Rash around mouth (Page 3)

I have similar problem with you guys. my first outbreak was with sunscreen. I developed this rash around my mouth but everywhere else was fine.

i just use Lucas' paw paw ointment (australian product) and within 3 days it healed and gone by the 7th day.
perfume or alcohol in cosmetics gives me rash too so I just use natural skin care products.

when I feel a slight itch on my skin caused by whatever I just put on the pawpaw ointment on that area. also I am allergic to all lipgloss and lipstick under the sun, so I only use pawpaw ointment as a lip balm

Lucas' paw paw ointmenthas potassium sorbate 0.1 mg/g as preservative

I'm so glad I found this forum. I've been embarrassed by my red rash and cracked mouth corners and expected only to hear from a Dr that I have the herpes that causes coldsores. Well, my lifestyle for the past nine yrs has been beyond monkish and quite isolated as well so I could only have contracted this if someone used a beverage container of mine without my knowledge (not very likely). This rash appeared on me when I started working graveyard shifts full-time. How do I stay awake all night all week? Coffee and tea, both with sugar, and plenty of junk food. I also go through a lot of toiletries since I have a permanent overnight bag now, meaning I've bought a variety of lip balms and travel-size toothpastes that I hadn't tried before. I suspect I'm dealing with candida or fungus on top of a susceptibility to Eczema. My caffeine and sugar intake has been shameful since I started this shift and I continuously pile cremes, balms, and cosmetics to the affected area which definitely makes it worse. I don't know why I thought it was coldsores, but I hadn't heard of anyone having these problems until I read this forum. Thank-you for making me think more thoroughly about my health and for all of your experiences and advice!

After starting to get a rash around my mouth that resembled dry pimples, feeling like sand paper to the touch, I was concerned. I had never had acne before and now being in my early 30's I couldn't figure out what I had changed or what I was doing differently to cause this sudden skin change that seemed to get better or worse on any given day. Doing what my doctor always tells me not to: I started a search online to get ideas of what might be causing my rash. I quickly came across this site and read all three pages of testimonials, and it seemed most, but not all, described similar descriptions of the type of rash they were experiencing, and similar to mine.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any final, difinitive conclusion as to what the cause of the rash was. That said, I took into account all the posts and really started looking at all the products I was using. I was convinced it was an allergic reaction of some sort. Since people had mentioned toothpaste as a cause, I looked at mine. It seemed like the first thing to focus on since this rash seemed to be centralized around my mouth. Of course it contained SLS, which many suggested was the problem, but I haven't had a problem before and all the toothpastes I've used had SLS in them. So, while I was at the pharmacy I took a tube of Colgate Total (the toothpaste I am currently using) and compared the ingredients list to other brands... what was in it that wasn't in other toothpastes I've used before? The answer: Triclosan.

I asked my pharmacist about it and she told me she was doubtfull it was the cause of my rash as it was a common ingredient found in many antibacterial soaps. I listene to what she had to say, but I definitely wasn't convinced, in fact, her reasoning made me suspect Triclosan even more. Having sensitive skin, I usually steer clear of antibacterial products as I find them very drying. Furthermore, I don't like the fact that antibacterial soaps kill the bad bacteria along with the good bacteria that exists naturally in our bodies.

So, what is Triclosan? Triclosan is a synthetic, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent with some antifungal and antiviral properties.
There is evidence that triclosan causes photoallergic contact dermatitis (PACD).
This can occur when skin exposed to triclosan is also exposed to sunlight.
PACD symptoms include an eczema rash on sun-exposed areas such as the face, neck, back of the hands, and arms. ... sound familiar??!

If you look up Triclosan online, you will find lots of articles about the greater harm than good this product is causing humans, our water and environment. It has been up for review numerous times by the FDA and numerous studies have shown the adverse effects it has on humans, but its still being widely used.

So, what if you're not using Colgate Total or antibacterial soap? Well, it is present in many products that are marketed as antibacterial, but also in others that you wouldn't necessarily buy because you wanted an antibacterial product. In fact, it is used in over 5,000 common personal care products including toothpastes, cosmetics, deodorants, shaving gels, and ~50% of all commercial soaps. For example, facewash soaps (especially anti blemish types).

Wouldn't it be interesting if a large number of people reading this forum realized the face soap they were using contained triclosan??!!

It isn't just in soaps though, it is marketed under the trade name Microban® when used in plastics and clothing, and Biofresh® when used in acrylic fibers.

