What Causes Cracked and Dry Lips and How to Get Rid of It?

Dry lips and the resulting cracks are an important problem that not only causes cosmetic defects but also can lead to various infections and other related diseases. Many factors, such as insufficiency of various vitamins and minerals, use of dental prosthesis, presence of fungal and many other infections, excessive sunlight exposure, and use of certain medications, can cause dry lips. Initially, redness and tenderness develop around the person’s lips, and small sores may appear in the corners of the mouth. At this stage, if the lip mucosa is not healed with appropriate care, it will dry out completely and in the future, cracking, splitting and related bleeding problems will occur on the lips. This condition greatly prevents the person from eating, speaking, and daily living activities and reduces the quality of life.

What Causes Chapped Lips?

The problem of dry lips, if left untreated, causes cracking of the lip mucosa and serious mucosal damage. It is possible to talk about many factors that cause dryness on the lips. While it is caused by mechanical and infectious factors in adulthood, nutritional problems are the leading cause in children. The main factors that cause lips to dry and crack can be listed as follows:

1. Cold Weather: Lip mucosa has a much more delicate and sensitive structure than normal skin. Therefore, in dry, cold and windy weather conditions, the lip mucosa easily loses its moisture and tends to dry out. Usually, a lip licking reaction develops with the desire to moisturize the lips, and in this case, the wet lips become more dry and cracked as a result of contact with the wind.
2. Excessive Sun: It is a common knowledge that cold weather causes dryness and cracks on the lips, but it is often overlooked that the sun can also cause dryness on the lips. Especially in the summer months, during direct contact with sunlight, the lips should be moisturized and appropriate lip care should be provided afterwards.
3. Infection: As a result of fungal infection, especially in the mouth, the oral mucosa is damaged, starting from the lips. Fungal infection, which can cause dryness, cracking, edema, sensitivity and many other symptoms on the lips, is an important problem that can also put a person’s physical health at risk. If left untreated, it can lead to tooth decay, digestive system problems, and weakening of the immune system as a result of disruption of the intestinal flora.
4. Nutritional Disorders: Another factor that causes lip cracking is nutritional disorders. It can be said that many nutrition-related conditions, such as lack of various vitamins and minerals and excessive alcohol use, cause drying and cracking problems on the lips.
5. Use of Various Medicines: Isotretinoin, which is commonly used for the treatment of acne, and acitretin, which is among the treatment options for psoriasis, are the main drugs that cause dry lips. However, some diuretics used in the treatment of diseases such as hypertension, heart failure, liver cirrhosis and diabetes insipidus may also cause dryness and cracking on the lips. Finally, it has been observed that serious cracks develop as a result of direct contact of the substance called chlorhexidine gluconate, which is contained in some mouthwashes, on the lips.
6. Contact with Chemical Agent: Since the lip mucosa is extremely sensitive, many chemical ingredients can cause drying and cracking on the lips. Commonly used lip balms consist of a mixture of dye solvents such as castor oil, lanolin as a moisturizer, preservatives, perfumes and some dyes in a base of mineral oil and wax. Lanolin, perfume and impure dyes can cause drying and cracking of the lips, as well as the development of an allergic reaction. However, lip protectors containing essential oils such as mint, cinnamon and clove are also known to cause cracks in the lips. Finally, substances such as mercury and eugenol used in dentistry can cause cracks and infection in both the oral mucosa and the lips.

What disease is cracked lips a symptom of?

The problem of drying and cracking lips can be caused by many factors or as a result of some diseases. The most commonly known of these is undoubtedly diabetes. In the presence of diabetes, the salivary fluid in the mouth becomes denser and darker. This situation causes drying of both the oral mucosa and the lip tissue. This condition, which is considered one of the first symptoms of diabetes, causes the person to drink water very frequently with the desire to moisturize the oral mucosa. In addition, it should be known that diuretics used in the treatment of diabetes may cause dryness in the mouth and lips, and lip care should be taken into consideration during both the diagnosis and treatment stages of the disease. Apart from this, cracked lips may also be a symptom of various vitamin and mineral deficiencies. In particular, conditions such as riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid, zinc, iron deficiency and inadequate protein absorption can lead to dry lips. In case of insufficiency of vitamin B12, which is also associated with iron deficiency, dry mouth, cracked lips, deterioration of the oral mucosa and signs of infection may be observed. Therefore, especially people diagnosed with anemia should include these vitamins and minerals in their diets and be careful to take the right care and practices for cracked lips. Constant dry lips and persistent lip cracks usually develop as symptoms of other skin diseases. Dryness and cracking problems on the lips are frequently encountered, especially in the presence of actinic cheilitis (dry lips leading to tumor), psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, eczema and rheumatic disease called Sjögren’s syndrome, which causes serious dryness problems in the mouth and eyes.

How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips?

In order to heal lip cracks and prevent their recurrence, it must first be determined whether there is any health problem causing cracks and treated correctly. If there is no underlying disease, other mechanical factors such as use of prosthesis, inadequate oral care, contact with chemical agents should be taken into consideration and a treatment plan should be made accordingly. Cracks on the lips should first be cleaned correctly to prevent infection, and then a good moisturizing care should be applied. When cleaning the cracks, care should be taken not to use chemical agents and the lips should be gently cleaned with clear water. Then, applying moisturizing care with creams with appropriate content will both heal existing cracks and prevent new cracks from developing.

What is Good for Cracked Lips?

In order to prevent lip cracking and drying, care should be taken to drink plenty of water and maintain the body’s healthy moisture content. Consuming more than 2 liters of water per day increases the elasticity of skin tissue and strengthens the skin mucosa. Apart from this, moisturizing care should be applied regularly to heal lip cracks, and lips should be carefully protected with care products containing sun protection factors, especially in extremely hot and extremely cold weather. The presence of cracks on the lips increases the risk of infection in the oral mucosa. Therefore, during this period, care should be taken to apply oral care correctly and at the same time, oral care products that do not cause irritation on the lips should be preferred. Do not forget to share these symptoms with your doctor for proper care of lip cracks and diagnosis of the underlying disease, if any!