Experience Sharing 4 - I am 13 years old, God has a GREAT PLAN on me.

Cheilitis (Inflammation of the lips)

The causes of cracked lips
1. Lack of Vitamin B2 and Vitamin A
In the tropical countries, we spend most of our time in an air conditioned room. Many people are suffering from cracked lips. This not only may influence our appearance but may also affect our normal living routine such as eating and talking. Dry climate has often been blamed for the problem. In fact, there are many other causes of Cheilitis.For example, body dehydration and heaty. In traditional Chinese practice, it is said as “The spleen’s opening is the mouth; the lips reflex its health. If we want to have hydrated healthy lips, then we need to strengthen our spleen. Despite that, in Western medicine theory, if we are lack of Vitamin B2 and Vitamin A, our lips will easily crack. 。The vermilion border of our lips depends on the capillary blood flow and some sebaceous glands to maintain its hydration. All factors like being in a dry environment, lack of vitamin B12 and Vitamin A, as well as dehydration can make our lips dry and cracked.
Vitamin B2  which is also called Riboflavin, is a type of water soluble vitamin. It promotes cell growth and enables our skin, hair and nails to grow healthily. At the same time, it also helps to prevent inflammation of the oral mucosa, lips, tongue and the skin. In other words, the inflammation of the lips can be one of the symptoms of Angular cheilitis. Vitamin B2 can be found in eggs, mushrooms, spinach, carrots, milk and etc. It is important for us to consume fresh vegetables and fruits daily to maintain our body balance。
2. Habit of lips licking
Many of us may think that lip licking may mimic the function of a lip balm. Frankly speaking, our saliva can only temporary moisturize our lips. Once the saliva evaporates, our lips will become dryer. Moreover, our saliva is equipped with digestive enzymes. If we lick our lips when it is dry and cracked, it will make it worse. If it is emergency and you don’t have a lip balm with you, you may apply some of the sebum from your nose on to your lips. It works like a miracle.
3. Breathe through the mouth
Many victims of cheilitis is also suffering from allergic rhinitis, causing nasal blockage. This makes them get used to breathe through the mouth. Breathing through the mouth not only may lead of snoring but also cause cracked lips. This is because once there is an increased air flow through oral region, the water in the lips is easier to evaporate.  I suggest to apply a thick layer of good quality lip balm before sleeping if you are experiencing this problem, 。
4. Irritation from tooth paste and facial wash
Your choice of toothpaste and facial wash is directly connected with your lips health. This is because some of them may contain Sodium lauryl sulfate which can cause skin irritation and dryness. For those who are already suffer from such problems, just avoid using toothpaste and facial wash with such content. Forever, avoid using saline solution to cleanse the mouth as it may also lead to dryness.
5. Avoid salty and spicy food
This types of food can worsen the cheilitis. Some food like the chili powder on a BBQ chicken wings can strongly irritate our oral mucous mucosa leading to ulcers and blisters formation. Please don’t eat food which is too spicy. Remember to rinse your mouth after eating salty food too.
If you already have allergic reaction, you may apply some anti-inflammatory cream and take some antihistamine, followed by applying a good quality lip balm generously. Shall your symptom persist, please consult your pharmacist or doctor.

I ‘m Joey. This is my story.

I am 13 years old, from Brunei. I shed my tears of joy during the interview. No word can describe my deep gratitude to my parents and family for not giving up on me. Today, you don’t have to worry about me anymore.

Day 0

Since 3 years ago, my lips started to get dry and cracked. It started with just a little bit of cracks on the lips. It subsides by simply using QV lip balms. However, the condition relapsed after a while of using the same lip balm. I then changed to E.EXCEL’s lip balm. For my sake, even though it is expensive, my parents still bought for me but similar like last time, the situation was out of control again. 。We then changed to Forever living Aloe Vera lip balm.  Other people may buy one lipstick at the time but we usually bought a box of lipstick at the time. I could finished using a lipstick in a week. Dad and Mom brought me to see different doctors. The doctors’ medicines were good but my skin got thinner after using for a period of time and it bled easily. My condition was unstable still. Running out of ideas, a doctor advised me to use margarine or butter to replace the lip balm. He recommended avocado margarine but because it easily melted, it was unsuitable to bring to school. So, I used butter. There was a slight improvement after using the butter treatment but it did not last for long. One time, after using a medication from a skin specialist, my entire lips were swollen. We were so anxious that we threw away the medication immediately. Then, they took a blood test for me. The result showed that I am allergic to dust. Mom started to clean the house in and out and changed whatever things that could be changed in the house to ensure that our house was dust free. For hygiene purpose, I rinse the mouth and cleanse the lips with saline solution. However, my condition got worse until the stage that vermilion border of my lips could not be seen. The lips area was cracked, dry and bled. It is especially severe when I am in stress, either mentally or physically (eg. In exam time or having menses). Despite that, my nose was always blocked and i had some itchy spots on my inner joint areas.

I always asked, Why me?

It is not only about the look. I was in pain. To me, laughing is luxurious to me because I could not even open up my mouth widely. When I felt like laughing, I had to hold my cheeks with my hands to avoid my mouth from widely opened.  I was the only one in school, who suffered from this problem.  Although dad and mom had explained my situation to my teachers, I still thought that they did not fully understand my issue. Teachers have been asking me to drink more water but do you know how much water have I consumed daily? It was gallons! There is a mixture of people who supported me and those who looked at me differently in school.  The first thing that I would do when I opened my eyes in the morning was to rush to a mirror and check my lips. I hoped it was just a night mare that I had and it would be gone after waking up. Nevertheless, the mirror always reflected a pair of severely damaged lips. The sharp pain then followed. I cried while I looked at the reflection from the mirror every single morning. However, I knew that my parents were the most painful person. Mom said her heart was twitching when she heard me crying. The only thing that they could help was to pray for me and brought me to seek for treatment. When people introduced a product or referred a doctor, my parents would bought for me or brought me to seek for treatment no matter how expensive it was. When I fell asleep, dad and mom would come to check if the air-conditioned room was too dry, would it be better to turn on the fan instead? They were worried if I would unintentionally scratch myself while sleeping and whether my nails were stained with blood in the next morning.

God finally responded to my prayer 

Two weeks ago, one of my relatives suggested us to consult a pharmacist in Miri. Apparently his son’s skin problem was treated there and fully recovered. My parents quickly arrange a time and bring me to me. Unlike previous consultation, the pharmacist said the treatment should concentrate on inner adjustment and external therapy. One week later, my lips were fully recovered, along with my blocked nose and body itchiness problem.

Day 7

It was unbelievable. We, however, still doubt about the extremely quick result. We wondered if it was a short recovery like previous experience. Nevertheless, my doubt was cleared in my second visit because my lips were a bit irritated after eating some WANG WANG crackers 2 days ago. Perhaps it was too salty and I did not manage to wash my mouth immediately after enjoying the crackers. Amazingly, my lips was not cracked and bled. There was only a slight irritation and the symptoms subsided soon after I performed the rescue treatment written in my management plan.

Day 14

As long as you hold on, the hope is always there!

I don’t know whether there are people who are suffering the same problem as me out there. Shall there be one, I hope this message can be passed to her. Never give up! As long as you still hold on, the hope is always there. May God bless you!