Re: peeling lips (off topic)

I have had exfoliative cheilitis for 9 years now and your description of the onset with the constant trauma of the top layer and your own manupilation to aid the appearance are exactly what I have done over the years. Throughout high school, I always had above-average chapped lips but never peeling. Then my senior year, I developed a nervous habit of picking at them, much like people who bite their nails to deal with anxiety. I, like everyone else, have been to atleast ten Derms. The last that I saw was at the Mayo Clinic. He had successfully treated the disorder with a few patients and others who continue to manage it. After ruling out contact sensitivity, he diagnosed exfoliative cheilitis. He feels that the patients who had the peeling subside had to deal with anxiety in their lives first, then once they were at peace with their situations, the cheilitis completely went away! Interesting huh? This may have been a coincidence, but I have always had some anxiety issues and the Dr felt that I should undergo cognitive behavioral therapy and possible pyschopharmacology to address the underlying anxiety issues which are driving the inflammation.

The Inflammation is obviously what is mediating the peeling. I tried the "leaving them alone" technique about 3 years ago and unfortunately it did nothing. The top layer would come off so easy that it had a negligable affect. Also, I know of someone/exfoliative who had a lip shave done and after the surgery, the lips continued to peel. Based on this, I feel that there are is some biochemistry in our systems that is out of whack that is causing the inflammation only on the lips. Perhaps, once the biochemistry is normalized through either anxiety/behavioral management with or without medications like Luvox, BuSpar, SSRI's like Zoloft, or perhaps later on in life when our bodies stop producing the irregular biochemistry like raging hormones or glands then we will hopefully see the rate of cellular turnover normalize.

I have never let the lips affect my day-to-day activities since this has started when I was 18. It has been more of an annoyance than anything to be overly concerned about because the appearance has always looked relatively normal witht the aid of vasoline and attention. Just recently, my bottom lip has developed a more aged appearance with an increase of fine lines and lateral wrinkles due to the exfoliation over the years, but they still look pretty normal. I plan on pursuing the anxiety management and pyschotherapy with professionals this coming year and will hold hope it will be successful. Tweet