Is anyone with this problem a "mouth breather"? That is one possibility that I'm consideration now. I've had this problem for 6 mos.; similar to several posting here. I've been to 3 docs; tried doctor prescribed anti-bacterial, anti-fungal creams. It started with chapped, peeling lips, and changed to a "sweet taste" on lips and in mouth. It seems to be lessening as time goes by. The steroid cream seemed to do the most good, but I was told it was for short term use only, as it would thin the lip tissue, as mentioned by another post here.
I have found help for my problem! I posted here about a week ago. I had read the post right before mine from someone who said they went to a doctor and said it was a staph infection and they had been prescribed bactrin. After I read the post I went through every medication in my house and got lucky and found a small tube in our canine medicine cabinet. :-) Dont laugh, I have had amazing results using this. The tube is labeled "neomycin & Polymyxin B Sulfates (Bacitrain Zinc & Hydrocortisone Opththalmic Ointment)". I applied this to my lips that night and even tho they were peeling really bad I noticed some improvement the next day. I have been applying it every night and sometimes once during the day for 5 days now. My lips are much much better and I believe that within a short while they will be back to normal. This mediation immediately stopped that cycle they were going through and I see improvment every day. So in my case, I do believe it was probably some type of infection, possibly a staph infection as someone posted here. I am very thankful that they posted that information because I would have never went on the hunt through my house to find something similar to use. I will come back later and post how this is coming along. I hope all of you that are suffering from this problem will find something that will help you. In my case I think it is Neomycin & Polymxin B Sulfates, and I found it in my dogs medicine cabinet.
I have this too. My lips start off itchy, tingly then get red. I use LYCINE and it helps. At the end of this cycle they flake terribly. I notice if I reuse my water bottle for more than a day the cycle starts again. My kids get it as well! When there is no outbreak happening, I always have these tiny white spots just under the skin of my lips. I don't know. :-)
I thought i'd chime in since they weren't many success stories. I had the same symptoms as OP for about 3 weeks, but after seeing a dermatologist it has all cleared up now after 4 days on meds. He said it could be a bit of dermatitis of the lips and perscribed me with an ointment and oral pills (betamethasone valer. fusidic, and flucloxacillin sodium ca 500mg). Obviously everyone will be different but I wrote the name of the meds in hopes of pointing you in the right direction. I strongly suggest you go to a dermatologist not your GP right away to clear it up.Hope this helps.
I have the exact same problems. It first occurred 5 weeks ago, and all went away with Valacyclovir prescribed. Since it came back (last week) I have little bumps all around my mouth after I took the same medication that was prescribed and it's not working like the first time. I wonder if my immune system is resisting it??? I'm thinking about going back to the doctor's office and getting some tests done because I don't know anyone who gets "cold sores" that looks like these.
Hello I came here 2 weeks ago to let you know that I found the medication neomycin & Polymyxin B Sulfates (Bacitrain Zinc & Hydrocortisone Opththalmic Ointment in my dogs medicine cabinet. I have been using this every single day for two weeks. I will say
that my problem is much much better but, it is NOT completely going away. My lips have stopped the constant cycle of peeling and flaking but you can look at them and I can tell by the way that they feel that they are not healing very fast. I skipped the med a couple of days ago and my lips were already starting to flake and peel. One application stopped that but I am thinking that this medication is not strong enough to completely clear this up. Now, after reading the above post by someone who says that they cannot use the same water bottle I think my problem lies with my electronic cigarette refills that I smoke. I am in the process of kicking the habit and I have slowly cut down to a low mg electronic ecigarette several times per day. I can use the same refill for two days. I guess I will try to clean the refills really well each time before I use them. I had wondered if this was contagious. Im wondering if this is going to clear completely up as long as I am using the refills and of course they are touching my lips. I will try this for a week or so and see if I can see any improvement at all. Ive been wondering for a while now, Can this spread to the eyes??? Im not having any problems with my eyes but I have wondered.
I'll report back here in a week or so to let you know if cleaning the refills helps at all. Thanks for sharing your information here.
Well, here I am again. However, this time I'm having the same allergic reaction to the same brand of lip gloss I used that started this whole process. But I'm not going through the whole cycle though this time. A couple weeks ago, I ended up with a staph infection around the bridge of my nose to my cheek. The Dr gave me oral Bactrim and Rocephin injections daily for a week. I'm wondering if the original allergic reaction to cosmetics allowed a staph infection to take over the lip area because typically this would set off the cycle. I was able to treat the allergy w/ some hydracortisone cream and Aquapher ointment without it going into the chapped, peeling, and painful cycle. I'm not sure why the Nystatin helped it so quickly all the other times I had to treat it since that's an antifungal and not antibacterial, but I'm thinking the antibiotics might have it under control. We'll see!
I am having something similar. It's very strange. I went out to eat over a week ago. I went to a nice sandwich shop and got a warm turkey sandwich with cole slaw and swiss on a white bun. Everything is made fresh at this restaurant. I was STARVING....so as I'm eating this...my lips start to burn alot. I thought it was weird and thought, maybe my lips were chapped? But I always have chapstick on??? Anyway....here we are a week later and they are still burning when I eat, they feel chapped no matter what I do, (they don't always look chapped though) They feel tingly like they would if I were getting a cold sore...but there is no sore....I can't help but wonder if maybe they used a weird flour to dust the buns of this sandwich or something...and if maybe I was allergic to it or if it somehow burned my lips? UGH....no idea what to do
Dear Friends,
There are 3 types of infection: bacterial infection (which goes away after anti-biotic treatment, typically 7-14 days); a viral infection like herpes complex (which is treated with Valtrex, Abreva or something similar and again about 7-10 days or so to clear); and then a fungus infection (which is tricky to treat and it takes a lot longer to clear up).
