Hi all,
Question especially for our nutritionists - a few days ago I started having a problem with dry chapped lips which sometimes even crack and bleed a little bit.. It's never happened to me before even when I travelled in hot and dry countries (am back in the UK at the moment after my travels in Sri Lanka).. I wonder whether it may be anything to do with diet? - I've been trying to cut down on wheat, dairy and sugar in the last couple of weeks (I want to make it a permanent change but am not terribly consistent with it so far) - so could these changes have contributed to the symptom?
Would be grateful for any tips or advice
Thank you
Masha
Lovely to have you back Masha, but sorry to hear you have chapped lips.
Have you by any chance bought a new lipstick? It is possible your lips are reacting to something in a new lipstick/cosmetic.
If not then you could be short of B vitamins, as this is one of the many symptoms of shortage of B vits. They work as a team so taking a full range is the best option. A supplement which contains 50-100mg of each of them (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Biotin) and 500mcg folic acid and B12 for a month or so should help.
I'd also wonder whether you are short of omega oils, particularly O-3 (fish oil) which is needed for the structure of every cell in the body. When short, one of the first places it can show up is one the lips and skin. So a daily supplement of 3000mg quality fish oil might help not just your lips but general skin quality and the rest of your body too.
I'd avoid licking your lips if you can. A salve/lip balm with rather than mineral oil will be more soothing. If it doesn't heal do see the GP as there might be something else going on, eg fungal etc.
Thank you for your comprehensive advice Caroline!
I don't wear lipstick so that couldn't be the issue :), but I'll explore the other possibilities as you suggest.
Many thanks
Masha
You can apply a little bit of butter over the affected areas at night time. This may help you or else try to have more nutritious foods which will reduce your vitamin deficiency.
You can also put some olive oil and honey to your chapped lip, olive oil can hydrate your lip. For an overnight lip treatment, mix a small amount of olive oil and honey together. Honey has been proven to have antibacterial and wound-healing properties, and the olive oil will help to moisturize. Apply the mixture to your lips before you go to bed, and your lips will be soft and smooth in the morning.
Sorry to hear about your sore lips, I also suffer with dry lips alot. All year round.
I'm always applying lip balms, but recently a friend said that can cause dry lips to worsen. Is she right??
Just wonder if anyone had any thoughts on this? Or if this has happened to them after 'over-applying'??
Sorry to hear about your sore lips, I also suffer with dry lips alot. All year round.
I'm always applying lip balms, but recently a friend said that can cause dry lips to worsen. Is she right??
Just wonder if anyone had any thoughts on this? Or if this has happened to them after 'over-applying'??
I'm not sure that lip-balm, if it's a good quality stuff, can cause much damage, but I've also never come across studies about it. As a poster above said, dry lips may indicate vitamin B deficiency. Maybe lip balms with added vitamin B might do some good?
Personally, I've never noticed my lips getting worse after applying lip-balm, but I use a beeswax, avocado oil and peppermint based concoction of my own and it seems to work pretty well on my lips.
Just noticed it's an old thread, oh gosh! 😳