Hi everyone,
I need some advice/help with some symptoms ive been having and for the life of me, NOTHING IS WORKING AHHHHHH!!
So i get these cracks on the sides of my mouth/ lips that open up and bleed and just will not heal… I usually seem to only get them when im flared up or gonna have a flare ( im pretty flared at this time) anyway they usually will heal or go away till next time, but they aren’t healing this time… I’ve had the cracks for a couple weeks now abd i have tried every lip balm / medicated chapstick etc… And have even put neosporin on them to help heal since they open up when i wake up or when i open my mouth wide to eat and stuff. I then just noticed today that I have developed a round brown spot ( kinda looks like a medium size freckle or brown spot) on the outside of my top lip on the left side, and im freaking our bad about it! 
i have never had this and i’m not sure what it is or what to do about it? I will ler the doctor look at it on friday at my appt. but i just wondered if anyone here has experienced these spots? What do u think they will do after looking at it? Biopsy maybe? I dont know what it is why im asking for any possible answers to this … Thank u all for any feedback …
Forgot to add that I need some suggestions on what to do about the side lip cracks too… Help
Hi Niki
My doctor has me put a very thin layer of vasoline on my lips before i go to bed and it has helped some. Let us no what the doctor tells you.
Hi Niki,
I use Vasoline at times, coconut oil at times, olive oil, and prefer the Blistex sticks to carry in my purse. Yes, I've used neosporin on lips and even inside my nose.
I have ALWAYS had dry cracked lips, winter is the worst! Drinking extra water helps sometimes too!
Not sure about that 'freckle' looking thing, but hope it goes away quickly! The Doc should have some answers for you there!
Take care of yourself, my friend!
I use Nystatin cream on the cracks on the sides of my lips. Helps heal them.
Hello. I use to struggle with this constantly. Do your best to controlled the flare ups!!! I manage mine indirectly mostly with anti inflammatory foods. Also (your gonna hate this) fish oil. I pin hole a capsule and apple to supper chapped lips and super dry eyes during flare ups (sometimes I can’t resist a great BBQ).I know it stinks. I apply early morning when I’ll be home alone. Hope you heal quickly.
Hi Niki,
I have had extremely dry lips for decades and have tried just about everything.
For the last few years I have used 100% natural, preservative free Lanolin. It really works well for me!! LANSINOH (HPA Lanolin) which is available in a 1.4 OZ tube is available at Walmart, at some large drug stores and online (Amazon.com). It is primarily used by nursing mothers on their sore, sometimes cracked nipples! Look in the baby care section of stores where nursing related products are located. I squeeze the lanolin into very small plastic containers and have one in my purse, one by my bed, one in my medicine cabinet and one in the family room. I am never without it. I use it under lipstick, but often just use it alone.
Be super diligent about cleaning your teeth/mouth. My extremely dry mouth makes me very susceptible to canker sores and thrush. Thrush which is a fungal infection can cause tremendous burning, peeling and cracking of the lips. I usually have had to take fluconazole (not sure of spelling) for four weeks to get rid of it. Thrush in those of us with SD does NOT look like the ‘cottage cheesy’ business which others experience. That’s another story…
Anyway, I hope that if you try lanolin that it will give you some relief. By the way, it has no taste or smell. (It is perfectly okay for babies so is just fine for us!)
Sorry, but I have no experience with brown spots near my lips. I DO have other skin issues and am fortunate in having a great dermatologist on my medical team. He was the first to identify my Peripheral Neuropathy!
Hugs and hang in there!
Thank you all for the great remedies i plan to try a few for sure 
It’s mostly just the corners of my mouth (lips) that crack and bleed and will not heal so i will be applying/ trying a few of these suggestions u all gave me tobtry … Fingers crossed My Rhuemy is super duper old 
and they have cancelled my friday appt. because he will not be able to be in office (i dont think he is very well himself) so unfortunetly i wont see him again till they can reschedule me, my luck… Ugh!! The brown spot may just be a sun spot maybe? But one never knows for sure considering the luck i have with these health problems … Trying not to worry about it too much but may just go see my GP (primary care doctor) to look at it… Gonna see if maybe in the next couple days, it will just go away on its own before i start overreacting LOL! 
who knows ?!
But i am tired of the cracked corners! Ouch! Thank u again everyone of u! Xoxo
Hi Niki, I had tech painful cracked corners last year for several months before my dentist told me it was a yeast infection (thanks to the dryness and something in my diet at the time). Because of sjogrens I can’t even eat anything with yeast in it anymore. There’s an anti-fungal prescription gel that will make it better within a day or two if that’s what it is. I freaked out originally too, but unfortunately it’s just part of the sjogrens.
Oh I really feel for you =( The only thing that has really, really worked for me is Nivea's A Kiss of Recovery medicated lip balm. It's kinda hard to find, but well worth the search. I have a tube in my end table, one in the junk drawer, in the kitchen, in my purse, in my make up drawer, 2 socked away just in case, and one on my nightstand. It's the last thing I use before going to sleep and I really pile it on thick. When I first found it my lips were like yours and nothing had worked. I now apply this a few times a day and I've not had bad lips again. I have, on occasion, forgotten it at bedtime and the next morning my lips let me know I've forgotten it! I hope you're fortunate enough to have at least one of these remedies work. My fingers are crossed for you =)
It sounds like you've gotten some good advice....I will throw one more suggestion into the pile. Beeswax. 100% beeswax. Burt's Bees sells it in a little round tin and it works really well. It forms a complete seal over the lips so no liquid or dry air can get through. I put it on at night and occasionally during the day if my lips feel dry.
