Irritated Lips (Page 1)

Hmmm...Maybe you should ask a different doc who is more knowledgable in that area. It could be some kind of allergic reaction. Tru another kind of cream like caramex or something. But dont spread it on your lips, only dab it on the area you have the bumps. Spreading the cream only spreads the bumps. I know that sometimes when im stressed, I get a bump on my lip and I scratch it and it swells up to like twice its size and I hate it! Good luck though!

Hi, I have been told, whenever my lips would break out like yours have, that this comes from the inside. Trying to apply lip balm or something topical will be useless unless you get to the source. Have you tried acidophilus? My dermotoligist tried several things, but this has worked the best and fasted for me. Also, abreva will heal your lips faster. These are over the counter. Hope this helps you! :p

Thanks for your suggestions. I was so paranoid that I went and saw a dermatologist today. I was told that the irritation is contact dermititis. Nikki, maybe it is stress. I wish I knew about how it spread before. I used lip balm and it did cause it to get worse. The doctor gave me a shot and some cream to apply every thirty minutes. Hopefully this works, it's very embarrassing.

Once again, thanks for your suggestions.

Omfg the same thing happened to me, just not the bumps. Every night I put vaseline on my lips b4 I go to sleep, and one morning I woke up, and my lips felt so raw! Like, I had no skin on the top part of my upper lip. It hurt all day during school and I put vaseline, blistex, (canadian gal here) and I tried my mom's blistex thing... I dont know what will work! Probably shea butter would work. Please post a reply! -desperate :arrow: teen

Actually, it's been over a year since this first occured and i've tried various creams from my dermatologist. It goes away for a while but it comes back. When this happens, I found that putting vaseline on my lips and, as someone said before, I just dab it on and this removed the dryness. I had to try to keep my mind off of my lips because when I thought about it, I would lick them to try to keep them from being so tight and dry. Still, nothing seems to really work. I just let it work it's course and know that it will be over shortly. During that time, I just don't put any cosmetics, like lip gloss or lip stick, on my lips.

If you find out anything, please let me know.

This has happened to me twice. My doctor said its either 1) allergies or 2) the enzymes from my lips. Licking my lips was never a problem before but your hormones are constantly changing so anything's possible. She advised me to keep it moisturized with vaseline - don't use any of the other lip balm products - vaseline is the safest. Also, absolutely stop licking lips. You may think licking it helps the moisture level but it's actually making it worst. It took me about a week of constant vaseline before the raw, burning feeling went away along with the micro bumps. Good luck!

I have the exact same problem. Has anyone figured out an answer? It happened out of nowhere that my lips got really red and irritated with the little bumps, but its not cold sores. I had that burning sensation and its really uncomfortable. I've been putting on vitamin e and vaseline the past few weeks, and at the beginning of last week it seemed to be getting better, then again out of no where today it was back full force. Help!!

I've never had a problem with dry or chapped lips, and I've put on vasaline every night before I go to bed. Then all of a sudden about 3 months ago, I woke up and my lips were red, irritated, burning and little bumps all on the outter edge.. I've been useing Dermalogica solar shield but that only seems to temporarily ease the buring.. Caramex made it worse..
Any other suggestions??

Me too. I've been having this problem for about a year already. It had never happened before that. I've gone to dentists, dermatologists, and general physicians and nobody seems to know what it is/could be. Same symptoms, red bumps that aren't cold sores and a really raw feeling. I will keep checking this forum to see if anyone finds any relief.

my dermatologist gave me this lotion, the name is cultivate. i used it for 3 days and it completely went away! he said i had probably just become allergic to one of the chapsticks i had been using. it was amazing and now lips are completely better! try this one immediately!!!

I have had this problem off and on since last month. I also got little cracks in the corners of my mouth. I finally realized that it was about the same time that I bought new toothpaste. It was the kind with the little pieces of breath freshner stuff in it. I have stopped using that toothpaste, and I think it is beginning to feel better. the tight, dry, raw feeling it beginning to go away. Last night I put Benedryl cream on them and went to bed and it felt better in the morning, so it must be some sort of allergy.