The list of products that contain triclosan is extensive but not limited to what is listed in this article (jump to p4): http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides /factsheets/Triclosan%20cited.pdf

My sister and I both have the rash and that is why we looked to see if we both were using products with triclosan... As I mentioned I'm using Colgate Total and she uses a cosmetics brush cleaner and a lip gloss that both contain triclosan. So, it is not difinitive yet, but since nobody mentioned triclosan yet, I'm putting it out there.

As of tonight I will be using non-triclosan products and if my rash clears in the next few days, I will definitely come back to share the good news!
Good luck everyone!

I have been dealing with similar symptoms as mentioned in this thread. I went to the beach this summer and it completely healed up in just one day of swimming in the ocean.

Lately, I will take a bit of kosher salt and warm water and apply it to my lips with a cotton pad. It stings a lot for about 3 minutes and then it feels really normal and good for a long while. This might help some of you that want to use a steroid cream. I have tried that and it does help at first but then there is no real long term improvement.

I am going to check on the several things mentioned here. I use a lot of all natural products and I know several of them do have beeswax.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I'll post back if I have some success with the many suggestions.

I'm 15 years old and I have had this redness around my mouth for about 4 months , the redness is just on the corners of my mouth and go alittle outward, also it would get flaky and extremely red and inflamed when it got irritated. I went to the doctor she told me stop licking my lips and it's due to cold weather , I don't believe that . I do not lick my lips. It went away for about a month and now today it has come back. I think it's due to the fact that I stopped using all natual toothpaste but I'm not sure .

I had what you all are experiencing; my lips were dry, cracked, and red around the corners. I know how you all feel, it's so embarrassing to go out in public looking like a clown or like you can't put on lipstick, plus it's a horrible feeling not to be able to smile or eat a sandwich. But anyway, I did a lot of research and I think I had/have what is called Angular Cheilitis. It's a fungus or bacteria, something gross and living that causes discomfort (apparently it's the same fungus that you get when you get a yeast infection you-know-where) and the dryness and redness. I was seriously at my breaking point. For 5 months I desperately tried to make it better, slabbing on vaseline, neosporin, and olive oil; but everyday I'd wake up and it'd be no different. I thought the mositure would help it heal, as that is common knowledge. However, after thinking about it, I realized that I need to kill the bacteria/fungi. By putting all this crap on it, I wa actually keeping it alive (or that's my crazy thinking). So yesterday afternoon I decided I wouldn't touch it. Let it dry out and not let ANY moisture get in, and hopefully kill it. I didn't even take a shower last night (disgusting, I know, but I was willing to do anything). Even after a few hours yesterday the redness had subsided and I looked a lot better, althogh the dryness was very uncomfortable, I stuck with it. The next day (this morning) I looked at myself in the mirror and there was a mess of dead, peeling skin around my mouth. I peeled the extra dry/dead ones off with tweezers- and underneath was my old, beautiful skin. Now, as of 3:42 pm, they have not all healed, but the rest have that like skin scab kind of thing. So I really recommend you to try it! Do nothing to your mouth, don't put anything on it. Oh, but make sure to drink a lot of water during this process, I think that drinking internally will keep your lips from getting too dry on the inside.

I am a 17 year old female, if that matters. And I really hope this helps! And I hope that tomorrow (or sooner) my skin will be perfectly clear!

marisacamille, you are a very bright young lady! This makes perfect sense. The microbes (yeast, fungus, bacteria, whatever) apparently need water, so it dries your skin out so the victim keeps it moist!

I saw your post only a couple of hours after you posted it. That day, I'd gotten the most "dude, what is wrong with your face" looks I'd ever gotten. Weeks of anti-fungal creams and subjecting my face to anti-microbial gel (yes, it does sting) did nothing to help, although it probably helped preventing it spreading.

The evening I stopped rubbing water on my lips to relieve the discomfort, the redness started to fade. The next morning it had faded further. Two days later, some skin started to peel, so I helped it with tweezers. I had redness from each corner of my mouth and a thick strip below my bottom lip connecting the areas. The top lip had no redness, but it was definitely affected. The skin was as dry around my upper lip as the lower lip. It was the top lip where the peeling started first. When I used my fingers to stretch my upper lip, my lip came free from the layer of dead skin. Even though the skin below my bottom lip was not ready to come off, I pulled it off anyway. It's still red, but not uniformly so. It could be a result of the skin not being ready to be exposed yet. There are some areas with normal skin color.

