Also, try to confirm if what you have in the corner of your lips isn't angular cheilitis. Look for images of that on a search engine, or check out wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angular_cheilitis
Some may consider the condition of exfoliative cheiltis in its chronic form to be a blessing, as it helps put things in perspective and forces us to pay attention to our body's messages and take better care of ourselves. However, I think most would view it as a curse, for obvious reasons. I'm on the fence about that -- could it be both?