EXFOLIATIVE CHEILITIS

[Willy]

Hello, I've been suffering from exfoliative cheilitis, or the constant peeling and descamation on the lips, for the past five years, it's been a hell since then, after a year or so I got into a depression that lasted for a year. After a while I'm out of there and have better psycological and topical coping mechanism, but the skin problem it's still there nonetheless, and it's inevitable for me to feel my youth is slipping through my fingers without enjoying live fully.

The sintoms are dry lips, that are hard and like crusts, that when they fall leave raw skin underneath hurting a lot and becoming inflamed, and then the cycle repeats continously, so build up of a white line(see photo 3) then gets hard and flakes(photos 1 and 2), descamation, repeat.
Now after some time it isn't as raw and it doesn't hurt almost never and the inflamattion isn't as noticiable.

The one time it has gotten close to remision was this summer when I took 50mg of p5p to adress a high prolactin an estrogen(top margin of the reference), this lifted my spirits a lot, so much that after a couple of weeks I couldn't fall sleep, so I had to drop it. But my lips felt almost normal for this time, without almost any build up of skin. I've tried lower doses but it doesn't seem to have the same effect, and I'm worried with the insomnia thing, because it's something I've struggled for a while too.

Other health related issues, are gas, diarrhea and constipation alternating beetween each other, I think it could be some time of SIBO, but thankfully improved after following some raypeat advice, like imiting muscle protein intake, introducing more in form of milk and cheese and dropping PUFAs( they used to be pretty high in my diet).

Also I'm prone to anxiety, sweaty hands in some stressfull ocasions, cold hands and feet too.


Any insight would be really aprecciated.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Hello, my name is Willy, I'm from Spain. I've been lurking the forums and the raypeat articles for a while, and I thought it could be worthwhile to give it a try and seek help from you, members of this forum, to find an answer with some supplements, topical treatments, changes in diet etc to get rid of this problem. I'll try to give a summary of the condition and my health history so you can informa a better opinion. I'll try to be as brief as possible.

I'm 27 and I've been suffering from exfoliative cheilitis, or the constant peeling and descamation on the lips, for the past five years, it's been a hell since then, after a year or so I got into a depression that lasted for a year. After a while I'm out of there and have better psycological and topical coping mechanism, but the skin problem it's still there nonetheless, and it's inevitable for me to feel my youth is slipping through my fingers without enjoying live fully.

The sintoms are dry lips, that are hard and like crusts, that when they fall leave raw skin underneath hurting a lot and becoming inflamed, and then the cycle repeats continously, so build up of a white line(see photo 3) then gets hard and flakes(photos 1 and 2), descamation, repeat.
Now after some time it isn't as raw and it doesn't hurt almost never and the inflamattion isn't as noticiable. I'll leave some photos so you get an idea of how is it now, leaving the more old and disgusting photos out, those are really hard to watch, even for me.
The one time it has gotten close to remision was this summer when I took 50mg of p5p to adress a high prolactin an estrogen(top margin of the reference), this lifted my spirits a lot, so much that after a couple of weeks I couldn't fall sleep, so I had to drop it. But my lips felt almost normal for this time, without almost any build up of skin. I've tried lower doses but it doesn't seem to have the same effect, and I'm worried with the insomnia thing, because it's something I've struggled for a while too.

Other health related issues, are gas, diarrhea and constipation alternating beetween each other, I think it could be some time of SIBO or IBS, but thankfully after following some raypeat advice, like imiting muscle protein intake, introducing more in form of milk and cheese and dropping PUFAs( they used to be pretty high in my diet), has gotten to a point where i don't have the feeling I could ***t myselft at any moment which is nice. Also dropped finasterida like two years ago, I used to had lost in orgasm pleasure intensity and semen quantity, puffy nipples and fat accumulation in chest, brain fog, weak erections, no libido and quick changes in mood...All this have gotten much better, excepto probably the mood swings and brain fog, and I think my PFS wasn't as bad as other people, but it was there, and I think it contributed to the problems I'm having now.

