Well, cheilitis means inflammation of lips.
According to Dermnet: Exfoliative cheilitis is a rare condition presenting as continuous peeling of lips. Some may be triggered by factitial behaviour or an obsessive-compulsive tendency to pick the lips.
It’s reported that Exfoliative Cheilitis appear in both sexes equally and usually among young adults under age of 30. Actual cause of it is not known yet, and some of these factors such as mouth breathing, lip licking, lip sucking, lip biting, baterial infection or poor oral hygeine can worsen the condition.
What are the signs and symptoms of Exfoliative Cheilitis?
It presents with continuous peeling of the vermilion (outer) part of the lips. Interestingly enough, the inner parts of the mucosa part of my lips never get involved. The condition usually affects the lower lips. The lip may look normal or red before the formation of the thickened surface layer. The peeling appears to be cyclical and proceeds at different rates in different sites, so there is always some part of the lip peeling at any time. There may be associated bleeding resulting in the formation of a haemorrhagic crust. When both lips are involved, the lower lip is usually more affected than the upper.
Some of the pics of people suffering from Exfoliative Cheilitis:
So what’s the big deal of peeling lips?
It can cause u to have pain over your lips, tingling sensation, and difficulty in eating, talking and smiling. As you can imagine, it’s also a pain in the ass for social interactions, certainly can affect your mood and lead to depression.