When winter comes, the lips are uncomfortable?
Even more than winter, as long as there is no lip moisturizing thing, no matter what season the lips will be dry and tight, and even peel and cracked? (I will do this myself) In more serious cases, the lips will appear red and swollen, small blisters, itching and uncomfortable?
Nod friend, let's do a little survey:
What do you usually use to moisten your lips?
A. Nothing
B. Don't hide it, most of the time with saliva
C. Lip balm, glycerin, etc. (have tried the main moisturizing ones)
D. Vaseline
Option A: When there is no cheilitis, it is not exquisite, and the problem is not big.
Option B: Start quitting bad habits today, right?
Option C: If you use this type of product, it feels that it will not help your cheilitis moisturizing, you can change to "medical vaseline" to try.
Option D: Especially if the friend who is suffering from cheilitis, if the use of medical petroleum jelly to moisturize the help is not large, then it is possible to upgrade the strategy and use "drugs". (Expand below)
After the key points are explained, let's get down to the point.
Why is cheilitis so hard?
Acute or chronic inflammation that occurs in the red lips, red lips, and even the mucous membranes of the mouth and mouth, we call this "cheilitis".
Common manifestations include redness, dryness, desquamation, cracking, edema, itching, and burning sensation.
It can be a disease that originates in the lips, or it can be a manifestation of other skin diseases or systemic diseases in the lips.
Fortunately, most of the cheilitis that provokes everyone belongs to the "reversible cheilitis" with a good prognosis. And more complex irreversible cheilitis, as well as skin diseases or systemic diseases related to cheilitis is relatively rare, we have the opportunity to re-popularize science, today first solve more common problems.
There are many types of P.S cheilitis, there is no accepted classification method, in order to make it easier to understand the distinction, I use the Croatian scholar Liborija Lugovi -Mihi's classification of cheilitis according to the etiology and course of the disease [1], roughly divided into "mostly reversible cheilitis", "mostly irreversible cheilitis" and "cheilitis associated with skin diseases and systemic diseases".
There are three main common causes of reversible cheilitis: accidental "work", contact with irritants or allergic substances, and drug effects. There is also a class of cheilitis that deserves to be introduced separately, called "angular cheilitis".
1. Accidentally "made" out
This type of cheilitis is usually classified as "simple cheilitis".
It has a lot to do with licking the lips and biting the lips, on the one hand, it will cause the lipid membrane that protects the lips to disappear and make the lips dry. On the other hand, the saliva that stays on the lips will cause the moisture to evaporate, making the lips more dry.
Error demonstration
In the same way, some children have the habit of sucking on the lower lip (or upper lip), which causes erythema and dryness around the lips and mouth over time. In addition, seasonal changes are also a factor, after all, cold and dry weather will make lips more likely to dry and crack.
So hold back! Can't lick your lips! Quit bad habits, and cheilitis may be half as good.
2. Caused by contact with irritants or allergic substances
This belongs to the category of "contact cheilitis".
Irritants or allergy substances include fragrances, preservatives, antioxidants, dyes, etc., which are found in food, cosmetics, emollient products, and daily necessities.
For example, some friends will have discomfort symptoms on their lips as soon as they use a certain skin care product, but they think that the product has not expired, or the brand does not pay attention to it, then today you can update the concept!
note! Even lipsticks that protect lips, with ingredients such as fragrances, preservatives, propolis, and lanolin added to them, can be potential allergens. When used in cheilitis, it may cause symptoms to worsen.
Feeling that lip balm can't help, you may wish to change to "high purity vaseline" first, moisturizing and safe.
Contact cheilitis is more common in people with atopic dermatitis, and finding things that are easily sensitizing and quietly lurking in our lives is critical.
3. Caused by the action of the drug
Oral medications such as isotretinoin and avi A for the treatment of other diseases, or topical antibiotics, antivirals, anesthetics, etc., may also cause cheilitis.
This situation is more special, please seek the help of a doctor.
4. Angular cheilitis
Angular cheilitis, also known as "angular erosion", is often associated with infection and is also a type of cheilitis.
