Dry skin and rash around the mouth
We have a short but sweet chapter on this website about dryness on the edges of the mouth, also known as cheilitis, and you can find it here.
But this post is about dry skin around the mouth, above and below the lips, as seen in the image attached.
What causes dryness and rash around the mouth?
Of-course, there can be many different causes for this, but the most common one that I have noticed is dryness or rash that result from repeatedly licking around the mouth.
Obviously, we all have enzymes in our saliva that are supposed to break down food. If this saliva comes in contact with our skin, and this continues to happen frequently, then very often that skin will suffer from redness and dryness.
The redness turns into dryness and then the child goes and licks that area again, and it simply doesn’t get the chance to heal.
We also see this in babies who use pacifiers. Redness tends to develop around the area where the pacifier touches the skin, usually below the mouth.
So, what can be done?
If the child is able to stop licking the affected area, it will heal – and spontaneously, too!
If preferred, a soothing ointment can be applied while the area heals.
Additionally, some people apply Vaseline or paraffin so that the saliva doesn’t contact the skin.
In summary, this is a very common finding in children. I tend to see it more in boys (just a clinical observation that I can’t really explain) and the most important intervention is to help the parents and child recognize their tendency to lick that area and to try and stop them from continuously doing it.
It is not a concerning finding and there are absolutely no complications to it!
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