Hi Matt,

I think within a couple weeks of going off topicals the rate of peeling increased by a day. The area of peeling has not changed. I think the crusts have become thinner, less noticeable for sure, and more difficult to peel off (with more physical pain when peeling but no bleeding, could be a good sign of life returning).

I went on the low-acid diet on a hunch that there was a relation, because my condition worsened after eating a lot of sugars, alcohol, and bread, and also because I had some success with a Candida diet. This past winter my condition significantly worsened when I went off the diet for only a couple weeks, and was barely drinking any alcohol or having sugar, though eating high-acid foods like fried pork and fried rice. On returning to the diet and using natural topicals, over a few weeks the rate of peeling returned to its 6-day cycle. Off the topicals it was at 7 days, and over the course of the summer (and starting to work full time) the rate is back to 5-6 days.

The cod liver oil was to get a natural source of Vitamin D in the months I did not get much sun. I was tested for a deficiency, that is to say, I had one. I have not been retested. Bee pollen is a natural source for Vitamin B-complex, which is difficult for the body to absorb in capsule or even sublingual form. Since Vitamin B and D deficiencies are listed as potential causes of peeling lips, I wanted to make sure and have that baseline covered in case it might exacerbate whatever other problem I have.

One thing I could not relate to in a previous post was the overproduction of saliva. Since I've had this condition I feel like I have chronic dry mouth no matter how much water I drink. It's interesting that extremes of hydration could still manifest the same condition; this suggests that it is not a determining factor. But maybe the water we do drink, regardless of how much, is part of the problem. Some day when I have tons of money, I'd be interested to try drinking alkalized and Ionized Water . I'm pretty ideologically opposed to buying bottled water for the forseeable future.

Peace,
C.S.