A common trigger is "excessive saliva" (saliva).
Saliva remains in the corners of the mouth, causing wetness, maceration, and easy secondary candida albicans (fungal) infections. In people with atopic dermatitis, it is mostly secondary to Staphylococcus aureus infection, and bacterial angular cheilitis occurs.
Saliva maceration that occurs when children suck their fingers and lips can also easily cause angular cheilitis. Wearing dentures and orthodontic appliances may also cause angular cheilitis.
And what's often asked about —
Is cheilitis related to vitamin deficiencies?
There are also relationships, but are not common causes, such as vitamin b9, B6, B2, B3 deficiencies. However, if you are wondering, "Can I apply vitamin powder directly to the affected area?" ”
It is possible that after applying the bitter powder, "temporarily quit" biting and licking the lips, and slowly got better. (Thanks to Dr. He Mingfeng and Dr. Zhou Yeye for their advice during the group trial)
Moisturizing your lips is key!
With cheilitis, the lips and even the surrounding skin barrier can be damaged, moisturizing can not only promote the recovery of the damaged barrier, lock in moisture, but also isolate germs.
Moisturizers are recommended to choose a single ingredient, high purity, good safety, such as "high purity medical vaseline" [2], adults and children can be recommended to use, and it is recommended to use it several times a day.
For milder symptoms of cheilitis, only the symptoms of dryness and peeling, then remove the trigger, strengthen the moisturizing, most of which can gradually alleviate and heal themselves.
However, for severe symptoms of cheilitis, light moisturizing is not enough.
Cheilitis is severe and must be treated with medication
Acute cheilitis may present with small blisters, exudates, and thick honey-yellow scabs.
At this time, do not rush to moisturize, you can first use "normal saline + medical cotton" wet compress to reduce exudate. After the isotonic fluid disappears, moisturizing is performed, as well as medication.
The appearance of these symptoms indicates that the cheilitis is more serious, and it is recommended to consider seeking medical attention.
Treatment of simple cheilitis, contact cheilitis:
Generally choose low- to moderate-effective topical corticosteroid ointments, such as denonide cream and Uzoll cream.
Treatment of infectious "angular cheilitis":
Topical antifungals or antibiotic ointments
As for the choice, method of use, and duration of the ointment, it is necessary to make a clear diagnosis. In short, when there is more severe symptoms of cheilitis or angular cheilitis, it is recommended to see a dermatologist first, and then standardize treatment.
However, some friends have seen a doctor and still dare not take medicine. Because I am worried that the ointment applied to the lips will be licked into the mouth and eaten into the stomach, it will have a negative impact on the body.
In fact, the amount of ointment applied to the lips is very small, and most of the ointments for the treatment of cheilitis are medium-weak hormone ointments or antifungal and antibiotic ointments, and a very small amount of them will be metabolized and removed from the body, which has no effect on the body.
However, after applying the ointment, it is recommended not to drink water, eat and moisturize for at least 1 hour, and also pay attention to avoid licking, because waiting for the drug to be absorbed can play a good therapeutic effect, and soon it is rubbed and licked, and may be smeared with loneliness.
To sum up, there are three points: remove the trigger, strengthen the moisturizer, rationally use drugs, let the cheilitis stay away from life, and return you a healthy and beautiful zhu lip~
bibliography
[1] Liborija Lugovi -Mihi , Kristina Pilipovi , Iva Crnari ,Mirna itum and Tomislav Duvan i ，DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF CHEILITIS– HOW TO CLASSIFY CHEILITIS? Acta Clin Croat 2018; 57:342-351.
[2] Dou Xia, Zhuo Zhengpu "Vaseline: The Most Affordable Daily Skin Care Product for Eczema Patients"
[3] UPTODATE cheilitis
The review expert of this article | Dr. Lei Qiuhua of Zhuozheng Medical
This article is reproduced from Zhuozheng Science Popularization Health Express (ID: D-HealthExpress) with permission, if you need to reprint it for a second time, please contact the original author.