Extremely dry/chapped lips

Ever since having my surgery (8/17), I have dealt with extremely dry/chapped lips. I honestly sometimes just want to soak them in water in hopes that it will seep in and help. I'm doing really well with my fluid intake, but they are still dry. I live in Texas, so we don't have cold weather yet. I also take all my vitamins every day. I forgot to ask my dr about this last week and I don't see him again until December. Just thought I would see if this has happened to anyone else after having surgery. And if so, what remedy you might have come up with that helps. I'm using Carmex, Chapstick or Blistex daily with no relief.

It's probably due to dehydration. Have you been drinking the daily amount of water it says for your plan? My doc said to try and get at least 64 ounces in a day. Also with chapped lips,I've found that Vaseline tends to work the best for healing. Once they're healed,just use any kind of chapstick daily to prevent getting it again.

My skin got extremely dry for the first couple months after surgery, even with hitting my water goals. I just assume it was because I was consuming almost no fat at all at that time. Maybe it's the same for your lips?

Mynlios were really bad too and my skin was extremely dry and itched like crazy.

no fat intake will do it. Once you are are eating some good fats it will get better.

Aquaphor for your lips, fluids and when cleared some fats. I rarely do low fat, I'm not eating that much anyway and it tastes horrible to me.

dont pick or it's even worse!!!

you really need to make an effort to get in more fluids. But beyond that, a good lip balm is shea butter. i use it often and also on my hands. thick and creamy. get it at specialty bath stores. if your mouth is dry you can use biotine mouthwash or gel. they used to make tablets but i can't find them anymore. also, i used to use sugar free ricotta lozenges to keep mouth moist. D

I also read once that you want a petroleum free product because that tends to dry them out more than some. Also it can become an addiction in and of itself because of the petroleum. The petroleum dries the lips out so you use more then it dries them out even more! Vicious circle! So try to find one without petroleum in it or even better switch to shea butter or coconut oil, something nice and gentle but full of fats and oils. Also drink tha****er and add some healthy fats and oils to your diet as soon as you can.

Before using any of the creams or ointments, take a soft toothbrush and very gently exfoliate the dry chapped skin from your lips. Usually you only have to do it once and the cream will be effective after that.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I am getting my water in and I tried upping it to see if that helps. I am not taking in any fats really, so that's probably not helping. What fats do you suggest I add to my diet? I'm cleared for any and all foods now, but still pretty much relying on protein shakes because I can only eat 1-2 oz of anything. I did eat some almonds the other day and those worked out pretty well, but my dr suggested not eating those very often.

I will exfoliate and try some shea butter or coconut oil. I have to do something before the cold weather sets in and causes them to get worse.

To get more healthy fats you can also eat avocado - great source! Your doctor probably warned about nuts because they are calorie dense. However, I always ate nuts at least 2-3 times per week plus added in avocado. In maintenance I have 1/4 avocado every day with my egg for breakfast.