Firstly,It can be due to vit B deficiency.Take some vitamin B complex for some days and see if your symptoms improve.
Secondly,it can be due to atopic dermatitis or eczema("Atopic" refers to a group of diseases where there is often an inherited tendency to develop other allergic conditions, such as asthma and hay fever). Cheilitis(Inflammation of the skin on and around the lips)is often seen in atopic dermatitis.
Avoid licking the lips as saliva evaporates quickly resulting in them being drier than before. Drink plenty of water and take multivitamin supplements and do not apply lipstick or other cosmetic products for some days. Use a humidifier to moisturize the air in your home and apply shea butter or Vaseline on your lips.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.