Recurring redness around lips

[Rohai]

About 2 months ago, I went to visit my physician regarding a problem I had with a ring of redness around my lips - more prominent on my bottom lip - it was a lighter, tender pink shade and kind of looked like I had been drinking lots of red kool-aid. I also had constant dry, cracked and bleeding lips, and tried everything from drinking plenty of water and making sure I wasn't licking them. I didn't have any other visual symptoms, but I did have a combination of a burning/numbness feeling on my lips.

The doctors did some bloodwork to check my vitamin levels which all came back fine and instructed me to try an OTC cream like Abreva, as they thought it might be a cold sore (which I never had in the past either). Two weeks later, I scheduled a follow up appointment, as the redness and severe chapping was still there.

The second time, they prescribed an Acylovir tablet and Zovirax cream for oral herpes. All this seemed to do was irritate my entire mouth. My lips swelled up and felt like they were shot up with novicaine. After the 10 day period of using the medication, I noticed the chapness went away, but the bright red ring around my lips is still there. Some days it's more prominent than others and my lips tend to dry out now and then, but I'm trying to avoid putting any sort of ointment/chapstick on them in the event that something coming in contact with the lips is irritating them further.

I've included a recent photo (not the best quality) that shows my bottom lip and my lip line is no longer definitive. I have set up an appointment with a dermatologist a few weeks from now, but I'm still trying to get some clarity on what might be causing this. I've had people suggest everything from a fungal/bacterial infection, cold sores/oral herpes, allergies, vitamin deficiencies, etc. Nothing in my daily activities has really changed for the past several years, so I'm concerned about the sudden onset, and how this problem has persisted for almost 2 months now.

Has anyone else experienced something like this?

[1rah]

What was the result of your  "patch test" ?

In 4/2014 I had red swollen lips & a bit of red around the mouth. Tried all the ointments, creams, antibiotics, prednisone, cortisone, viral, etc. Nothing helped; it just finally faded away.

1/2015, the same red lips reoccurred with a larger red surrounding the mouth, which began extending up to the nose & down to the chin. Then, a 1-1/2" red stripe appeared on the front of my neck and blotchy chest. Also, my sinuses became totally blocked & the only way I could breath was to sniff & spit out mucus ( Sorry for disgusting description.)  After all that, it started to disappearing,

I woke up one morning & it was all back in red living color. I freaked! Of course by the time I went to the allergist & dermatologist, it faded. They do not know cause or remedy.

I'm sending dermatologist a copy of a number of  people's posts.  I'll try the B12 & see. Has anyone had the red neck & chest in addition to the lips or sinus problems?

[DE3201165]

My Dermatologist told me the same crap.......He said it's from licking ur lips too much. First off the creams don't work on the cuts on the corner of your mouth.  They only work on your lips if there swollen or if u have tiny skin bumps around ur mouth. To get rid of the cuts I was putting A&D ointment on them which worked for a little while but the cuts never fully healed or closed. You have to use either Peroxide or alcohol on the cuts and let them just heal up and dry out. I used Q-tips to put either of them around my lips where I had the cuts at. Two or three time s a day and especially at night when ur goin to be sleeping is the best way to get results. And I also was taking Vitamin B-12 don't know if that was really helpin or not but I took anyway just in case. Just be careful not to get too close to ur mouth u don't want to accidentally get either one inside ur mouth.

[Chizzer]

Hello,

I just had a patch test done and I am allergic to propolis (bee's wax). It is in everything from lip balm and cosmetics to antibiotics. You have to read everything, and NO HONEY either.

So far, so good. Also allergic to formaldehyde.

Angela

[guy2000]

Definitely Angular Cheilitis.

[guy2000]

Perioral Contact Dermatitis is nothing like what is being described by everyone on here.  No bumps and limited to small area around lips - very different.

[Frstr8td]

I have the same issues as the original poster. Finally after 2 embarrassing months of a red mouth/chapped peeling lips & trying every cream under the sun I went to a dermatologist. She said it is perioral contact dermatitis. Not sure what caused/triggered it. I was down the shore and maybe got a sunburn when it started so that might have been the trigger. I have fair skin. She prescribed Desonide ointment (topical corticosteroid) to be used 3x/day on lips & around mouth for 1 week. Then 2x/day for the 2nd week then stop. If I am still having issues after that she will do a "patch test" on my back to zero in on what I may be allergic to. After that, I may go on Prednisone. Also, she said to use basic toothpaste...not tartar control or whitening. She suggested Tom's Natural brand. And just use very mild soap (Dove or Cetaphil) to gently clean the face. If I need something in between the Desonide applications, she said to use only Vaseline...nothing else! I think jumping from cream to cream/ointment to ointment didn't help the situation. I'll post again in a few weeks with any updates on my condition. Hope this helps others!!

[Liasboat]

Did the Desonide work?