Also I'm prone to anxiety, sweaty hands in some stressfull ocasions, cold hands and feet too.

Diet for 181cm 80kg is at aprox 2800 cal for maintenance(I lift weights 4/week and I'm quite lean and muscular, even ripped
300g rice a day
800g potatos a day
260g protein via meat
1L of milk a day
35-50g cheese a day
fruit, honey, juice
some kale or lettuce for vit K
Vit D 3000 IU
Vit E to 200% RDA( alpha tocopherol with lemon oil, I can't seem to find a good source here in spain for vit E)
for topical treatment I use a Calendula oinment

I'm good in vitamins, minerals according cronometer, I would leave the last blood test with hormones too.

Any insight would be really aprecciated.

Hi Willy! I saw this and hoped it might be one piece of the puzzle.

Acute allergic contact dermatitis of the lips from peppermint oil in a lip balm - PubMed

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Hi Willy! I saw this and hoped it might be one piece of the puzzle.

Acute allergic contact dermatitis of the lips from peppermint oil in a lip balm - PubMed

I would also try using coconut oil on your lips.

 

[Kray]

Hello, my name is Willy, I'm from Spain. I've been lurking the forums and the raypeat articles for a while, and I thought it could be worthwhile to give it a try and seek help from you, members of this forum, to find an answer with some supplements, topical treatments, changes in diet etc to get rid of this problem. I'll try to give a summary of the condition and my health history so you can informa a better opinion. I'll try to be as brief as possible.

I'm 27 and I've been suffering from exfoliative cheilitis, or the constant peeling and descamation on the lips, for the past five years, it's been a hell since then, after a year or so I got into a depression that lasted for a year. After a while I'm out of there and have better psycological and topical coping mechanism, but the skin problem it's still there nonetheless, and it's inevitable for me to feel my youth is slipping through my fingers without enjoying live fully.

The sintoms are dry lips, that are hard and like crusts, that when they fall leave raw skin underneath hurting a lot and becoming inflamed, and then the cycle repeats continously, so build up of a white line(see photo 3) then gets hard and flakes(photos 1 and 2), descamation, repeat.
Now after some time it isn't as raw and it doesn't hurt almost never and the inflamattion isn't as noticiable. I'll leave some photos so you get an idea of how is it now, leaving the more old and disgusting photos out, those are really hard to watch, even for me.
The one time it has gotten close to remision was this summer when I took 50mg of p5p to adress a high prolactin an estrogen(top margin of the reference), this lifted my spirits a lot, so much that after a couple of weeks I couldn't fall sleep, so I had to drop it. But my lips felt almost normal for this time, without almost any build up of skin. I've tried lower doses but it doesn't seem to have the same effect, and I'm worried with the insomnia thing, because it's something I've struggled for a while too.

Other health related issues, are gas, diarrhea and constipation alternating beetween each other, I think it could be some time of SIBO or IBS, but thankfully after following some raypeat advice, like imiting muscle protein intake, introducing more in form of milk and cheese and dropping PUFAs( they used to be pretty high in my diet), has gotten to a point where i don't have the feeling I could ***t myselft at any moment which is nice. Also dropped finasterida like two years ago, I used to had lost in orgasm pleasure intensity and semen quantity, puffy nipples and fat accumulation in chest, brain fog, weak erections, no libido and quick changes in mood...All this have gotten much better, excepto probably the mood swings and brain fog, and I think my PFS wasn't as bad as other people, but it was there, and I think it contributed to the problems I'm having now.

Also I'm prone to anxiety, sweaty hands in some stressfull ocasions, cold hands and feet too.

