Introduction
Many people suffer from dry lips, which often not only do not look beautiful, but can also be really painful. For women who tend to get dry lips anyway, this problem often increases during pregnancy, for others it even develops during pregnancy. Dry lips often occur during the cold months of the year.
The cause is usually an imbalance of the skin. In addition, cold weather quickly dries out the sensitive skin on the lips. A vitamin D deficiency in the sunless months is found in most people and can also lead to dry and chapped lips, as well as rhagades (cracks) at the corners of the mouth.
Dry lips can also occur during pregnancy. In addition to the causes of dry lips described above, a change in the appearance of the skin can occur due to the hormonal changes. The estrogens usually make the skin look more even than before pregnancy.
Dry lips can therefore be an expression of the skin’s reaction to the hormonal change, but this is rather unlikely and occurs rarely. Dry lips during pregnancy are therefore also more likely to be caused by dry air. Another reason why lips can become dry is that the lips are often moistened.
Since moistening the lips with saliva can lead to a brief relief of dry lips, this is often done. However, the saliva makes the lips even rougher and drier, so this behavior should be avoided if possible. The reasons for dry lips are many and varied.
They are predestined for rapid dehydration, since the skin of the lips, unlike most other parts of the body, does not contain subcutaneous fatty tissue that could protect against dehydration. In addition, there are no sebaceous glands in the lips, which supply the rest of the skin with a protective fat film (more or less pronounced depending on the individual) through the production of lipids. On this basis, there are various factors that promote the development of dry lips.
Since a woman’s body adapts and adjusts at different levels during pregnancy, it is not uncommon for certain problems to occur only during this particular period. One of the many causes of dry lips, for example, is a vitamin deficiency, especially vitamin B2 (riboflavin). Lipstick can make the lips dry.
Lipstick often contains preservatives and fragrances that can attack sensitive skin and make it dry. It is recommended to apply a nourishing cream or lip balm to dry lips before using lipstick. Once this has been absorbed, the lipstick can be used.
Alternatively, there is lipstick with a caring component or tinted lip care. In the event of a cold, the lips can be irritated by frequent nose blowing and nasal secretions and thus dry out. As the cold often occurs in the winter months, dry lips and cold can also occur independently of each other.
The cold can then intensify the symptoms of dry lips. Often, therapy with a nourishing cream helps with this type of dry lips. This cream moisturizes the lips and accelerates the regeneration.
In the case of diabetes, persistently high blood sugar levels in the blood lead to an infestation of the blood vessels and nerves. If the nerves are affected, neuropathy occurs, if the small vessels are affected, microangiopathy occurs, and if the large vessels are affected, macroangiopathy occurs. Especially micro- and macroangiopathy can lead to circulatory disorders of the skin.
Because parts of the skin are no longer sufficiently supplied with nutrients and oxygen, open, poorly healing wounds can occur. The skin of the lips can also be affected. For example, poor blood circulation of the lips can lead to rough skin and rhagades.
These rhagades heal poorly and should therefore be treated medically. On the lips, the danger of fungal infection is very high due to the proximity to the mouth. In case of this, an antimycotic therapy (fungicidal) should be started.
The consumption of alcohol leads to dehydration. Therefore, during consumption, an ample supply of liquid should be ensured. Dehydration can also dry out the skin.
This is expressed by a feeling of tension in the skin. This can quickly lead to rhagades on the lips.In addition to a sufficient amount to drink (1.5-2 liters per day), a nourishing cream can also be used to prevent dry lips. Excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to fungal infections of the chapped lips and the corners of the mouth due to weakening of the immune system.
Frequent creaming and care of the lips can also have disadvantages. The use of a lot of chapstick can put the skin into a state of dependence. The skin is thus metaphorically dependent on the fat contained in Labello.
This leads to a feeling of tightness and dryness in the lips when the chapstick is not used. In order to prevent this, the Labello should not be used so often. It is also recommended to use a moisturizing cream, such as Bepathen, only in the morning and evening.
This moisturizes the skin. During the day, no further measures should be taken. The lips can also become dry by kissing.
This is mainly caused by saliva, which acts on the skin of the lips. The saliva can make the lips rough and cracked, and inflammation can also develop. This type of rough and inflamed lips should also be treated with moisturizing creams.
With these creams the normal moisture of the lips can be regained and the skin structure is regenerated. When kissing, care should be taken to ensure that the lips are not overly moisturized. However, a pregnant woman (or nursing mother) usually has an increased vitamin requirement, which is why even an adequate vitamin supply under normal circumstances (which in the case of vitamin B2 means about 1.5 to 1.8 mg daily) is often insufficient.
It is therefore advisable to seek dietary advice during pregnancy to ensure a balanced diet. Vitamin B2 can be found in large quantities in animal foods such as meat, milk or fish, for example. However, some vegetable foods, such as broccoli, peppers and cereal products, also contain a not negligible amount of vitamin B2.
Also important for the suppleness of the lips is a sufficient amount of iron in the blood. However, since many women suffer from iron deficiency during their pregnancy (sometimes even iron deficiency anemia, i.e. anemia due to iron deficiency), they also tend to have dry lips. If, in addition to dry lips, you notice increasing tiredness, fatigue, reduced performance and skin pallor, it is advisable to consult a doctor to rule out iron deficiency anemia.
A frequently overlooked factor that promotes the development of dry lips is psychological stress, as some people react to it by reducing saliva production. Since women are often exposed to high stress during pregnancy and sometimes forget to drink enough during the whole stress, dry lips develop in many cases especially during this time. Pregnant women should therefore make sure (of course not only for the good of their lips) that the phases of relaxation and rest are not neglected.
Another reason for dry lips in some pregnant women is the fact that nausea and vomiting are more common during this time. As the body loses a considerable amount of fluid through vomiting, which leads to general dehydration and dry lips, it is important that this loss of fluid is always compensated by an increased fluid intake. Therefore, it is always important to drink enough, especially during pregnancy. This means at least two liters per day, whereby one must remember that alcohol and coffee remove water from the body. In rare cases, however, not even the supplied fluid remains in the body long enough, which can even make the loss of fluid so severe that a doctor must be consulted, who will then administer an infusion that provides the body with the necessary fluid again.
