With holiday and winter ski trips upon us, this common childhood aliment is likely to arise. When many kids have dry skin, they often also get red irritated skin around their mouths. As the skin gets irritated, many children will begin to lick the area to keep it wet. Unfortunately, the chronic licking establishes a pattern of accelerated evaporation and destruction of the epidermal barrier leading to the classic lip licker’s dermatitis. Out of desperation, parents try topical steroid creams and antifungal products with little improvement. Fortunately, this type of rash usually responds well to water barrier moisturizers such as Vaseline, Aquaphor Healing Ointment, and Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream, etc. The trick is that you have to put moisturizers around your child’s lips several times an hour, to help break the cycle of irritation and lip licking.
Fax: (941) 366-5728
