Daughter’s lips - picture in thread

[sleepfortheweek]

DD’s (8) lips keep flaring up. Mine did exactly the same when I was a similar age.

Within a couple of days she goes from just occasionally licking them - to this (pictures).

I am going to take her to the chemist tomorrow as this is the worst they have been. It happens maybe 3/4 times a year - no obvious triggers.

We have tried Vaseline, sensitive lip balm, weak hydrocortisone and aqueous cream (the latter made her cry for a few minutes so will try avoid that in the future!)

Babe licks/bites/wipes them constantly when they are irritated. I’m able to be empathetic as I know how it feels, and I know it’s involuntary when she’s licking them as it gives her temporary relief. I try not get on at her too much either (just offer her Vaseline etc instead) as a core memory I have is of adults getting mad at me for licking my lips when I was already feeling miserable 😭.

Does anyone else have a DC who gets the same? I wonder what the chemist will suggest tomorrow.

I am not sure about this for sensitive patches like this - I think it is incredible fragrant, really messed up my skin.

She also looks like she has dark circles under her eyes which perhaps suggest allergies?

My Dd had similar but very very chapped , sometimes weeping. I was using “fucidin H” on her lips daily. I eventually got to the bottom of it - sodium laurel sulphate in toothpaste. She has been on SLS free toothpaste for a year and no lip problems !

Another vote for laninosh nipple cream. Worked a treat for DC

I have never noticed my DS licking his lips but the GP said (at the end of appt) he's been doing it throughout the consultation but it's so quick you don't see it !

he licked his lips faster than a human could see it? Bizarre thing for a doctor to say

fucidin h should only be used on the face for free short periods of time and never on sensitive areas like lips!

It might be perioral dermatitis. My DS had that, triggered by tomatoes as it turned out, and a very mild steroid cream from the GP sorted it out.

I had/did this as a kid.

Someone recommended zinc and castor oil cream to my mum for me. Sorted.

https://www.superdrug.com/skin/face-skin-care/lip-care/lip-balms/okeeffes-lip-repair-overnight-gobe-7g-jar/p/811930

And this

https://mumandyou.com/products/baby-face-cream-stick?srsltid=AfmBOooUEEscYQbPUA4sCS6TAMFuR9-1XRoYVW8ocdsWa6sw1S8NmhcA

Completely cleared my daughter's lip lickers dermatitis.

My DD used to suffer exactly the same and the only thing that worked was Le roche posay cicaplast balm. Bought it in boots. Like you had tried everything so might be worth a try

Oh gosh I used to get this, so did my kids and my poor husband when he was little.. Bless him apparently when he had it his big sis would call him "monkey bum lips", he's scarred for life by that slur!!

She is actually sensitive to SLS as it gives her blisters on her tongue but she hasn’t used toothpaste with it for years

Yes she does! I thought she was maybe just tired as I took this right before bed 🙈.

if it’s something she is allergic to would it not present itself more frequently rather than just occasionally? She is not an adventurous eater 🤣 so her diet doesn’t really fluctuate

Fucidin

My ds had this, dsis had it too and called it fire something. Anyway, carmex was the only thing that helped

Open skin and perfumed creams is a recipe for tears.

Vaseline is the simplest. It's a very effective barrier cream and does not sting when applied. I use it around my nose when I have a cold so I don't end up with a red chapped nose. Put moisturiser on a chapped nose once, let's just say I'll never do that again. That's when I started using Vaseline. I also use it on my lips regularly (can't sleep if they're dry).

I'd give her a little pot to carry around and apply whenever she notices herself licking her lips. The more she self corrects, the less she will lick.

If it's an allergy, as some have mentioned above, it might help give some relief but won't fix the problem.

Can you get her to used Vaseline or a lip balm instead of licking it? If she keeps licking nothing will work. Definitely don’t put on steroid cream to be licked off.

Yes she’s putting Vaseline on it constantly. She’s also used unscented lip balm, hydrocortisone and aqueous cream (I use this for my exzema and its unscented).

We are at the early stages of going through ADHD diagnosis - I don’t know if this is relevant but her tolerance for pain is ZERO and getting her to try new things on her sore lips is difficult. Vaseline is accepted but she wipes/licks it off almost immediately 🙄 then gets upset if we tell her not to lick etc. it’s so tricky 😩

Pharmacist recommended Calendula Cream for my son when he had something that looked very similar. Went on easily and was very soothing, no stinging and worked really quickly.

aqueous cream stings and I find it better as a soap substitute rather than a leave on moisturer. I’d go very heavy handed at night with one of the creams recommended. Maybe after she is asleep. The key thing is to put Vaseline over the cream.

Those lips are so bad that Vaseline won’t help alone.

Have you considered neurodiversity? Lip licking is a sensory stim, a bland diet is indicative of sensory issues around food, tiredness is typical of neurodiverse kids who really struggle to sleep.

Edited to say I’ve just seen you’re looking to get an adhd assessment. Do some research into how various neurodiversities (adhd, autism, dyslexia, spd etc) present in girls in particular, and see if you think it might be relevant to your daughter?

@sleepfortheweek

IF you think it may be a nervous habit would you allow her to chew gum?

a suggestion on this site

The frustrating thing about an intolerance is that you can often eat the food fine...until you cant. Thibk of it like a large mug. You can out boiling water in the mug and hold the mug fine, but if you put too much boiling water in it spills over and burns you.

Dairy is a common one for this sort of thing so might be worth cutting out for a while.

Also, mine also hated putting anything that would hurt on. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that I could.put bio oil on her skin whileshe was sleeping and it did a lot to bring down the redness.

Yes - she has a lot of ADHD traits. We’ve spoken to the school who haven’t noticed any during the school
day but also acknowledge she might be masking.

Interestingly I think I could also have ADHD, so having the same lip licking issues when young makes sense.

For me, lip licking always started with just dry lips. Then I would lick them and they would get worse, so I would lick them again etc. I don’t think it was a stim. DD doesn’t do it unless her lips are sore, but when her lips are sore she does is ALL the time without even realising it

@MageQueen that’s interesting. She LOVES milk and drinks a lot of it.

I think she actually uses it as a comforter, even at 8yo. First thing in the morning, as soon as she’s tired (which also translates to overwhelmed) and before bed she looks for a cup of warm milk.

we don’t give her much, maybe 150ml each time, but it’ll add up. She likes cream cheese but doesn’t eat other cheese, and has yogurts occasionally. Doesn’t like cream but gets ice cream occasionally too.

We actually have both oat and soya milk in the house at all times as neither I or DH drink cows milk but DD is so obsessed with cows milk it might be difficult to wean her off 🙈