Is cracked lips always caused by dehydration
Some time cracked lips does not go away with normal treatment or self care and this clearly indicates the your body is not getting proper hydration. Drinking enough water every day can reduce severity and chances of getting cracked lips. Most people need at least eight to 10 glass of water everyday to keep their hydration level to optimum. Cracked lips is not always caused by dehydration and it can be caused by bitter winds, sun or dry air, cosmetics or nutritional deficiency. Cracked lips can be seasonal depending on the changes in the weather and proper measures to be taken to prevent the lips from cracking.in cold season wind can become very dry and that can also be reason for the cracked lips and can be minimised by using a humidifier in room.
Introduction and Symptoms
Cracked lips are a very common self-treated and self diagnosed condition world wide. Lip dryness along with redness, cracking and itching is common experienced symptoms. Some people are also troubled with bleeding, sensitivity, swelling and redness. Most of the symptoms can be persistent and embarrassing, as they are difficult to disguise
Risk factors or causes
Chapped lips can be due to dehydration or overexposure to cold winds or the sun. Except that, cracked lips can be a symptom of various medical conditions. Some of which are debilitating like that include Kawasaki’s, HIV or Cushing syndrome.
Treatments
It is known that lips do not contain any oil glands or sebaceous gland and they are more likely to get dehydrated and chapped. Hence, the best remedy to cure dry and fissured lips is to drink a lot of water. And also keeping the body hydrated internally as well. Coffee, soda and such beverages that lack hydration should be avoided. To moisturize the chapped lips, it is required to first exfoliate them and then treat them with a good quality lip balm Apart from it, underlying cause needs to be alleviated. If lips are chapped due to harsh weather, only solution is to moisturize lips with a simple, high quality lip balm. Emollient should be chosen carefully, as lip balms containing products like camphor make lips feel better temporarily, but they may actually dry out lips even more, leading to its more repeated use. When outdoor in the sun, lip balm containing sunscreen should be used. Habits like frequent licking of lips and mouth breathing
can also increase the soreness of lips and hence should be avoided.
Deficiency of vitamin b12 and some viral infections can cause cracking of corners of mouth known as “angular cheilitis”. Treatment for the same should be provided if diagnosed.
Self care
Drink plenty of water to prevent body from dehydration. Care should be taken so that lips are not exposed to dry, cold weather or any kind of allergen. Cosmetics like lipsticks etc. should be used with precaution. Allergy to any foreign substance can also lead to cracking of lips. Lip emollient should be used regularly so that it can form a layer on lip surface and hence protect it. Habits causing irritation like frequent licking of lips should be avoided.
To prevent dehydration in the environment, humidifier may be used in the room to prevent dehydration of lips. In spite of all the efforts and care, if chapped lips are not healed, serious medical conditions like diabetes, Kawasaki Disease, Sjogren’s Syndrome, macrocytosis and STD’s including HIV and other diseases may be suspected and needful should be done
Drugs used in treating
Chapping of lips can be cured by hydrating lip balms containing beeswax or shea butter. Sunscreen lip balm containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide is a must while going out. Except that, coconut oil or aloe vera can be used for moisturising the lips. In case of vitamin b12 deficiency , multivitamins tablet should be taken