Re: peeling lips (off topic)

hello everyone.

At the moment i am trying to understand my condition in the hope of getting rid of it when i do.
I have been suffering from exfoliative cheilitis for 4 years .
I'm pretty sure the reason it all started was due to two main contributing factors.
It was during the winter time that i first noticed that my lips had become quite chapped but had experienced this before and put it down to the cold weather and expected it to pass.
I was working nights and to make up for the lack of daylight i was getting i used a sunbed a few times.This i have since been told can cause the thin, delicate skin on the lips to peel.
I was told by a friend that a good way to remove the dead skin from chapped lips was to use a toothbrush and brush it off with water.This i fear was a big mistake!
My lips got worse.Instead of using lipbalm in order to protect my lips i used to lick and suck them alot and got into the habit of picking them as this appeared to make them look "better".
My thinking was that a slightly raw lip looked better than one with rough,cracked skin on.
I have since been to 4 different dematoligists all of which have had conflicting and contradictive oppinions on what exfoliatve cheilitis is and what the causes are.
They have,i must say, offered no practical advice on how to get rid of it, if this is at all possible.

The reason that i am writing this message is that i have
developed two possible reasons why this is happening and would love to hear your oppinions on them. Please don't be polite,if you think either one is floored for any reason, say so.

1.Exfoliative cheilitis: a type of exema.
When my lips first became chapped i rubbed them and picked them so much that i damaged the protective layer of skin on them and as a result they became hypersensitive to one or several substances i come into contact with on a regular or daily basis.
This could be anything from food or cutlary to smaller stuff in the atmosphere like pollen or exhaust fumes.

2.Exfoliative cheilitis: Damaged skin that didn't get the chance to heel.(my personal favourite-Possibly linked to underlying anxiety issues).
I have damaged the skin on my lips and never let them heal.
What if the dry peeling skin on my lips is the beggining of a scab.
The skin on my lips becomes thicker and thicker over the course of a few days until it gets to a point where it becomes so ugly looking and generally uncomfortable that i apply a load of vaseline and after a few moments wash all the dead skin off in the shower with ease.
What if i left them alone?Perhaps the dead skin would form a scab if left long enough and eventually healthy skin would be able to grow underneath.
The reason i haven't had the chance to try this out is because i have to work and would need to take potentially alot of time off in order to see it through,(something i have planned for the new year).
Imagine if i cut my leg and instead of letting a scab do what it is there to do i kept removing it.I'm sure the same type of reaction would occur.
Is Applying lubricants to help me manage the day to day problems that cheilitis causes, preventing me from finding a longer term solution?

I know we could all be suffering different types of cheilitis for different reasons but What do you lot think?

thanks for listening.