permanently cut lip?

[hereidrawtheline]

I have had a cut right in the middle of my top lip for at least 6 months now. It hurts! I dont wear lipstick at all but I do wear lip balm every day several times a day. I dont bite the lip. I dont know why it is cut or why it doesnt heal! Anybody else have this? Sometimes it bleeds and looks worse but usually you cant really see it, its more on the underneath side of my lip.

Any chance this is a coldsore? I would see your GP, tbh.

I dont think its a cold sore, I have had them before and its more like a circular thing isnt it? This is a thin little slit of a line. Like a paper cut.

Is it infected?

Can you put vaseline or similar on it, and be careful not to stretch it, so it can heal up? But if it doesn't close in a week, I'd go to the GP.

Do you have other cuts that aren't healing? Are you generally worn down etc etc?

every now and then it looks a little infected, (sorry, tmi) there will be a little yellow film over it. And also (very very embarrassing) I have had a long term (uh ehm) problem in the vaginal area. I always get lots of tiny little cuts down there. I had a soft tissue infection ages ago and it was horrendous & painful & I was on some pills and topical cream and it went. Now it constantly comes back just never as bad as the first time. So its just like lots of little cuts down there.

I hasten to add though it isnt because of any dodgy sex practises (fun as they might be!) and nor could it be any sort of std as DH and I are totally faithful. So I really dont know what it could be. I guess I just assumed my skin down there was overly delicate but I have never connected it to the cut on my lip at all.

I am fairly worn down I guess, I had pneumonia which I recovered from 2 weeks ago and am now fully recovered. And I get really bad migraines but I have had those since I was 7. And I am under a lot of stress which I am posting about ongoing on the SN boards.

Which is why I am so reluctant to ever go to the GP, my GP and I have a pretty terrible relationship and its really strained right now as DS is being assessed for ASD etc and I just really feel sick thinking of having to go to the doctor for anything.

Hmmm, both of these problem areas are mucous membranes.

There are a lot of possibilities here. I'm afraid it does sound like you need to go see the GP. But I can talk through some of the possibilities and options ...

Any chance you have diabetes? Are you high risk?

What sort of infection was it that you had, vaginally? Could it have been thrush? You can get that orally as well. (And diabetes will cause/encourage that.)

You can get fungal infections, vaginally and orally I believe.

You can buy topical antibiotics over the counter, which might sort your lip out.

Re: your vulva. I would try to keep the area clean and well-aired, in case it's fungal or thrush. Cotton pants only, and ideally go without pants when possible. If you are having sex, make sure the area is well-lubricated (use KY or equivalent, if needed). I don't think soap is great for vulvas, wash with water only.

Thanks NQC. I always sleep nude unless I am on my period then I sleep with cotton pants & a pad on. And each and every month on my period I get this skin infection worse down there as the rubbing of the pad hurts, but I cant fit tampons inside of me Really I cant. When I was pregnant with DS a doctor struggled getting a virgin speculum inside for an examination! It hurts like the blazes. Though sex is not painful for me. I always clean that area really gently & thoroughly and unfortunately due to all the stress of what we have been going through with DS, DH and I have not had sex in ages so that isnt a contributing factor.

The infection I had before was just referred to as a soft tissue infection. It looked awful, it was like a huge red welt, but it had some open skin & bled. I dont recall ever having thrush or a fungal infection. I am racking my brains now trying to remember how the doctor referred to it (I saw an out of hours doctor for that as I was in such pain with it on a Friday night)

I think I am high risk for diabetes because my Dad had a sister who died of diabetes before I was born, in the 70's. But I had a blood test in hospital about a month ago when I was in with pneumonia and it wasnt picked up.

Thanks very much for talking to me about it.

Your aunt died as a child? Or as an adult? People don't die of type 2 diabetes very often, type 1 (which isn't inherited, or not much, and you mostly get it when quite young) kills more often, afaik.

Risk factors: Obesity, particularly around the waist, age, family members with type 2, particularly if they got it before they were 50 or so.

Ok, so cotton pants and a pad isn't working so well for you. Hmmm, I'd be tempted to recommend a moon cup, they're softer and nicer than tampons, but they might pose a problem anyway. Even the tiniest tampons, even with a bit of lube on them, to ease them in?