Even if this does not completely fix it in one go. It has certainly put the fungus on the run. It feels great to be able to really feel my lips again, and I'll be able to get my gobber around a sandwich again. I hope I can keep it from re-infecting.

I'd recommend to anyone reading this to give it a try. A weekend might be a good time to try it, because it does get a little ugly and uncomfortable. Stop watering your fungus! If nothing else, withholding water did, in fact, make the redness much less noticeable, so that alone is helpful.

I'll post again with an update after a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, my case may be a little too far gone. I doubt it's an allergy. I don't know if I have a fungal or bacterial infection. When I let my skin dry, the redness around my lips definitely subsides, but cracking at the corners is inevitable. The skin is very brittle and uncomfortable until you peel it off. When the cracking and discomfort gets to be too much, I soak my skin in warm water (the only way to restore flexibility around my mouth) and then cover it with Neosporin and Vaseline. All the while I used alcohol-based gel antimicrobial, which seemed to put the bug at bay. So, in the end I had a choice between clown lips or cracked lips.

I recently started using Betadine several times a day, and the redness has around my lips has subsided for the most part, but the skin around my mouth is now stiff and fragile. Like a lot of this stuff, Betadine is not to be used for extended periods. Along with this I have a rash all over my face (mostly where a beard would be) that started looking like a mountain range of very bad acne but was subdued with a lot of anti-microbial gel. I've been waiting for the after effects to exfoliate, but this has yet to happen. I have a doctor appointment soon.

My daughter works in a doctors office - just a suggestion as I have the same problem.
Calmoseptine Ointment.

Doctors offices usually have samples in their office. Good Luck!!

Time for me to give back. I am so thankful for the insight that I recieved from this post.

First off, everyone wants to know what the solution was first. So the quick answer for me was...Gluten! But with that comes other things I had to give up but I will get to that.

Almost 10 months ago it was summer time. Me and my family had just bought a new house that had a pool. We were having lots of backyard pool parties complete with bbq's and lots of drinking. Eventually i developed painfully chapped lips and cracking at the edges of my mouth. No amount of chapstick or special lip balms helped the cracking. After months of this, it spread around my mouth. Redness and the painful irritation finally drove me to see my doctor. By now the rash had a yellowy tinge to it so he thought it was a fungus and prescribed Extina. I used that till the yellow went away but the redness did not.
So, a few months after that, I took a trip to the dermatologist. He ultimately could not guess at the cause and tried to prescribe some steroid cream. I didnt even fill that prescription.
Months after that I went to the allergist. She was convinced that, since i had a history of eczema, the cause of all my problems was allergens in the air. And although she was mostly wrong, this was the point of my first breakthrough. She did all the allergy tests and all that came up was the usual (im allergic to mold and tree pollen blah blah) BUT to help everything calm down she prescribe Prednisone for a week. This allowed everything to calm down and the whole thing went away! What happened after this was that I ate something that caused the rash to break out again and that's when I remember I had read here that someone blamed gluten.
At that point I slowly started do get an elimination diet going, and started keeping a food log of what i ate that caused reactions. It really sucks but you have to do it to get to the bottom of what is causing the rash. No amount of Aquaphor, Lip Balm, Steroid Cream or anything will help unless you figure out what's causing the rash! I was in denial about this too and that's why it took me so long to figure it out.
Another IMPORTANT thing, like others have mentioned, is that you need to cut out other things that could be fighting your recovery. Alcohol, coffee, and sugar, were all things I had to cut on the way to figuring out what my problem was.
So yeah, TEN MONTHS later...just last night...i took my first shower where i wasn't rushing to put Aquaphor on my face immediately after getting out because of the stinging! All I could was smile and remembered I needed to share my experience here. I hope this helps someone out there. Good Luck!
-edgar

Good thing you figured this out!

I get a sudden rash around the mouth every now & then, looks like poison ivey, is painful... then once the rash part is over the skin is dry, cracked, and takes days for the dead skin to peel off. I kept a food diary and discovered it was a pork allergy. Now I avoid all forms of pork including bacon, ham, pepperoni, and sausage. The rash still shows up sometimes in spite of my best efforts -- then I'll learn a restaurant put lard in their refried beans or in a pie crust. It is difficult to avoid pork products unless you do your own cooking.

