Cheilitis

Cheilitis is an acute or chronic inflammation of the skin of the lips caused by various factors. The risk of malignancy is very small, and most cases can heal spontaneously. The main symptoms include swelling, dryness, peeling, itching, and pain of the lips and surrounding skin. It can be mainly divided into the following types: Chronic non-specific cheilitis: Also known as chronic cheilitis, it refers to recurrent symptoms such as swelling, desquamation, chapping (skin cracking), and crusting (hard crusts formed on the surface of wounds) of the lips. It can occur on both the upper and lower lips, but is generally more common on the lower lip. Allergic cheilitis: Refers to inflammatory lesions of the lips that occur after contact with an allergen. Allergic cheilitis can be simply understood as "lip allergy." Glandular cheilitis: Glandular cheilitis generally manifests as hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the labial mucous glands, i.e., symptoms such as enlarged or swollen lips and increased mucus secretion. It generally occurs more frequently on the lower lip. Granulomatous cheilitis: After contracting the disease, the lips generally become thickened and swollen. Actinic cheilitis: Actinic cheilitis is an inflammatory disease of the lips that occurs after excessive exposure of the lips to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation. Benign lymphoepithelial cheilitis: The lymphatic tissue of the affected lips generally undergoes benign hyperplasia, meaning an increase in volume. The patient's lips will exude a pale yellow fluid, which then crusts, along with severe itching. Plasma cell cheilitis: Characterized by an increase in plasma cells (a type of immune cell) in the lips.