I experienced a rapid onset of a burning irritation on the outside edge of my lips. I applied blistex thinking it might be a cold sore type thing. Blistex usually stops it if applied generously, often, and immediately at the first sign. It seemed to make this much worse. I also have a gritty feeling on the lips. Feels like sand on my lips. I have been trying everything in the house: olive oil, bacitracin, ice cubes. None of them help. The only thing that gave me some relief is aloe vera. I have some organic high quality aloe vera that I take whenever I feel a cold coming on or a slightly acid tummy feeling. It always works for those things. I patted some on my lips and it felt soothing. I will try repeated applications of the aloe vera for a couple of days. Next thing I will try is a tiny bit of athlete's foot cream. If this is a fungal problem, that might work. I am being careful not to spread it by drying my face with paper towels and making sure I pat lips dry seperately. Whatever this is, it clearly attacks mucous membrane as it is confined to the lips. Don't want to spread it to my nose or eyes.

A few days before i went on vacation & days after i saw my orthodontist, cracks and irritation developed in the corners of my mouth. I used vaseline and aquafina chapstick. While on vacation, the cracks in the corners of my mouth had cleared up. However, redness and irritation occurred on the skin below my lips. It gets very dry and it is exteremly painful to open my mouth. its been about a week and things haven't gotten any better. i went to see a doctor about it and they believe it is coldsores. i know it isn't though. The medicine they gave me ( pills ) doesn't seem to be working. i dont' know what to do! its embarrassing and difficult to deal with

I have had this exact type of raw, irritated, burning sensation on my lips for a year and a half. It start halfway through my pregnancy and has never really left. It clears up for a week or two and then comes back for a month. I don't have much faith in doctors, but was looking into scheduling an appointment w/ a dermatologist. NO lips ointments help at all- vaseline, blistex, chap stick, carmex, burt's bees was, softlips, aquafore- you name it I tried it. However, my sole source of relief comes from LANOLIN! It is the cream nursing mom's use for cracked and chapped nipples while breasfeeding! It works magic at relieving the symptoms, but it does not cure the problem. Hope this is little help! You can find it in the baby section with the breastfeeding supplies in a purple package.

Each case is unique. In a lot of cases it will be an allergic reaction - could be to toothpaste, lip balm, something in your diet (wheat, dairy, etc). Your best bet is to replace your toothpaste with something organic. Stop eating wheat and dairy products to see if that helps - also, take note of when your lips start to burn, especially after eating a meal. Replace your lip balm, AND Vaseline, with pure shea butter (L'Occitane sells this product). Start using shea butter products for your entire face care regime.

Get a low percentage cortisone cream (0.5%) and apply a tiny amount to your lips when you wake up and before you go to sleep. If you have a really severe case, apply a tiny amount after meals also. Do not go crazy with this ointment! And do not use it for prolonged periods of time. If your irritation doesn't start to get better after a week, go see a dermatologist - you might need to be prescribed antibiotics.

Good luck to all of you! I can firsthand agree that this is like going through hell.

I am having this same problem as the original post. I have had it before, and I used Blistex and is usually goes away within a day or two. This time, of course, it is not. I will use the vaseline, which I have used before. But my question is: Does anyone know what this is?

I have never had these problems with my lips. Are you all sure the doctor said it is not herpes? Cause those are some problems you might have. now i have never had those problems before and i pray and hope that I will never will.

A few weeks ago my lips also broke out red and inflammed with cracks in the corners. It was so painful and I started using burts bees chapsticks, but they didn't help. Then I found this forum, and began using vaseline which definitely relieved the raw feeling and reduced redness, but didn't make it go away completely. I had to put vaseline on every half hour or so, or my lips became even drier. A year ago, when this happened to me my dermatologist recommended Cortizone Ointment (1.0%). It didn't really help last time, but I decided to try again. It significantly reduced the raw feeling and cracked corners, and redness too. I'm going to ride it out with the Cortizone cream and see if my lips heal.
Thanks for the suggestions! Any new ideas?