Anyway, I've learned over time the best way to deal with it is to wash the area thoroughly and then slather with cortisone cream at the first sign of a rash. Repeat throughout the first day. Once the breakout is over, the task then is to deal with the dry, cracked skin. I stop the cortisone cream and begin using Bag Balm at that point.

Avoiding pork has reduced the outbreaks from several per month to only a few times a year. Washing, using cortisone cream at first and Bag Balm later reduces the "strength" of the outbreak and the time to heal. Good luck!

It was the toothpaste. I'd picked up a different kind of toothpaste by the same manufacturer. I knew there was something different about the box, but I didn't pay close attention. I'd been using this brand's toothpaste for years without a problem. It took several weeks to build up to "clown lips" and a case of festering beard-hair follicles, but when it did, I erroneously concluded that I'd brought home something from the gym. I'm now on a prescription for a topical and systemic antibiotics for a diagnosis of peri-oral dermatitis. I can only wonder at the connection between irritated lips and festering hair follicles. Since I verified that the cause was indeed the toothpaste (one use after a 3-week break confirmed it) everything is very slowly healing up under the influence of the prescription and I now lavish any emollient my lips need without fear of harboring some kind of infection. I irreparably harmed the skin on my face with all the "hygiene" I was employing.

I've never exhibited any sensitivities or allergies to anything before, but I will now pay much closer attention to the labels on products I use, especially if it says: "Do not use if irritation occurs and persists." I feel so stupid I couldn't make the connection.

I have had this same problem for probably over 6 years..i got it when i was pregnant with my youngest daughter..i figured all of a sudden i was allergic to my toothpaste..i tried several things, changing toothpaste, several different chap sticks, i even got abreva for cold sores even though it didn't look like a cold sore..i figured i would try whatever at that point...i only get this 4 to 6 times a year ..but it is the most embarrassing thing ! Last year i talked to my doctor about it when i had it ..he said he definitely thought it was "peri-oral dermatitis" and was going to prescribe doxycycline for me but since i'm on oral contaceptives ..he decided to go with "erythomycin gel"..this seemed to clear my rash up very quickly after i spent a ton of money trying to figure it out myself! So ..my rash has came back but this time my lips swelled up when i ate a thai microwavable dinner for lunch..it burns really bad..so i was scared to put the gel on since it is mostly alcohol...i just decided to google this rash and was very surprised that so many people have this...i went ahead since i have had the rash for almost a week again and put the erythomycin gel on even though it burned a little to see what happens! Good luck to everyone with this problem!

Has anyone who uses Crest noticed that all these rashes started after proctor and Gamble started having crest made in Mexico. It is no longer made in cincinnati, ohio
Just a thought!

I've had this same ugly issue for about 3 weeks now. It's funny how everyone with this problem has mentioned the cause may be in the toothpaste. I recall trying a new toothpaste and mouthwash. After 3 weeks I have these hugh Angelina Jolie lips, but on me not so attractive. My lips are swollen and constantly dry. I can't laugh or eat without first applying Vaseline or Chapstick. I ran through tons of chapstick since I've had this issue. I'm gonna stop using the toothpaste and mouthwash to see if it's causing it. I'm afraid to try anything now. I think I will go back to the basics and use straight baking soda, YUCK!

Oh my god I'm sat here reading all of this and I'm so pleased it's just not just me.

I'm 34 and have suffered with this since I was 11 years old and I've suffered all my life. Crest toothpaste was identified as a cause and Petroleum or white parafin jelly..

It's flared up again really bad and the stupid doctor prescribed Hydromol, which reacted to my lips and caused them to swell and burn, which has now left me with horrible lips!! I'm now on prednisone steroids to take the swelling down!! I'm sick of battling with it adn bought some fluoride toothpaste yesterday because it's always worse when I clean my teeth.

I'm getting really down about it all now!! I used to cover it up with make-up and use AR2 cream formally known as ARU cream but that now stings because they've probably changed some ingredients in it..

The only thing that I can do to ease it is put Aveeno cream on it and then lypsyl. I've also been told not to use lypsyl because it can be bad... I need something thick and sticky to put on to keep them moist.

Since I was a child I've been given several steroid creams that have probablys damaged my lips..

