So let me share my experience with all of ya. Before you continue reading let me tell you that I'm not still completely cured, but I'm 100% sure that in past 15 days I have made huge progress, which is going to be shown in pictures which I have.
I believe that I have this lip condition, for few years probably, but it started really bothering me in past year jun or july. I started investigation, so I found name of condition and this site. After I saw so many posts about this, and so few people who actually cured it, I became little depressive. My social life started to break appart, all I saw on my face were my f***ed up lips. I started to plan my activities according to my peel cycles. Nightmare.
Lips peeled on 2,3 or 4 days cycles. Crusting, air pockets below crust. I tried stuff as leaving them alone, putting honey on them, homemade calendula oil etc etc. I don't even know anymore what I tried. Went to doctor, and she gave Eucerin lip repair, but didn't help at all.
And then, few months ago, I said to myself "F*ck this shit, I give up, I'm just going to bite them and not let them to build up too much. I stopped putting balms on lips 7-8 month ago because they didn't really make much difference.
At begining of last month my throat started aching.Next day it got even worse, then it spread to nose and sinuses and also went down in trachea. Time to visit doctor. I've got prescribed Antibiotics , vitamin c, nose drops(whatever you call them), and probiotics. I took everything and after 7 days respiratory infection was gone. My lips din't get better at any moment during treatment but I thought that it could be linked somehow with my future lip healing.
After circa 10 days I decided to buy lip balm. I bit my lips, peeled them but not so thoroughly, and applied balm. Didn't notice anything at first, expected peel cycles.
Second day lips were good like at every 2nd day of peeling.
Third day I washed my face and noticed that white gunk. I never tried to take it off before, but now I did.
4th day I got same soft gunk and took it off again with my towel.
5th day it didn't appear by itself after face wash because lip skin got harder like always near the end of cycle. So I took toilet paper, soaked it with hot water and then put it between two lips and then let it sit there for 30sec-1min. Took it of, and I see white gunk again. Towel for removing, applying lip balm.
6th day I noticed my lips are less inflamed, and took toilet paper and soaked my lips 3 times through day. After every soaking, even if there wa no gunk I would wipe them with towel.
7th day same
8th also same, and I noticed that my lips didn't actually peel for more than week. I came to conclusion that it's because I didn't let hard crust to form by doing what I did. I was happy because finally after more than year I learned how to CONTROL this condition.
9th, 10th, 11th did all the same and noticed that gunk appears less and less often, and that lip skin is actually healing from bottom towards upward.
12th 13th 14 TODAY Doing all the same still no real peeling, only gunk here and there on upper quarter of bottom lip.
At this moment I could dare to say that more than half of my EC area on bottom lip is healed, cured, call it however you want. Upper lip is ok, even when I had worst moments with EC only really small triangle on middle was crusted. Now it's totally fine.
So only upper one upper quarter or third is now mildly affected with EC, and is getting better with every day.
Just to mention that healed are is starting to form those tiny skin shallow micro-lines or micro-furrows which are noticed on normal parts of lip, and it probably means that new skin is better connected to deeper layers than EC one. And there are no more those air pocket in healed area, and skin is soft and tender, not raw, just perfectly tender.
I hope that I will make it to end.
I don't know if taking Antibiotics and probiotics have to do anyhing with healing but I will give you names of all products I used when I was sick, in case that you want to try that combo too.
Antibiotics : Fromilid 500mg which is product by croatian or slovenian(not sure) KRKA. Took it twice a day. You can also search for it by generic name "Clarithromycim"
PROBIOTICS: Protecflor, took it once a day.
VITAMIN C, doesnt really matter which one.
NOSE DROPS: Operil or Oxymetazoline 0.05%, took it when needed
ACETYL-CYSTEINE 200mg, for clearing throat mucus
10 days after beating cold, I started my "treatment" for Exfoliative Cheilitis. Method is as I already said:
*SOAK LIPS WITH WET WARM TOILET PAPER FOR 30-60SEC PERIOD.
*NO MATTER IF WHITE GUNK APPEARS, RUB LIPS WITH TOWEL FROM LIP CORNERS TO MIDDLE.
*APPLY SMALL AMOUNT OF LIP BALM BY TAPING OR GENTLY RUBBING.
*REPEAT THIS 3 TIMES A DAY, YOU CAN USE BALM MORE TIMES IF YOU FEEL NEED.
That's it, you can eat everything, do everything as I did. I hope this will also help you guys. I will tell you more about my progress as time goes.
Almost forgot to insert pictures...
This one I took year ago and I saved it in case I ever heal, so I can share it with you guys.
And this is picture I took today:
And yeah, the lip balm is "labello for men avtive care"
Sorry for long post and if you have questions feel free to ask.
Greets, have faith people!