Hi everyone

Sorry this part 2 has been a few days coming. It is school holidays here and when you have 3 young kids (including a 7 month old baby), it does not leave you with a lot of spare time.

Anyway, thanks to the people who replied to part 1.

Firstly, to get the fact that someone else did a stool test (although not from the same laboratory as mine) and produced no Staph bacteria or yeast. I emailed 'Doctors Data' (the place that did my stool test) and asked them if it were possible that if I had gone through a different laboratory for my stool test, I might have got a different result to the one they produced. They replied:
"It is difficult to say if the other laboratory would generate the same results as our laboratory, unless they were using the same protocol and equipment to test the samples as our laboratory does." So while this statement does not prove anything, I think it does leave open a least a possibility that if that person had done the test through 'Doctors Data' they may have got a result more closer to mine? Therefore I think it is reasonable at this stage that we do not rule imbalanced bacteria out as a cause. Also I think that the key thing here is IMBALANCED bacteria. Just because that person do not have Staph, prehaps they had a different kind of bad bacteria that is causing the problem that was not tested/identified in their test.

Also, I now think it is likely that prehaps yeast is less of a factor in our condition. Thanks to the people who researched about yeast.

Although getting back to 'bad' bacterial overgrowth, remember there was a post a while back from a person who said their kids developed the condition after getting a 'severe' case of food poisoning from some kind of seafood. (I think it was shellfish but I can't remember exactly). Food poisoning involves bacteria. Perhaps this 'severe' case of food poisoning was the reason they developed the lip condition. I know lots of people get food poisoning and don't develop this condition, however prehaps those kids already had quite considerable gut bacterial imbalances due to other factors before they got the poisoning and so this was enough to tip the balance futher when they got infected. Also didn't Kiran mention something about getting really sick after eating oysters or something? Kiran, if you are reading this, was this before or after you got the lip condition? Perhpas many of us have unknowingly got food poisoning, but just thought it was a general tummy bug? Also I once read on another lip forum website about a person who said they felt their condition was due to being on Antibiotics long term. Antibiotics will kill good bacteria making imbalances more likely. This person began taking mega doses of probiotics (the good bacteria) supplements and said they began to improve the more they took them. Unfortunately they did not post any more messages but their last message was definately positive. I myself have just finished a bottle of probiotic supplements and think they are definately helping as I have again noticed improvements.

I don't know if it is just me but does anyone else get sort of gurgling or rumbling noises coming from your gut particularly at night? I used to think this was just normal, but now I think it is the sound of all the excessive fermentation going on in the colon. There has to be a considerable amount of gas 'air' to make those sounds. My husband can hear the noises too and he usually does not have any of those sounds, only very occassionally will he have some noise but it is usually only very brief.

I mentioned these 'gut noises' and associated discomfort I experience to my gastroenterologist. I also showed him the stool test results. He said that staph act particularly on short-chain fermentable carbohydrates like bread, fruits and sugars etc. His comments here also support Andreas Moritz diagnosis about the fermentation of these foods. He said it would probably not be a good idea to kill the bacteria with Antibiotics because of the fact that the good bacteria would also die. He suggested that I should try a certain diet called the 'FODMAPS' diet. This is a diet which restricts these short-chain fermentable carbohydrates. The main things you need to avoid on this diet is wheat (so no wheat based breads), apples and pears, onions, brussel sprouts, too much fruit juice, dried fruit or honey. There are other foods but these are some of the main ones. I am not following it exactly but have cut out breads (although I am eating rice bread and rye bread) and fruits. I have to say that I have noticed a reduction in the gurgling noises and my lips do seem to slowly be improving. You could probably find out more about the 'FODMAPS' diet if you did a internet search on this.

One intereting thing in the information the dietitian gave me about this diet was that it mentions this word 'osmotic.' It talks about a compound called Fructose which is in these fermentable carbohydrates. It says "Faliure to absorb the frucose in the small intestine leads to it's moving on to the colon, together with water due to its osmotic effect. Fructose in the colonic lumen is fermented to produce gases (bloating), and fatty acids which may have a laxative effect."
When I looked up this word 'osmotic' it comes from the word 'osmosis.' The definition of 'osmosis' in my dictionary is "The diffusion of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane in such a manner as to equalize the solution concentration on both sides of the membrane." Another dictionary said "diffusion through any membrane or porous barrier." Now I am no scientist and this may have nothing to do with it, but I thought it was interesting how I thought that the irriation might be penetrating through the mouth to the lips (prehaps the lips could be considered to be the 'other side of the membrane' and as Andreas says 'the outer lining of the intestines' in this respect).

Sorry guys but there is going to have to be a part 3 as I can hear my baby crying.
Again as soon as I have time I will continue.

Stay positive everyone.
Bye for now