Dry Lips: The Most Common Causes

In most cases, the lips become dry due to environmental causes or the adoption of harmful habits. However, dryness and cracking can also be due to slightly more complex health problems.

We can have dry lips for various reasons, most of which are associated with external factors. It is only on rare occasions that dry lips are linked to more serious health problems.

More than anything else, it is an aesthetic problem. For most people, lips are most attractive when they are well hydrated and keep their color alive. When they are chapped, they take on an aged appearance that makes them less pleasing to the eye.

In general, this problem is solved by adopting simple attentions. However, in infrequent cases the situation can become complicated and cause pain and even bleeding.

If your lips become excessively dry, pay attention to the problem and take appropriate measures to correct it.

Dryness of the lips

Everyone has dry lips. Beyond the aesthetic question, it is necessary to identify the cause of the problem and prevent it from causing further discomfort or complications.

Lips dry out because they lose their natural lipids and oils in the outer layer. This phenomenon reduces the hydration of the lips with consequent cracking. If the latter becomes very deep, more serious problems could arise, such as fungus or injury.

Main causes of dry lips

In the most frequent cases, the lips dry up due to the action of external or environmental factors. To solve the problem, it is sufficient to avoid exposure to the agent or stimulus responsible. The main environmental factors are:

• Low temperatures. During the winter, or when it is very cold, it often happens that the lips dry out. This happens because the lips have few sebaceous glands, so they do not produce protective oils in abundance. For this same reason, they crack and split.

• UV rays. When we expose ourselves to sunlight without adequate protection, the lips can become dry, injured or burned. Lips are sensitive to ultraviolet rays.

• Sucking your lips often. Sometimes when the lips are slightly dry they are annoying. To calm this feeling, some people tend to suck them; however, by doing so they increase dryness due to the action of a substance present in saliva, lysozyme.

• Breathe through your mouth. When breathing through the mouth, dry mouth often occurs, which in turn causes dry lips.

• Smoking. Tobacco can irritate and dry out the lips, as can chewing gum and other very sweet products, coffee, or very salty or spicy foods.

• Some Medicines. One of the undesirable effects of some drugs is dryness of the lips.

Dry lips: other causes

Sometimes the lips become dry due to causes that require more attention. Sometimes these are temporary conditions that present some risk; in other cases, however, they are associated with pathologies that should not be underestimated:

• Dehydration. Dry lips, especially when accompanied by dry eyes and mouth, indicate dehydration. The latter can manifest itself on various levels, the most severe are dangerous to health and even to life itself.

• Allergic reaction. Some foods or cosmetic products inflame, irritate and crack the lips. The allergic reaction can also occur due to exposure to some substance present in the environment.

• Yeast Infection. When dry lips are accompanied by cracking at the corners, the most likely hypothesis is that it is a yeast infection. It is advisable to hydrate them sufficiently and avoid sucking or biting them.

• Vitamin deficiency. Lack of vitamin B2 impairs fat metabolism and causes an imbalance of amino acid levels in the blood. Sore and chapped lips can be a sign of a deficiency of this vitamin.

• Excess vitamin A. Dry lips can also indicate an excess of vitamin A. In many cases, this phenomenon occurs because too many dietary supplements are taken. In the presence of large amounts of vitamin A, the lips and skin take on a chapped appearance.

• Underlying diseases. Some diseases dry the lips, especially diabetes and autoimmune diseases.

In summary

In most cases, the lips dry out due to environmental factors. However, they can sometimes be a symptom of underlying diseases, allergic reactions, or consumption of certain medicines.

If the symptom persists or is accompanied by other clinical manifestations, it is important to consult your doctor.