Chapped lips

Alternative Names: Lips - chapped and dry

Information

Here are some recommendations for preventing chapped lips:

• Avoid excessive sun exposure
• Avoid going out in dry, cold weather without putting on lip balm or lipstick
• Try to keep the air in your home humid
• Use a sunscreen on your lips when outside in sunny weather

Here are some recommendations for soothing chapped and sore lips:

• Drink additional fluids in winter months
• Treat chapped lips with beeswax and petrolatum (Vaseline)

See your health care provider if you have sores that won't heal on your lips.

Habif TP. Atopic dermatitis. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 5.

Habif TP. Warts, herpes simplex, and other viral infections. In: Habif TP, ed. Clinical Dermatology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 12.

Chapped lips

Review Date: 10/28/2010
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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