What Causes Rashes Around the Lips & Treatments to Get Rid of it?

The skin around the lips is extremely sensitive. It is thinner than the skin on the other parts of the body. Unlike skin on other parts of the body, the skin around the lips does not have sebaceous glands and thus tends to get dry easily. Also, there is no skin pigmentation around the lips to prevent it from any injury, or protection from the sun. Thus, it is far too easy for a rash to erupt around the lips due to any form of injury, just pure dryness of skin or even from the UV rays from the sun. These rashes surround the lip and sometimes may involve the upper border of the lip, but they never involve the whole of the lip itself.

The rash around the lips can be caused due to inflammation around the lip region of the mouth. This inflammation can be caused due to various skin conditions, especially a skin disease named Perioral Dermatitis. This condition causes rashes around the lip region without involving the lip itself. There is no known cause for perioral dermatitis, but it is believed to be triggered by chronic steroid cream use. This condition is quite common in the United States and is mainly seen in females between 25 to 50 years of age, although perioral dermatitis is not the only condition that is responsible for rash around the lips. There are various other skin conditions that can cause rashes around the lips.

There are basically two main reasons or causes for rashes around the lips of which one is contact dermatitis and other is perioral dermatitis, although there are many other conditions that may also cause rash around the lips.

Rash Around the Lips Caused Due to Contact Dermatitis: Contact Dermatitis is a skin condition which occurs when there is inflammation of the skin when the skin comes in contact with certain substances to which an individual is allergic to. These substances may range from normal products like creams, lotions, or soaps to certain chemical substances to which an individual can get exposed to which can irritate the skin and cause Rash around the Lip. Some of the common substances used which act as irritants to the skin are:

• Lipstick.
• Shaving creams.
• After shave lotions.
• Soaps.
• Toothpaste.
• Mouthwash.
• Sweat.

Apart from these substances, constant rubbing or scratching the area may also result in rash around the Lips.

Rash Around Lips Caused Due to Perioral Dermatitis: Medical condition of perioral dermatitis occurs due to chronic skin condition and increased sensitivity of the skin, which may trigger an allergic reaction to even minimal stimulus. It is usually caused due to chronic use of steroid creams. The steroid product may be present in skin creams, which when used excessively may result in development of rash around the lips. Some of the common triggers of Perioral dermatitis are:

• Creams and sprays containing steroids.
• Fluoridated toothpaste.
• Excess of sun exposure.
• Use of oral contraceptive pills.
• Makeup products.

Some of the Other Causes of Rash Around the Lips are Conditions Like:

• Acne vulgaris.
• Rosacea.
• Folliculitis.
• Tinea barbae.
• HSV.
• Psoriasis.
• Sunburn.

The treatment for rash around the lips depends on what is exactly causing it. If it is being caused by something like a contact dermatitis then stopping all forms of topical agents on the affected area will suffice as the rash will start to resolve quickly on its own in the absence of any skin irritation. Treatment for this condition is only required when the disease condition becomes extreme and does not resolve on its own. This is done by use of steroid creams and lotions, which by the way is completely prohibited in cases of perioral dermatitis. For severe cases of contact dermatitis causing rash around lips, oral corticosteroids may be recommended for treatment.

To get rid of rash around lips caused due to perioral dermatitis, the treatment of choice is antibiotics if the rash does not go away despite stopping all forms of topical agents. A medication called Isotretinoin can be used for severe cases of perioral dermatitis. It should be noted here that if an individual has a known diagnosis of perioral dermatitis, then it is recommended that he or she start treatment as soon as possible because if this condition is not treated then the rash around lips may linger for months and even years.

It is also recommended to the patients suffering from rash around the lips to not pick or poke at the rashes as it increases the chances of the condition to worsen and puts the patient at risk for infections as environmental bacteria and other allergens can seep through the rash into the tissues. Hence, it is recommended to keep the area around the mouth clean help get rid of rashes around the lips soon.

Also Read:

• Causes of Rashes on the Sides of the Lips & Tips to Heal Them