Please Read

To anyone suffering with cheilitis I want you to read this.

Regardless of the cause or type of cheilitis, the symptoms that we attribute to dry and peeling lips is due to an inflammatory response of the tissue of the lips to an often unknown event. That means it is idiopathic in many cases. You have two options, 1) we can treat the tissue of the lips (which often leads to obsessive moisturizing with the hopes that it will miraculously go away). Or 2) we can treat the inflammation. Don't overthink this. Use Occam's razor as inspiration. You can spend years anxiously investigating the 'best' moisturizer but that is a fools journey. As long as you are not allergic to the moisturizer, you do not need to switch to a new one. Beeswax or chopsaver is fine for most people. To address the inflammation itself, the best bet is to find an experienced dermatologist and have them prescribe you a topical steroid. triamcinolone acetonide is a very safe route to go. It is a moderately potent and when applied topically, as opposed to injected or orally, there are few side effects. This is a starting point and for most people can solve the problem in a matter of weeks. For others, it may take a stronger steroid or other intervention. It is important to find a dermatologist that is experienced with this.

Lastly, please don't waste your time worrying about not getting it wet, applying moisturizer all day, etc. If will not go away because you didn't wash your face for a month. Remember that these are symptoms of an underlying inflammation, which is usually idiopathic. Take care of the symptoms but don't go overboard. For most people that do not seek medical treatment it goes away on its own and they falsely attribute it to a special moisturizer. Don't fall for this. That is why there is so much conflicting information on this forum. It's all worthless because everyone's case is unique, but has a common element: inflammation.

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