Cheilitis

[auburnclassic35]

I have had redness and burning of the vermilion border for almost a year now, especially on the bottom lip. I have been to three different doctors. The last telling me it was cheilities caused by my toothpaste. She asked me to switch toothpastes and use a topical steroid/antibiotic cream for three weeks. The redness and burning has not stopped. I feel like I've tried many things to get it to go away and nothing is working. The only thing that takes some of the redness and burning away is neosporin. I've tried stopping my proactiv to see if that was it and that didn't work. I've tried stopping the chapstick I use and that didn't work. I'm starting to think it may be the multi-vitamins I am taking but that seems silly. It got worse once after getting an allergy shot but only once. It does get worse with heat. I don't know what to do anymore and I want it to go away. Does anyone have any advice on what mauy be causing this?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Firstly,I t 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. Diagnosed by blood test like RAST. Treatment is by topical steroids or oral therapy of corticosteroids in severe cases. Topical creams like tacrolimus ointment (Protopic) and pimecrolimus cream (Elidel) are also useful.
If the symptoms persist, then it would be best to get it confirmed from a dermatologist
I hope it helps. Take care and please do keep me posted in case you have any additional doubts. Kind regards.