2ND Week 20/05/16 :



I'm not sure if I am seeing much progress yet but it's nice not to have the lips bleeding/cracking as that top layer of dead skin provides a decent enough barrier provided I leave it on, and I get some elasticity in the mouth.

It has become clear to me just how much damage I did to the inferior part of the lip (that red area). This is where the outer skin stitches in.

3RD WEEK 27/05/16




Difficult week. Some major and unsightly scabbing. The scab on the bottom lip is only holding on at one end and can be folded back. I'm not sure if the redness on the inferior part of the lip is any paler. I would like to hope that the skin is healing back into the mouth along the 'stiching in' line. The lips feel very good despite all this. I cannot smile or laugh properly still but the movement I do get does not cause them to crack/bleed, which is a small bonus.

4TH WEEK 03/06/16

Taken this morning after getting lips slightly wet (after brushing teeth)




The area in the black circle is what my lips look like if I put calendula ointment on them. I've been applying this since monday this week, 2-3 times a day. It works amazingly well at stopping the lips from healing, the trouble is it's just prolonging the healing process.

I had a lot of work this week + wanted to try this ointment out of curiosity - think I may have set my progess back somewhat.

11th WEEK 22/07/16

Ok I worked out I missed 7 updates. Two were because I was away on holiday and the other 5 was because I got sidetracked and stopped updating this. While on holiday I used the calendula ointment which stops the peeling but does not really aid in healing.

For the past 1.5weeks I have been applying steroid ointment 0.5% called Eumovate.

Here is a before and after picture taking in the morning, one before brushing teeth, the other after.





I like to think that some of the vertical lines are developing, a littler deeper.

The yellowing is basically age. Some of the scabs have been on over a week. The middle part of the bottom lip peeled yesterday after the shower which is why it's not yellow.

This ointment is helping in disguising the scabs. I only need to apply it in the evening after brushing, and perhaps in the afternoon if I go out. I'm not sure if I am making progress this.

+ I am applying nothing except the steroid ointment at this time.

//www.curezone.org/ig/i.asp?i=85408

Pictures taken today 24/07/16.

The reason I've taken these is because it feels as though the lines are developing a little more uniformly but there are some strange colours. The vermilion border is a completely different colour and texture to the scabs.

The inner part of the mouth is a lighter pink than in the past. In the past it was more red. I hope this is a good sign. You can see slight decrease in redness comparing the photo taken on friday, but it comes and goes because I think this is the area most sensitive to damage from eating/brushing etc. Very hard to leave completely undisturbed, even rough water can wash it off. I'm trying to make more of an effort to smother this area with ointment.. which is hard because more steroid gets inside the mouth and the taste is horrible.. clings to the back of my tonsils.

The black spot is a bit of pepper embedded in the skin and the yellow parts are older more mature scabs/areas I didn't quite manage to keep moist enough/natural build up. Still impossible for me to say if there is actual progress.

12TH WEEK 29/07/16

I took the pictures on Friday but I'm uploading today as didn't have internet the last few days.

This was taken earlier morning before bushing teeth. They always look better before water contacts them. Again, I can't say whether there has been real improvement yet. I stopped using the steroid cream because it was making the lips look weird and I don't think it was really helping except by keeping dead skin on the lips.

FRIDAY 5/08/16 - NO UPDATE



FRIDAY 12/08/16 - Two weeks on I've stopped using the toothpaste both last week and this week. I am using just brushing action with cold water and nothing else. I came across this link :

https://healdove.com/oral-health/Bitten-Tongue-Lip

Number 8 is really interesting to me because in the past hot food or spicey food has had an irritation effect on the inside of the lips. I think this is the area that is so so delicate and needs to really be left alone, but it's constantly irritated by food and water and everything else. I already avoid having hot water on the lips in the shower. If I do allow even a small amount of hot water on them the skin will come off and another peeling cycle starts. From now on I won't be eating hot or spicey food. Whatever I do eat I'll leave to cool before eating.

Looking back at the pictures the lips look best with the steroid but they also look strange and the lines do not line up from inside to outside.

Maybe I've damaged my lips so badly they will never heal, maybe the skin will never stay on now.

