if this cures one person, I'll be happy

Hello all, this is my first AND last post on this forum. I feel obligated to share this information with anyone who is struggling with "peeling lips". Mine started about a year ago. It was hard to pinpoint the cause as I switched toothpastes from Colgate total to rembrandt for canker sores, started using a variety of Acne products (some prescribed and some not) and also introduced a weight gain shake into my diet. Anyway, my issue started in the winter of last year. I'm prone to chapped lips, but usually applying aquaphor at night solves the problem. This time, however, it did not. I noticed that the first thing to peel off was the center of my upper lip. I thought it would heal, but it didn't and I now have a slight scar there. For a year I tried different changes in my hygiene products as well as steroids and anti-fungals prescribed by my doctor to fix the problem. My symptoms pointed to EC (lips peeled off ever 3-4 days, felt irritated, and turned white when contacting liquid. I could see a notable color contrast between the outside vermilion border and the inside of my mouth also). I had to drink through a straw, watch what touched my mouth, and avoid kissing (I was self conscious). Anyway, like many of you, I fell into a rut. I was very upset for a long time. For the hell of it, I decided to switch toothpastes again about a week and a half ago. I'd tried this before by switching from the rembrandt back to the colgate (Rembrandt has no SLS actually) but nothing changed. This time, I switched to Tom's of Maine FLUORIDE FREE TOOTHPASTE. The cycle was much different this time. First, I noticed the irritated feeling (burning/tingling) was gone. They peeled like normal initially, but then THEY SLOWED DOWN. I decided to leave them alone while I continued to use Dr. Dan's cortibalm and topicort and they peeled much slower from the inside out, but with healthy skin underneath! It's soft, supple, and NORMAL. I know some of you have tried something similar to this to no avail, and I apologize if I wasted your time, but I think there are A LOT of people on here like me, who might not actually have EC, but exhibit VERY similar symptoms. I can't be positive that fluoride was the main culprit, but both the colgate and Rembrandt have it, while the Tom's does not. To all of you living with this condition, my heart goes out to you, and I hope this helps. Tweet