Hello John, I have been a long time browser of this forum but I have never made an account until now. I have suffered from this for around 4 years and like many others it has destroyed my social life. I constantly need to come up with new excuses to avoid going out with friends because of how my lips look. I have tried everything possible on my lips and I truly believe, for me at least, that creams and ointments are not the answer. I'm considering the three day Water Fast to see if it is some sort of allergy or food related intolerance. I also had Acne around 2 years ago as well as this piece of shit lip condition. I basically had to make a choice: have ec and Acne or potentially worse ec and no acne. I decided to go on Roaccutane for 16 weeks which cleared my acne. My lips were red as hell for the duration which was horrible. Today my lips are just really red and dry constantly, i cant go anywhere without putting anything on them. I dont use aquaphor because of how shiny it makes my lips look. I feel the shiny look of the aquaphor adds to the anxiety and embarrassment so I try use chapsticks only as they dont appear as shiny. Do you have any dental fillings? I was considering getting a patch test done to see if I am allergic to the metal in the filling materials.