I still use aquaphor occasionally but really I'm finding emollients seem to just reduce the peeling cycle. The same thing that is going to happen anyway just takes longer to happen. It's so so difficult to stop that damaged inner bit of the mouth to stop from going red. Toothpaste removed the skin instantly which is why I had to stop it until I'm healed.

FRIDAY 12/08/16 - NO UPDATE

FRIDAY 19/08/16 - NO UPDATE

FRIDAY 26/08/16 - OK so I was away travelling since the 12th and got back on the 23rd.

I have started using a different toothpaste - a flavourless toothpaste. I can reveal the product is called OraNurse, (brushing with no toothpaste was just horrible and my mouth tasted awful)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oranurse-3659273-50ml-Unflavoured-Toothpaste/dp/B0085AOSU0/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1472228222&sr=8-1&keywords=oranurse

I've noticed that I no longer get redness after brushing with toothpaste. See pictures. It's no longer there, and the worst of the peeling always occured after the redness. I actually contacted the manufacturer of this paste and they were kind enough to send me free samples and so far so good.

In theory the lip biting may have opened the wound up to irrtation from harsher toothpastes, OR the other toothpastes were causing the red area to irritate which was causing the EC. I honestly can't say which theory I am more convinced by.

These are the latest pictures :




I feel this is undeniable progress. I must mention that I use this product:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Napiers-Organic-Calendula-Nipple-Ointment/dp/B00C3VXLFU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472227660&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=calendula+nipple+ointment&psc=1

If you check earlier in the blog you can see I have been using this product, but I think eliminating the toothpaste and using this has helped speed the healing the most. I don't think it really matters which emollient you use because I think for some of us here the toothpaste is the source of irritation, BUT to speed things along a good emollient will help, especially with some of us having years of EC. I think some are better than others from experience. I no longer use aquaphor because it's slimey and difficult to apply, and the huge tub I have of it is difficult to carry, especially when you are in public. The calendula can be applied with a little finger and I keep it in my pocket which allows the ointment to go a little greasy in the pot from the heat off my leg, which makes it easier to apply. I was carrying around a mirror when I travelled to keep check of things.

I have to say, and I can't say this enough, the biggest improvement has come from no longer using the original toothpaste I was using. The OraNurse has very few ingredients by comparison but is DOES have fluoride. I think in my case the fluoride is not causing any kind of irritation to my lips because they are not redn anymore on that inner part of the lips!!! Something common within ALLL the other toothpastes I've used over the course of my lip have been the culprit in my EC.

The redness did not go immediately, it's taken at least 3-4 weeks for it to go slightly lighter pink in colour and the lips are still peeling but there is ( I can't quite describe this in words) a difference how they peel. The skin still goes white in contact with water but the skin is more stubborn to remove. I've also made a thing of applying the calendula ointment right inside that red area into the mouth just to give it the best protection I can. I don't apply it over night because I think the body heals best on it's own. I only apply it after brushing teeth in the morning and then throughout the day, after eating etc. I think there are still many weeks of healing left, but I feel this is definitive improvement and I am so happy about it. Could the travel/walking/hiking/being in the outdoors/in the sun have helped? Potentially yes, but I think the key here is stopping using the toothpaste, and I would urge anyone reading this to assess their toothpaste and see if they can find a flavourless one because this may be the golden ticket for some of us. Mint is a common irritant to a lot of people, and low and behold spearmint has been in every toothpaste I've ever used up until now!!

I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel now. More updates to come.

FRIDAY 02/09/16 -


Ok these were mostly taken yesterday.

The lips are still improving. All of these were taken without any product on the lips.
There is still a little build up and still some minor tightness. I am still not licking my lips, I haven't been licking my lips throughout this entire process.

I think the close up photos help me notice changes more than looking at them in the mirror.
The photo of the underside of the upper lip gives an example of how the redness once was and that it's still not completely gone. Consider that this area was exposed to a contact irritation + biting/ripping in excess of 20 years it is no wonder that they have not completely healed yet.

I have almost all the elasticity back in my mouth now. It does not cut or rip the lips to have my mouth open wide.