Advice for helping a lip licking child to stop!

[Whyismycatanasshat]

Dn, 5 1/2 yo is a lip licker and it is getting pretty bad. His chin is permanently red and sore.
I need ways to help him stop!

He is coated with Vaseline over night and Carmex during the day - school remind him about applying the carmex when they see him licking.

The GP has told us and him that it needs to stop. But not suggested how! He’s got a barking cough that he can’t shake and I wonder if the licking isn’t helping.

DN lives with us so it’s our problem!
His P1 teacher has mentioned that DN is always got a dirty face - he plays in the sand etc in school and runs his hands around his face and he’s forever licking this grubby-ness.
We live rurally and he’s often out on a farm and I dread to think what he could come down with.

We’ve tried lip balms, reward charts, distraction when he’s doing it, fidget toys, sen-chewables, telling him off, the vet he adores has had a chat about how poorly the farm could make him, the GP was quite firm about it.
I’m out of ideas.

There is likely some SEN but nothing confirmed, we and school think emotionally he’s about year behind his peers and our DD who is days younger than him.
The face rubbing may be sensory or he’s just one of those boys!

If you’ve got this far, well done.

Had a GC who did this - the treatment was barrier creams, but above all else IGNORE, IGNORE, IGNORE!

This is true of all habits. The more you draw attention to it the worse it gets.

Colloidal silver sprayed on his chin will help heal it. Doubt he'll lick that either as it tastes rank. I use it for Angular chelitis and it works so well it's gone within days.

@Balloonhearts I’m sure that’s the stuff we used to use on the sheepdog that chewed her tail raw! Didn’t realise it was fit for human use!

My girl used to do this as a habit - usually more when she would have a sniffly nose.
When she wasn't doing this she was a chewer.
Practically ate her primary school tie 😂
You can get what's called chewellery (spelling?) - basically safe necklaces children can chew on. This might stop the licking. Although obviously it might be hard to keep it clean if he's out in the mud/sandpit but at least it would be easy to wash under a tap.
My daughter was later diagnosed with autism but did grow out of the licking and chewing habits.
It does look painful when it's really raw 🙁

Not helpful but my 9 year old is still doing it, it's so sore in the summer. I coat he and his sister (who also does it) in Sudocreme at night with Vaseline over the top which helps sooth the skin.

During the day he takes Vaseline to school to put on as he says that helps too. He doesn't notice when he does it as it's often when concentrating or excited.

I remember this stage, mine was later diagnosed with ASD too.

I wouldn't worry too much about germs, it's probably why kids who live on farms have the best immune systems.

You say he has a barking cough he can't shake. Is it a rapid cough? Could be whopping cough which can last for months.

But please don't tell him off. He's not doing it on purpose, he hardly wants a sore chin! You need to treat that properly. As suggested colloidal silver may work. But all this talking to him and being stern and reward charts are likely to make him more anxious and therefore the lip licking worse. The GP is an idiot, quite honestly. Not the way you deal with SEN children!

Whooping cough - bloody autocorrect!

My son does the same, he’s 3. It’s comes and goes. I’m wondering if it’s hay fever related. He currently has a cough and runny nose. https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/medical-articles/hay-fever-children-symptoms-parents-look-out-for?amp=1

Is Vaseline definitely the best thing? Treating as you have a redirecting if possible or ignoring.

I was coming on to suggest 'chewellery' as well. We used it for my ASD daughter who was forever putting things in her mouth, well past the 'normal' age to stop. For her it was a stim.

She had grown out of it by about 10 (now draws all over her arms 🤦‍♀️, looks like she's got a full sleeve tattoo!)

My son did it for a while, he ended up with a hitler style tash above his lip but in red because the skin was sore. I think it was an anxiety thing. I thought him to click his fingers, which he wanted to do anyway, and then taught him ‘click it don’t lick it.’ So whenever he thought of licking I wanted him to click his fingers to break the habit. It worked! I also got the teachers on board to tell him to stop when they saw him.

My daughter did this for several months at the same age when she just started school, in her case definitely nerves and done unconsciously. She recognised it was sore after a while and became motivated to try and stop. In the meantime it was sudocrem and Vaseline. I used to go in at night and put another slick of sudocrem after she’d rubbed it off on the pillow. It probably lasted 4/5 months in all but passed.

@Mishmashs His teacher is pretty good at diverting his attention but I suspect from previous experience next years teacher will be a different story!

@0ddsocks and @Needmorelego He’s rejected the chewlery unfortunately- even after he chose it himself.

@Riversideandrelax The GP says no, we’ve been back today. Just a viral cough.

@everyone Thank you for reassuring me we’re not alone!

Ds did this

I used a nipple barrier ointment (it’s very similar to Elizabeth Arden’s 8 hour) sorry I can’t remember which one it was inhabe had a look but don’t recognise the packaging someone on here might know which one

ot stayed on longer than Vaseline and da wasn’t so keen on the taste

yes and ignore they will grow out of it