Exfoliative Cheilitis

Hi everyone, I'm new to this blogging lark so forgive me for breaching any blogging protocols that may be in place. Quick bio: I'm a 44 year old male whose EC symptoms first appeared back in 1995. Fairly innocuous starting point; skiing trip leading to dry lips; excessive licking of the lips, repeated cosmetic clean up sessions to alleviate embarrassment in front of others blah blah blah. All of which has culminated in what we currently appear to recognise as EC. Several specialists, oral pathologists, alternative medicine practitioners down the line (both in the UK and the USA), I am pretty much no further forward than day one. In fact (and I will post pics soon), exfoliation is currently projecting anywhere between 1 and 3 centimetres from the epithelium of both the top and bottom lip and comes in a range of colours (usually green, yellow, brown and black). It is frequently accompanied by green, oozing and pungent liquid that tends to drip (rather like lava flow extends land mass) to the outer extremes of the exfoliation. Having exhausted many, if not most other avenues, my current oral pathologist informs me that there may be evidence suggesting that mild anti-depressants might be the way forward and I am entering the sixth week of treatment. I also took the decision to stop the clean up sessions while undergoing treatment. So coming full circle, at 6 weeks exfoliation has maxed out at approx. 2cm across the entire surface of both lips. Nothing new there then. What is worth remarking on ( and I’m not sure how crustation manifests itself on you guys) is that production of the clear/milky, sticky gooeey substance that normally forms the hard coating has virtually ceased and new healthy skin (I mean the good rectangular cellular stuff that coats the average person's lips) has started to generate. Having been disappointed and frustrated on so many occasions over the last decade and a half, I am too long in the tooth to stick my head out and attribute the latest “therapy” to this turn of events, however, I am keen to locate any common threads running through existing sufferers’ lives that may lead to some kind of pain free existence. i.e. depression, anxiety, infection, acid reflux, Antibiotics , chest infections, too much thinking etc, etc. Your help would be much appreciated. Thanks, SEB. Tweet