lip problem

[anngel]

Hello!

I have had a problem these past 2-3 months with my lips.  they have been good for about a a couple weeks now.  So, it first started in november where my lips started to feel extremely dry and chapped.  I continued to use burts bees lip balm, and this particular lip gloss.  a few days later, i ended up getting little bumps on the right corner of my upper lip, and a bump in the middle of my bottom lip.  it was not noticeable to others unless i really pointed it out.  i went to my student health care center and they told me i was probably developing cold sores (which i never had) they gave me bacitracin, and it went away in 3 days.

so, i stopped using burts bees and that certain lip gloss for a couple weeks.  and i figured, since my lips were back to normal, i'll use my lip gloss again.  a couple days later, my lips felt dry and chapped, AGAIN.  and, here comes the little tiny bumps.  again, i went to the health care center and told them my problem. and told me the same thing.. developing cold sores.  the doctor told me to get abreva and apply it to the affected areas.  so i did what i was told, and only made my lips a lot worse.  the tiny little bumps spread over to the left corner of my mouth only making it feel like my lips were about to crack from how chapped it was.  by the 7th day of having to deal with extremely chapped lips, i decided to use bacitracin yet again, and it went away by the next 2 days.

now, i have seen those pictures of cold sores online and how they're supposed to develop.  i am almost certain that i dont have cold sores.  they seem to just stay in little bumps, they dont hurt, and they definitely do not look like those pictures of cold sores.

since then, i have not used burts bees and started using medicated chapstick.  over the holidays, my friend got me lip gloss -- same brand but brand new.  and just today, my lips felt slightly chapped and a little itchy on my bottom lip.  i see a little bump forming, but it could just from me being extremely paranoid from it.  i have decided from now on, not to use this brand of lip gloss.. it's actually the victoria secret beauty rush which I used to use ALL the time before this incident.  

i wanted to get tested for hsv to rule that out and to bring my sanity back, but the doctor said to wait till february or march because it takes time for the antibodies to be seen in your blood...

since i was so upset of the possibility of having cold sores, i went to another doctor, explained to him everything that had happened, and he reassured me that if i had cold sores, i would know because of the way they look and feel.  he said to me that it could be from food i have been eating and the lipgloss i was using.  

what could I possibly do to make this go away?  could it really be cold sores?  no one i know has them.  and the person i am currently dating doesn't either.  does it just sound like a lip allergy from the lip gloss?  i just want someone to tell me otherwise.  i really do not feel like they are cold sores.  

should i be taking allergy medicine like claritin just to try to make it go away?


This discussion is related to recurring lip infection.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

There are several possibilities that are coming in my mind.

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.Diagnosed by bld 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.

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.You can also use a homemade ointment mixed from 1 tsp glycerine, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp castor oil. Spread on lips overnight, refrigerating the leftovers for future use. Eat foods high in calcium, magnesium and flaxseed oil. If a week of compresses and emollients don't do the trick, you can add over-the-counter 1 percent hydrocortisone ointment to your regimen.

If the condition still persists or there is deep cracking in the region of your mouth,then pls consult your doctor as it can be due to infection(Angular Cheilitis).Antibiotics are needed in such cases.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.

[anngel]

Helloo kindd,

The day after I posted the previous message/post, my bumps actually went away within 24 hours.  I only applied the bacitracin that I had, and of course drank a lot of water.  I have noticed that after this happens, my lips seem to peel and the corners of my lips feel dry.  Since you said not to put any cosmetics on my lips, I have not applied chapstick on them.  

So again, I woke up this morning, the middle of my bottom lip started to itch, and soon enough those extremely small bumps appeared.  You cant even tell until you look in a mirror closely.  I put bacitracin on it again, hoping that when I wake up tomorrow, it'll be gone.  Since my lips felt dry, I started to put chapstick on the top lip just so it won't get as chapped/dry as the corners of my lips.

With all these symptoms being said, is this problem more clear than it was before?  Would you be able to pin point the problem?  Its definitely not cold sores, right?