You all have indicated symptoms that seem very similar to a lip fungus infection.
It is caused by Candida Albican, a type of yeast.
You might have a lip fungus infection if your lip(s) is/(are):
Red and swollen
Itchy, painful
Burning sensation (especially when eating salty foods)
Severely chaffing or chapped lips
Bumps or blisters (usually very small)
Weeping, or sweating from lips
Symptoms last more than 10 days or so
Symptoms clear but comeback frequently
**You should not treat a fungal infection with anti-biotics or ointments like Neosporin which is an anti-bacterial. You must treat this with anti-fungal means.
TREATMENT: The sooner you start treating a fungal infection, the better. And there are a lot of home remedies or inexpensive remedies that really work.
Doctors may prescribe Betamethasone dipropionate, Clotrimazole or Nystatic creams for curing the infection. Some of these are really bad for you and your liver function long-term. Be careful. And sometimes, they don't work because they are not used as prescribed. Again, be careful.
Instead, go see the doctor and talk to him/her about a fungal infection. He/she may prescribe a fungal medication, but you may want to first try some of these at-home (anti-fungal) remedies like applying apple cider vinegar or tea tree oil or castrol oil to infected area several times a day for 2-3 days. These items are drying agents and anti-fungal. Coconut oil is good for applying after treatment for moisturizing purposes. Treatment usually resolves the problem anywhere between 2-4 days depending how severe or how long the fungal infection has been going on. (Sometimes, it takes much longer). It also depends on your overall health and your sugar intake. Fungi love sugary foods/ drinks, so you may consider holding back on anything with sugar for a few days while this clears up.
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***Remember, fungus thrives and grows in moist areas. You should avoid using lip balms, chapstick, or any moisturizers on the lips while treating them for lip fungus. Consider throwing out all your current and old ones that you are using because they are probably infected with the fungus. If you treat/ clear the fungal lip infection and then reapply your old (infected) lip-balm products, you will only start the process all over.***
I had symptoms similar to those many of you describe - very dry lips, cracks in the corners, sometimes swelling, painful and annoying for 5 months. My general doctor dismissed it as dry lips, but I knew it was more. A dermatologist listened to me and diagnosed a yeast infection of the lips probably brought on by a course of antibiotics for something else and maybe a diet change. He prescribed anti fungal creme that you can get at the drugstore - Lotrimin/miconazole. It is the same thing used for athletes foot, etc. I used it topically on my lips for about 2 weeks and my lips are back to normal. Aquaphor also seems to help. Worth a try anyway!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've been dealing with this on and off for the past four years. It just happened out of the blue one day and I couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. I've noticed certain foods will make it flair up like biting into apples. The pesticides seem to set it off. With cherries as well if my lips touch the skin. Peel and chop all my fruit now. Oddly enough, certain silverware (mixed with nickel) at home appear to set it off too so I only use plastic spoons now. The spoons were the culprits at home. I've also noticed that sun exposure sets it off too so I have to put a ton of sunscreen on. It's the strangest thing to live with but I finally have closure now that I know what it is.Thank you!!!
I have been dealing with this for years!! I have gotten a cold sore before but whatever this is, is different. The tingling, the itch, the redness, tiny white bumps and I notice that certain chapsticks are worse then others. I cant use carmex any more. I stick with Aquaphor and actually really like a blistex that is moisturizing and medicated. I am defintiely going to go and see a dermatologist and bring in all of the prescriptions that have been reccomended to all of you. I do keep a prescription of Acyclovir which is basically like valtrex. As soon as I feel the itching Ill take a pill every day till it goes away, but Ive noticed more recently that it really just doesnt go away and I cannot prevent it from coming on. It can get better, but it always comes back. It used to be every 3-4 months or so and now it is nearly monthly and feels like its all the time, or at least I always have to be cautious about what will spark it back up. The sun for sure, spicy food is torture. I feel like the skin directly above my upper lip is allllwaayyyysss peeling. Little thin flakes of skin and right now they are red, swollen, cracked. But only on the upper lip. I am SO glad to know this isn't just me. Someone asked a while back if anyone smokes pot. I do. And I wonder if my pipe could contribute....like the person who cant use the same water bottle more than 2 days.....? feels gross, I dont smoke every day, but I do smoke regularly so maybe I need to soak my pipe after each use...? I dont know, but I will do ANYTHING to eliminate this problem.
But see I don't smoke anything and I still have the exact same issue you are describing. Those triggers minus the smoking (sun exposure, etc) that you mentioned are the same for me. It's still only happening like every 3 months for me, but I'm getting tired of having to make sure I always travel w/ the stuff that heals it the fastest just in case it flares up. It's painful and it's getting to be an awful inconvenience. I never had this problem before the make up reaction and now even though I'm not using that anymore I still get random flare ups. It always seems to happen when I'm not really around to visit the dr and I'm worried they'll chalk it up to chapped lips or dehydration when I know that's not it.