Anyone that can help me or give me advice would be greatfly appreciated. If I smile or laugh my lips are just cracking, they're a mess!! I look like a clown too because it's just the awful pink or red scaly skin round my mouth..... @-(

PLAIN vitamin e. you can put it on lips and surrounding areas. i get mine at vitamin world. i dont know if if you have that but im sure you can find a similar place. black castor oil twice a day will help with swelling but it takes a while to kick in. i didnt realize but iv been battling this since i was a baby- i noticed it in baby pictures, it just now started getting out of hand so i got food allergy testing done havent gotten results back. good luck

*black currant oil =)

I have finally found a place where I belong

I have had a terrible time coming to terms with my problem and have read through all these messages and I'm still so very miserable.

A little history: It all started when I was in high school. I would get a breakout after using grape-flavoured lip-gloss. My lips would start to tingle a few hours after application, then turn red and eventually heat up. By the next morning my lips would be larger than that of Angelina Jolie and I'd be too embarrassed to go to school. The lips would take about 2 weeks to go back to normal, during which there is a phase where is starts to blister and yellow water would start leaking out...the doc told me it was cold sores.

I eventually stopped using any fruit-flavoured gloss, in fact I haven't used any sort of gloss ever since. I have only used Blistex Moisture Balms.

I then started working and noticed that after a day at the beach, my lips would start tingling at night again and the whole process started all over again. The doc blamed the sun and my lack of covering up.

I moved to London where I had absolutely NO breakouts. But this was for 1 year only. Returned back home (South Africa) and maintained my routine of less sun exposure, no lip-gloss and lots of lip moisture. This seemed to help...a bit.

Now I have been in the desert (Middle East) for over 3 years. The first two years have been quite ok and without incident. However over the last 8 or so months, I have had more breakouts than I've had Ben and Jerry's ice-cream

My doctor is currently at a loss. We thought I was allergic to peanuts, because my first major breakout was after I had a Chicken Satay salad. My whole face was covered in pimples and red patches. He gave me a steroid pill to take which helped immediately. A few days later, my lips started and we thought it might be the sun again. It seems to be getting worse and worse and I'm just so tired of feeling like this. People constantly staring at me, my boss always annoyed that I look like crap (I'm a Receptionist) and we have guests coming in. She complains that I'm always sick and I'm always going to the doctor.

My most recent phase has been going on for about 2 months now. My lips started: tingling, burning, heating up, blistering, leaking, drying out, making it really difficult to eat, drinking through a straw...Only thing is...as soon as I think it's gone, it starts again. So for the last 2 months, it seems to get better and then just start again.

The results now is that my lips are fine, but a red rash has formed around my mouth making me look like a clown. My doctor and I have gone through most irritants to see where it's stemming from, but it's really difficult to cut everything out of my life.

I have an appointment with an Immunologist today cos my doc says that my immune system is probably just shot to hell that it's fighting itself and I can't heal 100%.

We thought it was the sun, so I stay out of the sun, but I do need vitamin D, right?
I have also noticed the desert heat makes it worse and often times when it seems like it's going away and getting better, just 5 minutes walking from the apartment to the car in the high humidity flares up the symptoms again. We thought stay away from dairy, cut out the alcohol, keep away from nuts. This weekend doc told me perhaps it's my sweet little Guinea Pig (which I sure hope it isn't). I also thought that it's all just mental. We've used steroids, antibiotic ointment and creams, Zovirax...I was on vacation in Germany a month ago and urgently had to go see a doc cos I wasn't able to eat due to my lips literally being shut closed cos of the blisters, he told me it was Herpes and gave me Cortisone Cream and antibiotics (which in turn gave me a rash all over my body - can anyone say ALLERGY????)

I'm tired of feeling like crap all the time. But now time is kind of running out...I'm getting married in a few weeks. My doc says I shouldn't wear any make-up, cos it will probably flare up again...HOW DOES A BRIDE NOT WEAR MAKE-UP ON HER WEDDING DAY!!!!

I hope this specialist can give me some answers today. But if anyone out there has any suggestions on how I can become the princess on my wedding day and not look like a clown, that would be great.