If you're so tight, maybe your pelvic floor is pretty good. I'd be tempted to try sleeping on a towel, and scooting to the loo first and last thing. Tampons overnight are a bit dodge, and I've managed ok this way before. (Presumably the pad irritates during the day, too?)

Ooooh, or a sponge! A sponge and a towel. You can just buy a natural sponge, boil it a bit, and use that (attach dental floss if you're nervous about losing it), and a towel under you (not a pad and pants).

wow I so would have never thought of the dental floss and sponge!!! I have been thinking of a moon cup for a while so perhaps I will try that, otherwise perhaps just a towel as I dont tend to bleed much overnight anyway.

When my aunt died it was mid 70's and she was around 22 years old I think, I dont know what type of diabetes she had, I just know she had it since she was a child. I know very very little about her, only my Mum has mentioned her to me.

My waist is too big! Definitely! I am losing weight now. And I am 30 so not that old yet

So... I should really buckle down and see GP shouldnt I? You know you need a new GP when the thought of a visit brings you out in a cold sweat.

If she died of it at 22, it was type 1, so you're not at genetic risk.

You do need a new GP, don't you.

Dental floss and sponge or a towel, then, that should sort it out. Dental floss and a sponge works fine, it does leak a little bit, but less than nothing, and it's reasonably tidy. (I've done it - I've also had my pelvic floor strong enough to manage without any protection, for most of my period.)

If you decide to manage without at night, beware - when you stand up, you'll leak. So maybe grab the towel as you get up? (I know, I know, dignified, but what about periods is?)

LOL NQC I think I gave up on my dignity at some point during my pregnancy with DS... labour... and, well, everything since!! And posting about my horrid soft tissue infection on MN! You seem very clued up are you in a medical profession?

No, I just read a lot. Glad to be able to help.

wow so you actually enjoy reading medical stuff? I sound surprised because to me its all just one indistinguishable word from another. When I need to research one specific thing I can do it competently but I dont do it because I enjoy it. I wish I enjoyed reading something useful!!

Do you have a job? Sorry for being nosy but I really think you should be a doctor or something!

Oh, I don't read that much specifically medical stuff, I just read a lot. I did have nasty thrush or fungal stuff (on my tongue) while pregnant.

No, I don't work - I used to work as a coder. I'm training as a BFC soon, though, so I'll be helping people more formally. I don't think I have the memory for medical training - or the time! I'm nearly 40.

I had to google BFC and there are so many options!! You are either going to work for the Betty Ford Clinic, Books for Children, British Fashion Council, British Falconers Club, British Flying Club etc etc please clue me in!

Hi it sounds like a cold sore. Blisteze cream on your lip may help heal it. Sounds like you're really run down. Don't want to alarm you but I once read that little cuts in genital area can be mild herpes. Maybe you could google it but also go to your GP if this is a recurring problem

I used to get a split top lip in the middle whenever I was anaemic....

Oh, sorry, I'm training to be a Breastfeeding Counsellor.

Oooh, good point from friday, re: cold sores. And anaemia is always a posibility, are you eating enough pate/liver/brocolli/lentils/whatever?

Sorry I have been MIA.

Breastfeeding Counsellor!! That makes more sense than British Falconers Club.

I really dont think it can be herpes. I had an STD test when we got married & I think if irc when I got the soft tissue infection as well and I know it was always fine. But I will get it checked out again just to tick it off the list. Anaemia - hmm that is a possibility I suppose! I am veggie but I do eat good stuff.

I have decided I will go to the doctor for the whole issue as you have convinced me it is important but I am going to wait until the paediatric specialist is some way into assessing DS for his problems (ASD related) so I dont feel so much anxiety about going to the GP. The idea is by then they will be backing me up and the GP will have to stop treating me like a total idiot. I figure I have put up with all this for nearly a year it can wait a couple more months so DS can get settled into his own care first.

That makes some sense. Try upping your iron intake in the interim, just in case that fixes it? (raw brocolli dipped in hummous? lots of lentils?)

And do try the sponge thing. There are lots of instructions online for how to do it, but it deffo sounds like the pads at night (and maybe in the day, too?) are causing you problems.

I googled for you and interestingly came across some others with your 'down below' symptoms for which there seemed to be no medical explanation (just some sensitivity/susceptibility to strange little cuts)-so not herpes. Hope you pick up soon-maybe some multi-vits and some echinacea which is a good all round immune supporter