Diet for 181cm 80kg is at aprox 2800 cal for maintenance(I lift weights 4/week and I'm quite lean and muscular, even ripped
300g rice a day
800g potatos a day
260g protein via meat
1L of milk a day
35-50g cheese a day
fruit, honey, juice
some kale or lettuce for vit K
Vit D 3000 IU
Vit E to 200% RDA( alpha tocopherol with lemon oil, I can't seem to find a good source here in spain for vit E)
for topical treatment I use a Calendula oinment

I'm good in vitamins, minerals according cronometer, I would leave the last blood test with hormones too.

Any insight would be really aprecciated.

How is your condition these days? Any feedback on what you have tried, what you have learned, would be appreciated.

 

[redsun]

How is your condition these days? Any feedback on what you have tried, what you have learned, would be appreciated.

In this case, considering CBC results were well within normal range and vitamins temporarily worked but he complained of cold extremities and anxiety (causing sweaty hands), he may have had iron deficiency without anemia though he had no tests done for ferritin it seems. His diet was also considerably high in calcium, ~4 cups of milk and an ounce of cheese which would make him absorb little iron from his food if he spread this out through all his meals. Iron deficiency can cause dry skin overall include dryness of the lips and constant peeling (like OP). You can find some people's experiences online where they used iron to improve this condition successfully.

 

[Kray]

In this case, considering CBC results were well within normal range and vitamins temporarily worked but he complained of cold extremities and anxiety (causing sweaty hands), he may have had iron deficiency without anemia though he had no tests done for ferritin it seems. His diet was also considerably high in calcium, ~4 cups of milk and an ounce of cheese which would make him absorb little iron from his food if he spread this out through all his meals. Iron deficiency can cause dry skin overall include dryness of the lips and constant peeling (like OP). You can find some people's experiences online where they used iron to improve this condition successfully.

Not a very intuitive consideration since it seems we're uber-focused on minimizing dietary iron. But I would not be surprised, given the high-calcium diets of many on the forum, including myself. As a woman in her 60s, I am reluctant to add iron supplements to my routine. Do you think just being more aware of limiting calcium during iron-containing meals would be a good place to start? Thank you for that information!

By the way, what is OP?

 

[redsun]

Not a very intuitive consideration since it seems we're uber-focused on minimizing dietary iron. But I would not be surprised, given the high-calcium diets of many on the forum, including myself. As a woman in her 60s, I am reluctant to add iron supplements to my routine. Do you think just being more aware of limiting calcium during iron-containing meals would be a good place to start? Thank you for that information!

Well yes that would help absorb more iron but its unlikely it will be enough to help cheilitis or other ID symptoms if you have them.

 

[Kray]

Well yes that would help absorb more iron but its unlikely it will be enough to help cheilitis or other ID symptoms if you have them.

sorry- what are ID symptoms? What dose, what type of iron? Not even a fresh batch of oysters would help?

 

[redsun]

sorry- what are ID symptoms? What dose, what type of iron? Not even a fresh batch of oysters would help?

It would help of course. It all "helps" but if we factor in how poorly iron is absorbed you need to specifically eat or take iron in higher quantities for a longer period of time to remedy a deficiency in a reasonable amount of time. Whats supposed to be done is if you have symptoms of ID (you can look these up online) and your ferritin stores are tested and they are low you take iron. It may eventually remedy itself without supplements if you keep dairy in one meal and iron rich foods in another to help optimize absorption.

 

[Kray]

It would help of course. It all "helps" but if we factor in how poorly iron is absorbed you need to specifically eat or take iron in higher quantities for a longer period of time to remedy a deficiency in a reasonable amount of time. Whats supposed to be done is if you have symptoms of ID (you can look these up online) and your ferritin stores are tested and they are low you take iron. It may eventually remedy itself without supplements if you keep dairy in one meal and iron rich foods in another to help optimize absorption.

Thanks for clarifying your point. Just assumed from all the reading here on the forum anyone post-menopausal should not be low in iron, and/or their ferritin is usually high. Of course, I could find out but I just don't like to go to doctors or get labs.