Are your lips chapped and flaky in winter? Don't lick it!

Speaking of chronic cheilitis and angular cheilitis, everyone is probably familiar with it. Who hasn’t had dry, cracked, flaky, or rotten lips in this life? Especially in autumn and winter in the north, the climate is dry, which is the season when chronic cheilitis is prevalent. Especially in the past two days, Beijing's strong winds have cooled down, and with it, the number of patients with chronic cheilitis and angular cheilitis has increased. Even the discussion of "Will there be any side effects of wearing lip balm regularly" has become a hot search on Weibo. Expert Tips: Do you have chapped or flaky lips? Don't lick it!

Without it, no wonder the lips are easily injured

The most common chronic cheilitis and angular cheilitis in our lives occur most frequently in autumn and winter. Because the climate is dry in autumn and winter, and the red mucous membrane of the lips does not have sebaceous glands, inflammation is prone to occur in the dry season.

The main symptoms are dry lips with some fine flakes. In severe cases, dry skin will appear constantly, and even thick and hard scabs will appear. Sometimes there will be redness, swelling, cracks, pain, bleeding and other symptoms.

In addition, the same situation will occur in the corners of the mouth - cracks and bleeding, redness, swelling and pain, and limited mouth opening. If not taken care of properly, chronic cheilitis and angular stomatitis may occur repeatedly, and the lips may even become lighter and whiter, or the lips and corners of the mouth may become darkened due to pigmentation.

It's already inflamed. Don't irritate it.

What should you pay attention to if you have cheilitis or angular cheilitis? First of all, you should try to protect your lips from all kinds of stimulation, including wind, sun and cold stimulation, and wear a mask if necessary; you should be careful not to open your mouth wide, and when eating, avoid being sour, hot, or salty The vegetable soup sticks to my lips.

Secondly, since there are no sebaceous glands in the lips, be sure not to lick them, as this will only make your lips dryer.

Also, don't tear off the skin as soon as it's on your mouth. This will definitely tear off the meat underneath the skin and cause greater damage. As the saying goes, "It feels good to tear the skin off for a while, but it will be bloody after tearing it off"!

If it is relatively mild cheilitis and angular stomatitis, you can apply chlortetracycline eye ointment or a mild lipstick that does not contain fragrance or pigment. Note that chlortetracycline eye ointment should not be used for a long time.

For thicker scabs, you can use clean cotton wool dipped in warm water to apply a wet compress on your lips like a facial mask, for about 15 minutes each time, and then gently remove the soft dry skin, scabs and the like on your lips. This will help the topical ointment to work.

The situation is too serious. Go to the hospital.

If it is dryness, cracks, peeling or even bleeding, infected cheilitis or angular stomatitis, you'd better go to the oral mucosal department for treatment. Depending on the severity of cheilitis and angular stomatitis, the oral mucosa doctor will prescribe you some anti-inflammatory, swelling, analgesic ointments or hormonal ointments for topical application.

Some patients may be very resistant when they hear the word "hormones" and are worried that it will cause dependence or problems such as pigmentation. In fact, as long as the medication is taken under the guidance of a doctor and the condition is under control, the hormone ointment can be gradually reduced or discontinued to avoid such problems to the greatest extent.

It must be mentioned that after cheilitis and angular stomatitis are completely controlled, you should also take good care of your lips, pay attention to balanced nutrition, and a reasonable diet structure; do not eat too spicy or exciting food; pay attention to maintaining a good attitude and not being impatient; You can usually use medical Vaseline without added flavors or pigments for moisturizing. Medical Vaseline is not easily absorbed by the body, and even if a small amount enters the digestive tract, it will eventually be excreted.

In addition, not everyone is suitable for applying lip balm for daily maintenance. When you need to use it, you can choose a lip balm that suits you and is non-irritating and non-allergenic for daily moisturizing.

Of course, not all cheilitis is chronic cheilitis. If your lips have special symptoms, such as long-term ulcers on the lips that do not heal, blisters, pimples, and white lines on the lips, you must go to the oral cavity in time. Mucosal department consultation.