Chapped Lips: Signs of Vitamin Deficiency or Something Else?

Do you wish there was a way you could get rid of chapped lips? I hear you. It’s not just winters when you have to worry about chapped lips, there are some people whose lips remain chapped throughout the year. Are you struggling with the same problem? Maybe it’s time to take a good look at your health. Maybe you have some vitamin deficiency that is affecting the health of your lips.
 

Whenever you suffer from dryness, the first part of your body where it becomes visible is your lips. They get chapped. After lips, you see your heels getting cracked. It is a sign your body is suffering from some deficiency.
 

Here, a lip balm will not be sufficient to heal the chapped lips. It’s not always the winter season you should be afraid of, sometimes there are certain deficiencies in your body that make your lips chapped. It is because of your chapped lips that even your lipstick becomes cakey. If you google a remedy for chapped lips, you will come across sugar scrubs that you are supposed to rub on your lips to magically heal everything. To be honest, it is not really going to improve your chapped lips if you have an internal problem like a vitamin deficiency.

But do chapped lips always mean that you are suffering from vitamin deficiency or there is more to it? Experts say that there could be other reasons beside a vitamin deficiency. Let’s have a look at them:

Cracked lips could mean you are suffering from yeast infection. If you have cracks around the corner of your mouth, that is actually a sign you have the infection.  To be honest, we all carry yeast on our skin but if your skin is producing too much of it, your lips start cracking. Wondering how this yeast grows? It happens with the warmth of your salvia which is generated by licking your lips again and again. Wondering how to stop this? First of all, stop licking your lips. And then, start drinking a lot of water.

Speaking of drinking water, your lips may be chapped because your body is dehydrated. It is not just dry lips, dry mouth and dry eyes are also a sign your body is dehydrated. So, start drinking 8 glasses of water a day. If you are diabetic or you are an athlete, then you must be extra careful about it.

If you have cracked lips and they look like you have just had filler, it is a sign you may have an allergic reaction.  This could be an allergy from a lip product. Whether it is beeswax, castor oil or shea butter, you could be allergic to any of them. This reaction can also be because of certain foods.

The exposure to sun and the wind during winters is not just bad for your skin but your lips too. If you have to be out in the dry weather or winter’s air, make sure you put plenty of sunscreen before you apply any lip product.

It is not just vitamin deficiency that could be a possible cause of chapped lips, on the flip side, your dry lips may mean your body is getting abundant Vitamin A. It happens if you are taking lots of supplements.  If you are consuming more than 23,000 IU of Vitamin A  in a day, that means you are consuming too much of Vitamin A. Doctors recommend getting Vitamin A from your diet rather than relying on supplements. Too much of it can peel and crack your skin and your lips.

If you are taking medication for high blood pressure, thyroid, or anemia, and you are constantly struggling with chapped lips or cracked corners, you might be having an allergic reaction.  If that’s so, let your doctor know about this problem.

Now let’s talk about the connection of chapped lips with vitamin deficiency. Cracked lips from the corner or swollen lips are also a sign that you are suffering from riboflavin deficiency. Riboflavin or as we all know it Vitamin B2 is responsible for cell functioning, maintaining amino acid in the blood and metabolizing fats. Instead of taking a supplement, get your Vitamin B2 from dairy products and leafy vegetables.

Apart from Vitamin B2, there are other vitamin deficiencies that can contribute to chapped lips. Such as:

Deficiency of Vitamin B3 can cause swollen mouth and tongue, dryness on the skin, chapped lips and dermatitis. The universal dosage of Vitamin B3 is 13 to 20 milligrams per day. You can find it in poultry, beans, tuna, leafy vegetables, beef, cereal grains and milk.

Deficiency of Vitamin B6 is also related to chapped lips, dry skin and in some severe cases even anemia. Consuming 1.3 milligrams per day would be enough. Vitamin B6 can be obtained from whole grains, leafy vegetables, meats, and legumes.

Vitamin B12 complex is one of the effective vitamins available to mankind which helps your body in a lot of ways. It is responsible for developing DNA and providing the body with a suitable quantity of iron to make red blood cells. B12 plays a vital role in providing enough vitamins to the thyroid glands to prevent any complication. Just like too much of Vitamin A is harmful, too much of Vitamin B12 is harmful too. You might develop an allergy that can make your lips dry or crusty. Make sure your vitamin intake is sufficient to avoid any problem.

If you have been ignoring your chapped lips for a while, it is time you start taking this problem seriously because it may be an indication to some health issue other than vitamin deficiency. Instead of just using Vaseline or just getting used to your cracked lips condition, consult a doctor and take the right measures to heal your lips.