How long have you been using it for and is it helping?

MikePylon,

Have you stopped taking the antibiotic?

I thought I remember you saying that you were only taking it for a week?

Anyways glad to here your lips are getting better. I think that the fact that your lips are turning back to a normal color is key. Although I guess thats kind of to be expected since your using a steroid. I cant even remember whether it had that effect on my lips though. But its great that your seeing progress.

Keep us updated.

I posted this information that was listed in an article. A doctor has treated EC patients with the following drugs. You might want to look up these drugs to see what they are since they worked for EC patients. However, it did not state how long the patients needed to use the drugs.

Effective treatments:
-triamcinolone acetonide
ointment (scaly white lesions)
-metotrexate (desquamation)
-fluticasone propionate
0.005% ointment (fissuring and cracking)
-mometasone fuorate 0.1%
ointment (scaling and cracking)
-mometasone fuorate 0.1% ointment and calcipotriene (scaling and cracking)

Noneffective treatments:
-vitamin D3 ointment
-vitamin A derivates and topical steroids

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*I looked some of the drugs up.

Triamcinolone acetonide is a synthetic corticosteroid used to treat various skin conditions, relieve the discomfort of mouth sores and in nasal spray form as an over-the-counter relief for allergic and perennial allergic rhinitis. It is a more potent derivative of triamcinolone, being about 8 times as potent as prednisone.

Methotrexate may cause very serious side effects. Some side effects of methotrexate may cause death. You should only take methotrexate to treat life-threatening cancer, or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications.

Fluticasone propionate is a corticosteroid derived from fluticasone used to treat asthma and allergic rhinitis (hay fever).

Mometasone furoate is a glucocorticosteroid used topically to reduce inflammation of the skin or in the airways.

Calcipotriene is used to treat Psoriasis (a skin disease in which red, scaly patches form due to increased production of skin cells on some areas of the body). Calcipotriene is in a class of medications called synthetic vitamin D3 derivatives. It works by slowing the excessive production of skin cells.

Weeks to months is a lot longer than most doctors prescribe steroids for, but perhaps that is what is needed. Lower potency at a longer term as opposed to a higher potency/short term. I've seen more of doctor Rockloff's posts and he claims most of his patients EC have resolved.

I've been applying the steroid directly after having a bath in the morning, I usually let the lips soak for a bit without exfoliating any of the skin and creating any more irritation/inflammation, and when I get out and the lips are the softest, I pat dry to get the excess water off with a fresh towel and apply the ointment (a very thin layer) for the deepest penetration. Let it sit for at least a half hour before I eat. Or I'll just soak them at random during the day and apply the ointment. I feel it's really been helping bring inflammation down. The lower inflammation has been (I have redness not really swelling) the less peeling has been.