Exfoliative Cheilitis or Actinic cheilitis?

most of you on this forum (like myself) assume they just have "ec" but i came across Actinic cheilitis and realized thats most probably what i am suffering from. its like ec but cause by SUN DAMAGE. this would make perfect sense seeing as i have been burnt countless times.

"Actinic cheilitis (also known as "Actinic cheilosis"[1]) is a form of cheilitis which is the counterpart of actinic keratosis of the skin and can develop into squamous cell carcinoma. In actinic cheilitis, there is thickening whitish discoloration of the lip at the border of the lip and skin. There is also a loss of the usually sharp border between the red of the lip and the normal skin, known as the vermillion border. The lip may become scaly and indurated as actinic cheilitis progresses. The lesion is usually painless, persistent, more common in older males, and more common in individuals with a light complexion with a history of chronic sun exposure."

once you start looking at treatment from ACTINIC chilitis instead of the medically baffling "exfoliative" chilitis you begin to see more treatments which (to me at least) dont seem to so popular amount those ec sufferes. for example:

"Imiquimod (Aldara) is an immune response modifier that has been studied for the treatment of actinic cheilitis. It promotes an immune response in the skin leading to apoptosis (death) of the tumor cells. It causes the epidermis to be invaded by macrophages (mostly neutrophils), which leads to epidermal erosion. T-cells are also activated as a result of imiquimod treatment. Imiquimod appears to promote an “immune memory” that reduces the recurrence of lesions. There is minimal scarring."

and

"A newer procedure uses a carbon dioxide laser to ablate the vermillion border. This treatment is relatively quick and easy to perform, but it requires a skilled operator. Anesthesia is usually required. Secondary infection and scarring can occur with laser ablation. In most cases, the scar is minimal, and responds well to steroids. Pain can be a progressive problem during the healing phase, which can last three weeks or more. However, the carbon dioxide laser also offers a very high success rate, with very few recurrences."

i think anyone in desperate need of a cure, like i am, should look into an illness more accepted in the medical world, known as Actinic cheilitis, because symptoms are almost identical and i have a feeling any treatment that would cure extreme cases of ac would do the same for ec.

-ryan