Sore Lips?

[xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx]

My lips constantly feel sore and I am always using vaseline. I have heard that using lip balms can stop your lips from moisturising themselves and that is why you feel like you have to use it constantly.
But I have just suddenly wondered if it has anything to do with crohns?
Does anyone else get constantly sore lips? I have friends who use vaseline and don't constantly need it the way I do!
I am interested in your thoughts!

 

[outlier]

my lips are always cracking. so much so that my eye doctor is concerned that i have sojourners syndrome. you might want to ask about it.

 

[David]

my lips are always cracking. so much so that my eye doctor is concerned that i have sojourners syndrome. you might want to ask about it.

Just for clarity, might you be referring to Sjogren's Syndrome?

 

[Misty-Eyed]

Mine are always dry. But saying that, my skin is generally dry all over. Not sure if it's just me or due to dehydration or something else.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

Yes, I absolutely get sore lips. My whole life I have had canker sores (long before they diagnosed the crohns) and I usually get them in batches. When things are really not going well my lips will get red and sore on the part of the lips that are just technically "inside of my mouth". But usually, if I smile you can see the the inner portion of my lip is lined with red. Sometimes these lines of red turn into sores as well. And along the same lines, I get sores at the corners of my mouth. I have never had a cold sore. These sores (and the lining of the lips with sores) are always associated with flares and are a more recent phenomenon for me...only appearing for the last 2-3 years or so (I was diagnosed with crohns in 2004). The one on the corners of my mouth are really annoying because they extend out from my mouth just enough so that you can definitely tell they are there. They do not take on the ugly appearance of cold sores or canker sores. Rather they are just red, inflamed cracks on the sides of my mouth. They also peel. Although I don't know if that is the natural course of things or if it is because I pick at them.

My lips are the only real visable symptom of when I am having a flare (being pale and drained isn't convincing as that could be from anything). And it always happens overnight. I just wake up and there the 'corner cracks' and 'sore lip liners' are. When my fiance sees it he gets really worried because he knows it is my body's 'tell' sign that things aren't so great. I have them right now.

 

[David]

Thatswhatshesaid, what you're describing sounds an awful lot like angular stomatosis or angular cheilitis both of which are caused by vitamin B deficiencies. Usually B6 or B2. I would strongly suggest discussing the idea of taking a B complex vitamin with your doctor.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

That's interesting, I was not aware of that. I do take a B supplement but only intermittently (a few times a week) because the last time I was checked, my levels were okay so my gastroenterologist said it wasn't necessary....but that was a while ago. Thanks for the heads up.

Also David, I can't remember which thread it was since I've been bopping around everywhere on here, but you were talking about how the body doesn't trust the mind and that plays a role in anxiety issues and stuff. I would really be interested in learning more about that. Do you have anything else you can share? Or any direction to point me in?

 

[David]

I can't state that as fact, only something that appears to be true for me. Due to some terrible western medical doctors and a sports career I have come to realize through meditation and other techniques that my body doesn't trust my mind to care for it and thus it is in a constant state of anxiety and subsequent tension. It's in a constant state of fight or flight which doesn't lend very well to healing or digestion.

 

[ThatsWhatSheSaid]

That's so interesting. I never thought about it that way. I always thought the reverse. I always think of my body as separate from me. I mean, it belongs to me, but more of a vessel. Anyway, when I am so sick, in my head I am always thinking, my poor body, I just want to take care of it and feel bad for it, almost in a motherly way. I realize all of this sounds pretty weird. But I guess that is probably why I wonder if my anxiety is from my mind not trusting my body to be healthy- because of the way I view the two.

 

[ockin_boy06]

how could i prevent my lips from becoming dry and after the dryness comes the swelling of little water in some part of the lips. and this problem always come back maybe 2 times or 3 a year. i experience this for 10 years already.i'm now 21 years old.please help me to cure this and not to be back anymore.thank you!

 

[Yannick]

I have the same problem my lips are always dry 24/7. I use Blistex lip medex but I still have sore lips...

 

[Tina80]

Holly, have you had your b12 levels checked? I always know when my b12 is low as my lips get cracked and sore.

 

[sickofcrohns]

+1 on the low B vitamins possibly being to blame. If I slack with my B vitamins one bit, this is exactly what happens to me. Super-annoying, creams don't help, and it makes lipstick and lip gloss look like crap. The good news is that it clears up (at least for me) with a few days of consistently taking the B vitamins again.

 

[Cupcake]

I find my lips becoming chapped on the onset of any flare ups. I have esophageal crohns, and it manifests in inflammation all the way through the mouth. Throwing up doesnt make it any more comfortable. When it hurts the most, I have used viscous lidocaine to help with the pain. Of all the various lip treatments, I've had the best results with Carmax.

 

[Stillindenial]

Yes my lips are constantly dry...I use vaseline at least 6 times a day....and I have been like that for over 20 years. I never associated it with mt Crohns however!

 

[cheerfull]

How interesting I have had a craked upper lip for months and months and had never conected it to Crohns - now that i think about it appeared just before I got really ill and was hospitalised and finally diagnosed with iBD. Have tried Blistex, and lip balm but it no soone rheals then splits again in same place. Due for another B12 so gather it may be related to lower B12.

 

[xSophiexx]

Little Vaseline fact for u .. its not a balm so it doesn't moisturise .. its more of a barrier. i also get very chapped lips also angular chelitis and cold sores - grim lol the best things for me have been carmex balm and blistex intense moisturiser. look for a balm rather than constant vaseline which if u think about it people put on their bum on prep days to protect it lol

 

[ofallthingsagirlshouldget]

Awesome tips! I will increase my vitamin B intake!!!

I figured out that taking 1000-2000 mg of vitamin C (powder form) helps with my gum sores, so I will try to take more vitamin B for the sores on the corners of my lips. SO painful - the only thing that has helped in the past has been Remicade. But the side effects of that is pretty brutal. You can`t ever win when you have Crohns, there is always something to treat or complain about.

Happy to have found this forum

 

[David]

Hi ofallthingsagirlshouldget and welcome to the community. You mention sores on the corners of your lips. Do they look like this?

 

[ofallthingsagirlshouldget]

Hi David!

They are a bit more raw looking than that. Less dry and they almost look like canker sores on the outside. The area around the corners is also more red than in the photo you posted - I call it clown mouth! It`s very noticeable!

 

[David]

Same thing. It's called Angular Cheilitis or Angular Stomatitis. Please be sure to read those links, print out the references, and take them to your doctor. It is very treatable and you need not suffer.