I am writing this with a grateful heart, with a very tired mind (I was too excited to sleep last night). I was healed totally by herbal tea. Totally. Please bear with me, this is going to be a long story…. until now I still cant believe and don’t dare to touch my face…..its glowing with radiance.

I am 28 yo male leaving in Singapore, a vibrant city in Asia.

It all started early this year. Bits of skin started to peel on the skin above the left of my top lips. It did not bother me much as it appeared to be due to some dryness and I also attribute “becoming old” to be part of the reason. The peeling was only very minimal and on some days, it didn’t peel at all. The area is very small and insignificant.

Then suddenly in May and June, the peeling spread to my whole lips (both top and bottom). The acceleration could be due to stress as I started out in a new company. I kept applying lip balms, from Vaseline to NZ All Natural. The peeling worsened in August such that it is not only peeling but also red and the bottom lip is swollen all the time. On some days, my top lip will bleed in some parts due to very tight skin.

My friend John also noticed and he suggested that I seek medical help. I immediately launched full medical attention. I fixed appointment with GPs, Dermatologist from NSC (National Skin Centre). The result from all these consultation seemed relieving. Their comments were “Its nothing serious, just some allergies”. I was prescribed topical creams like Paraffin and Steroid. I must admit that the paraffin is a great help. It eased many symptoms and makes my lips look very normal.

I also started immediately on vegetables and fruits meal. Taking at least 1 serving of fruit each day. I also drank more than 2 litres of water per day. I changed my habit of drinking from tap water to drinking bottled water. I changed my toothpaste, ate more DXN linzhi and am very self conscious.

But deep within, I still don’t feel right. My bottom lip is still swollen. A few weeks passed and I realized I was allergic to Pineapple and Naproxen Sodium (A kind of painkiller I took for my toothache in September).

It baffled me. My body has never reacted so strangely before. I have always been healthy all my life. No allergies, seldom get sick.. I have even gotten an award from my previous company for not taking Medical Leave for the whole of 2006.

I felt very upset. As a result of the swelling, it has affected the way I speak, eat, drink and even yawn. I could not open my mouth fully. I went into the net and do tons of research. This condition is called CHEILITIS in the medical field. Because of my condition, me and John spent countless hours discussing what could the cause be. Nutritional deficiencies? STDs? Almagam? Yeast? Allegies to toothpaste? Kawasaki disease?

I went to see another specialist at NSC (Dr AD). She told me that is Cheilitis and it is triggered/turned on by something (could be drugs, stress, so on). She added that it is incurable and it is in the genes. Her explanation sounds logical as I went to web to search and realized hundreds of people suffered this condition for years without remedy. I also went to see Freddie. His guessing and not so rational explanation immediate made me realize I should not waste time on his theories and guessing. (I later realized that his specialization is not in skin but in acupuncture). I also did Hair Analysis at THC. Came back fine.

I was at my wits end. If my condition stays the same forever, it will still be …….fine (or at least barely acceptable as it is not life and death). But what if ……it spreads to other parts of my face and………my face started to peel also ??!!