Good luck to you. Keep an eye on the "freckle" ==if it changes at all, grows larger or turns darker, go to a dermatologist. My dad had a growth on his upper lip which his GP and Cardiologist assured him was nothing to worry about. It grew larger and larger and finally my dad listened to my mom's and my nagging and went to a dermo. and found out he had basal cell carcinoma. He had surgery to remove it and it should not create any more problems as they got it all and it is not an aggressive cancer. However if he had NOT gotten it treated by a knowledgeable doctor, he could have had big problems.
I suffer from horrible cracks in the corners of my mouth and sores on the top of my mouth that feels like a bad sunburn.
When I was recently on vacation, stupid me didn’t bring any lip balm. I was desperate, so my husband and I went to a L’Occitane store (which I usually avoid because of my perceived idea of it being way to expensive). I bought the unscented lip balm in the white tube and the SPF lip balm in the orange tube.
I was completely floored with how well they both worked! It was like magic, the next day my lips were at least 90% better. I cannot recommend these enough.
Hollydoodle said:
I suffer from horrible cracks in the corners of my mouth and sores on the top of my mouth that feels like a bad sunburn.
When I was recently on vacation, stupid me didn't bring any lip balm. I was desperate, so my husband and I went to a L'Occitane store (which I usually avoid because of my perceived idea of it being way to expensive). I bought the unscented lip balm in the white tube and the SPF lip balm in the orange tube.
I was completely floored with how well they both worked! It was like magic, the next day my lips were at least 90% better. I cannot recommend these enough.
I had the same problem.(.probably not as severe as yours sounds) with very dry lips and cracks/redness in the corners of my mouth. My doc gave me Desonide Ointment 0.05%.....looks and feels like vaseline. It is a prescreption but it has worked wonders for me. Perhaps you coud ask about it next time you see your doctor.
Hope your get better soon.....
Blessings.....Judy
Niki,
I am sorry that you are having this Lupus related condition. I too get these sores on my upper lip left side. They are painful and if it were not for my mustache hiding them I would be very self-conscious about them. I use an amino acid capsule called ' L- LYSINE' 500 MG FREE FORM. It is made by 'Solgar' and is gluten, wheat and dairy free. You can find it in most vitamin strores and organic food stores as well. I find that it does shorten the time span of the sore/cracked lip on my face and perhaps heads off an outbreak of these 'lip sores'. I hope this will be helpful to you.
Patrick
The only time I had cracking at the corners of my mouth was when my blood sugars were high and I didn't know it. this was before I was diagnosed with diabetes. I hope that's not your problem, but if your doc hasn't already checked your blood glucose, you may want to check it. If you have any friend or family member that has diabetes they may (should) be using a blood glucose meter and if so you could check your blood sugar on their meter. Good luck--I hope you can find out what is causing you this problem and that it can be helped.
There are so many products to try.
Bee's Buzz lip balm, labello (a European line now bought by Nivea), Aquafor, coconut oil.
I like the labello right now. Always use it in the morning and night. I find that if I miss I get dry lips.
2akl
Kaz I went in search of this cream and can’t find a store that carries it. I am tired of battling dry skin. I do like my Nivea but am open to new things.
Kaz said:
I have tried all conceivable things for lips and the ONLY thing that has worked, and worked well, is Neutrogena Norwegian Formula hand cream - fragrance free. I only found this out by accident. I usually have to keep reapplying balms etc., continually throughout the day or my lips will crack and bleed. I had forgotten my balm and my lips started bleeding.
I searched my bag frantically and I only had my hand cream (it is excellent for very dry hands) and read it can be applied on the lips which I hadn’t realised, so I used it. It worked so well that I have ditched everything else and use only this. It only needs to be applied a few times a day compared to continuous administration. My mum now is using this too and has also found it to be great on her lips. I thoroughly recommend it. It is quite cheap and available in many countries.
In regards to the brown mark, don’t freak out too much until it is checked out thoroughly as it may be nothing. Could be an age spot.
In regards to cracks at the very side of the mouth (corners) this usually is an indicator of lack of zinc. So try taking zinc supplements for around 6-8 weeks. Zinc should not be taken as a supplement every day. Only for a few months at a time, then a break for a few months. So do try the zinc as well as Neutrogena. You do need to rub the cream into the lips a bit for it to disappear, but it is worth it as it really hydrates the lips well. And it is hydration we need. Vasoline acts as a barrier, so not really addressing the hydration side.
Hi Niki… I just want to confirm that I am reading correctly. When you say cracks on the sides, do you mean like in the outer corners of the lips rather than the chapped/dry lips that we deal with? If it helps, I was getting that for awhile and occasionally little sores there too. I finally read something (I think on WebMd) that said in that spot specifically can be caused by a Vit B Deficiency. I have added a good multivitamin with a B complex and take Biotin on top of it. I haven't had that problem since and it has been at least since late winter, early spring. Its been long enough that I actually forgot about it until I saw the post, so maybe that is something you can look into.
For topical things, I use Aquaphor (The ointment that comes in a tube for lips) during the day and Neosporin overnight lip healing right before bed. Both make a real difference.
Glad you are seeing a doc, though. Odd spots should always be checked. I hope some of this helps. Please keep us posted on how it goes.
Enjoylife thanks for reminding me about neosporin lip ointment. My son was ADHD in his younger days (now just add) and his lips were awful. It might have been the meds, I don’t know. I used to use neosporin before bed and it really worked for him. Sounds like another choice for me!