Re: New doctor says its contact dermatitis

I did the whole mouthwash/toothpaste avoidance thing for several months. It didn't work for me. In fact the baking soda I used to clean my teeth was actually more harsh and damaging to my lips than toothpaste. I went back to using toothpaste, but I switched to one that is flavor free (mint free), SLS free, fluoride free.
Here's the one I use. It's pricey, but I think worth it. It's gentle, and doesn't irritate my lips.
http://www.amazon.com/Squigle-Tooth-Builder-Sensitive-Toothpaste/dp/B00206DXQ0


Most doctors take one look and tell you it's contact dermatitis or allergic dermatitis. But I finally found a good doctor who would take me seriously, and she's diagnosed it as Exfoliative Cheilitis of Stelwagen. And she says it's a varient of psoriasis. I looked up Psoriasis, and found that it is an auto immune disease that causes thick scales to form on the skin. There are many triggers that cause the skin to start scaling, and they include allergic reaction and physical trauma (biting, picking), etc. But once it's triggered, it just keeps building thick scales. And stopping the cycle is difficult. Sound familiar? And also on the Psoriasis website, it recommended a diet that seems to help Psoriasis patients, and it sounds remarkably similar to the one MontrealHomeGrown recommends on his exfoliativechelitishelp.com website.

But of course, we aren't all necessarily suffering from the same disease. I've seen several people on this forum who've posted pictures that I thought looked more like a case of dry lips. At least, they are no where remotely close to the severity of disease on myself. Tweet