I also have this problem. I am 26 and a pretty healthy person otherwise. I don't have any previous allergy problems and this began January of 2011 and happens every now and then, the first and second instances being THE WORST.
I get really puffy lips where all my lip lines disappear and a little of the color drains from them. Then the corners of my mouth get irritated (slightly itchy and burning) and turn red. Then I get all these little dots around the edge of my lips and that becomes VERY itchy and red and I have to drink through a straw and eating foods irritates the problem. After this the skin on my lips becomes chapped and begins to peel and is awful. The first time this happened I had just spent 8 hours on a plane and the problem lasted for 2-3 weeks of my entire vacation, the second time it happened it was for about a week and I went to a dermatologist who told me it was some kind of allergic reaction, but to what she couldn't tell-----she suggested perhaps a lipstick or a spicy food (because I eat thai cuisine fairly regularly this seemed logical, maybe I developed an allergy to some kind of chile oil etc)

I don't wear very much make-up at all, occasionally a synthetic/paraben/dye & fragrance free tinted moisturizer and very rarely a lipstick of which I have acquired a few new brands (Nars, Lipstick Queen, Clinique). I have gotten rid of all of my chapsticks/balms except for EOS and Lypsil and a Philosophy colored gloss which seems to be fine for me.

The main thing that has helped is the dermatologist prescribed a hydro-cortisone cream and the second my lips get poofy or feel a little "off" I just put the cream on and the problem never fully develops like it did the first couple of times. I avoid putting anything else on or around my lip during this time including any moisturizers or even natural lip balms and I drink an insane amount of water and juice through a straw (so the cortisone doesn't come off). I highly recommend getting some hydro-cortisone either over the counter or from a prescription (it was only $10 and well worth in exchange for the pain and frustration!) It will at least relieve the problem until you can figure out the cause.

I just moved from FL to CA so maybe the climate has affected my allergies? I suspect it may be one of my lipsticks, I have not yet tested each one individually but I like to keep a log on my calendar of the days my lips feel weird or the itchy-ness starts and then I try and write down anything I wore (make-up wise)or ate the day or two before or anything different like if I switched toothpaste, soap or shampoo jut to employ the process of elimination or to have a full log when I do end up going to the Dr or an Allergist again.

Hope this is helpful!

Hello,
So I recently noticed the left side of my mouth was tingling and a few hours later I had red bumps ranging from right next to my mouth to about an inch away. I am 19 so I figured maybe I was just breaking out so I followed my daily cleansing ritual and after a few days it just seemed to be getting worse. Stuff actually started coming out of the bumps and it was really starting to gross me out...
Then I thought maybe it was because my skin was super dry so I started using vaseline with shea butter because usually that fixes all my dry skin problems... but that just made it worse.
So I googled my symptoms and came across this forum and found that it could be an allergy to something (what? I am not entirely sure)
Totally bummed over my new rash I decided I needed to use my years of obsessing over skincare to good use. What helps allergies? OATMEAL!
I took a hand full of oatmeal(unflavored, plain old oatmeal) and held my fist under luke warm/warm water. I thing drizzled more water into my hand and squeezed the oatmeal juice into my other hand and put the juice all over my face. When the oatmeal in my hand got really squishy I put it all over my entire face but focused a lot more on my rash. For a good 15 mins I rubbed the oatmeal making sure to get all of the juice all over the rash.
After once oatmeal mask use, my skin improved tremendously!! I have used the face mask morning and night for two days now and my skin is looking and feeling a ton better already. I might actually continue to do this even when the rash goes away completely just because of how good it makes my skin look!
I really hope this helps you guys like it helped me. And bless you all, because I know how awful it feels to lose hope in your skin, but you are all beautiful people.

I'm a doctor, and came across this post whilst looking for data on perioral flare reaction to fruit. Very interesting reading, and I'm glad so many people have been helped in one way or another. It certainly brings home the fact that there are many causes; from allergies to infection to iron deficiency. I've certainly learned something about toothpaste as a potential culprit - so thanks from me, too!

I just wanted to remind people of one of the commonest causes which I haven't seen mentioned - saliva!
Lip-lick dermatitis is incredibly common in kids, but also in adults too. Your saliva contains all sorts of enzymes and nasty chemicals (to protect you from bacteria), which is why the inside of your mouth is lined with a different type of skin to your face. That's also why licking a cut or graze is (within limits!) good for it, as your saliva helps kill bacteria.

Licking your lips is usually unconscious - but try and think about it, and you may start to realise it's become a habit which is now damaging your lips.

Oh - and the last post, on oatmeal...mmm, messy! I might have used a bowl myself! Oatmeal is good for the skin though. Aveeno is a great oatmeal-based moisturiser(I prescribe it quite a bit), if you don't mind spending about 50,000 times what Anonskinlover did on her cure...

Or you could try oat milk, which you can buy in the supermarket now for not very much (at least in the UK). I guess it's worth a shot!

Good luck!