My 4-Year-Old Recurring Lips' Problem

When I used to be a student, I loved applying lip gloss and tinted lip balms to school. Those pink supple lips used to make me a boys-killer as the rest of the girls had raw, pale, unevenly tanned faces and lips due to puberty and sun exposure during extra-curricular activities.

I believe everybody still remembers the then famous like fwhat Mentholatum Lip Ice Sheer Color. Its advertisement was so alluring and loud on TV that I, as a lip color fanatic, went to purchase it soon after I saw that ad. Its color on my lips suited perfectly to my skin tone and made me felt like Mentholatum should have asked me to be its ambassador then.

I stuck to it and it stuck to me like we would give up on ourselves without each other.

After a year, during the Open House of my polytechnic when I was leading a group of secondary school students around, my lips started to swell. It was burning and therefore began to itch. I thought it was just a temporary syndrome due to the hot weather and might be some threatening signal sent by my brain to the lips telling them not to bother telling how nice my poly was to those students.

I was wrong.

The swelling and itchiness got worse day after day. My lips started to crack and tear yellow liquid (white blood cells), then dried up and peeled, then cracked and teared, then dried up and peeled again and again that I lost all my other senses already.

Why, I thought, must it be my lips??? I stared at others' with envy. Looking at their healthy pink lips touching the spicy dishes without worry made me felt like I could hear my poor lips crying. As the peeling continued, I continued using the Lip Ice balm thinking that it would condition my dry lips.

I was wrong again.

Whenever I applied it, the menthol did help a bit to soothe pain and itchiness but it didn't condition. The sheer color turned the peeling dried skins into ugly pink residues on my lips. The disaster did not just stop there. The swelling started again after a while. Worse still, the area under my lower lip and above my chin started to sore, itch and tear too! Endless shit.

I was either too stupid or too forgiving that I refused to think that the whole problem started with Lip Ice balm. Finally when I changed to Vaseline lip balm, the lips recovered a little. This whole episode lasted for 1 year and when I thought it has ended, I applied lip gloss one day.

Episode 2 started, the whole disaster revived again. CAN I NEVER APPLY COLOR ON MY LIPS AGAIN?!

On and off this problem stayed. I consulted doctor in 2006 and he prescribed me some really magical medications. The lips and skin around them recovered in just 3 days. He asked me to continue putting lip balm for about 3 times a day when the need arise. My lips smiled brilliantly ever since. Even though the color was pale, I was really afraid of putting anymore fake colors onto them. Furthermore, pale but watery lips was the trend till now. No problem, I was fine with them as long as they're healthy, really.

And fuck it happened again a week ago.

...

...


The speechless disappointment after all the hard work of stopping myself from putting lip color is just like being dumped by your boyfriends or girlfriends, totally helpless without knowing why.

I researched about this on Google and found a blog post with comment threads from people with exactly the same problem. They all said what I was feeling in the comments, feel better knowing there are many other individuals out there worrying about this together. That post's author commented in a thread too, providing the possible stem of cause and its cure.

Following that, along with my doctor's prescription, I am going to post the full medication details here and hope it'll help all the poor souls out there like me.

Nah, am not so kind. Just wanna post here so that I can record down the medications' names.

Here goes,


Symptoms:


Note: My lips have recovered and this picture is taken AFTER I have applied the medications.

• Swelling/cracking/peeling/tearing lips
• Eczema (red, itchy, flaky skin) around the lips
• Cold Sore/ Herpes (tiny blisters with yellow liquid which pain a lot when burst) around the lips.

Possible Causes:

• Color chemicals in lip glosses, balms
• Yeast built up in intestines lowers immune system towards viruses.
  

Medications & Supplements:

• Medijel Gel (Edible medication for sore swelling lips) - Apply on the lips 3 times a day.

• Hydrocortisone Cream (Medication for Eczema) - Apply thinly on red, itchy and flaky area around the lips, usually under, 2 times a day. Not to be taken.

Hoho I just collected my cream today.

• Acyclovir Cream (Medication for Cold Sore/Herpes) - Apply thinly on the tiny blistered area, if any, 4 hourly. Not to be taken.

• Oil of Oregano (Supplement for killing yeast & much more!) - Drip 1 - 2 drips under tongue, hold for 5 - 10 seconds and swallow together with saliva, 3 times a day.

Har! Not advertising for iPod Touch ok.