About lip diseases
Lips are the two fleshy parts that form the upper and the lower edges of the mouth opening. The lips are very useful to the human beings but they are prone to many different diseases that are caused by different factors some of which end up causing fatal symptoms. Lip diseases are the conditions that affect the lips through formation of ulcers or even lesions. Some of the lip diseases are easy to treat if diagnosed early enough while others may be complicated right from the beginning. The main and common lips diseases are lip cancer, cracked lips and swollen lips. These three lip diseases have different symptoms and are treated differently since they are caused by different factors.
Types of lip diseases
- Lip cancer: It is a type of oral cancer whose cause is unknown but a number of risk factors like the use of tobacco, alcohol, HPV infection, exposure to the sun and oral sex are associated with the occurrence of lip cancer. Cancer lip diseases are characterized by enlarged lymph nodes, jaw and mouth swelling, lip thickening, bleeding from lips, presence of a lump in the lip, lip discoloration, sores on lips and numbness that is backed by pain and tingling.
- Cracked lips: Cracked lip diseases are painful and frustrating. They are caused by dehydration, exposure to the sun, change in the climate, exposure to the wind, deficiency in vitamins, smoking, having ill-fitting dentures, skin disorders, effects of consuming certain medications and some allergic reactions. The symptoms of cracked lips are; lip pain, frequent lip licking that you can avoid, lip bleeding, lip peeling and lip sensitivity.
- Swollen lips: Swelling of the lips is caused by various reasons like; allergies to some foods or environment, stings and bites from insects, side effects of certain drugs, nutritional deficiencies, viral infections or due to trauma or lip injury.
Treatment of lip diseases
Lip cancer: The aim of cancer lip diseases treatment is to cure the cancer totally with leaving any signs of cancer cells in the body. It is treated though;
- Surgical removal of the cancer if the lip cancer is not severe.
- Removal of the lymph nodes and other tissues if the cancer is advanced.
- Chemotherapy and radiation that is meant to attack the cancer cells.
- Other Targeted therapies that are also meant to attack cancer cells.
Cracked lips:
- Drink plenty of water to cater for the dehydration.
- Apply ointment like the Aloe Vera and vitamin E ointments.
- Avoid the use of commercial flavored lip gross and balms as they dry the lips.
- Increase the amount of vitamins in your diet.
- Avoid using toothpaste that contains fluoride.
Swollen lips:
- Taking medications like the antihistamine helps in soothing the lips and fighting the allergic reactions.
- If the lip swelling is caused by an injury, compress the lips with ice cubes that are wrapped in a towel.
- Apply teabag and Aloe Vera to the swollen lip.
Tips
- Always protect your lips from the sun.
- Avoid licking your lips especially when they are cracked because when the saliva evaporates, pain may occur.
- Most of the lip products contain products that harm the lips by drying them off as well as aggravating an existing problem.
- When you notice a change in the lips that does not heal after using some home remedies, make sure that your consult a doctor immediately.
- Do not rip off nay flaky skin on your lips as this make aggravate the problem and even cause bleeding and soreness.
