Do you suffer from cracked or chapped lips? Are they getting more and more painful? This could be the beginning of angular cheilitis, a disease that is causes swelling, cracking and rashes around the mouth. A surprising number of people ignore their lip care giving little thought to the importance of the lip.

Few of us realize how much we rely on our lips from day to day. For instance, any form of talking is compromised of the movement of the lips. We don't realize how much until it hurts to move them. Also lips are pretty important for things like facial expressions, kissing, and even breathing. All of these activities are done without one thought to the lip and yet when angular cheilitis hits and the pain is strong we all of a sudden remember how much work our lip is doing.

Here are some good things to know so that you can better care for your lips. Lips don't secret normal oils to keep them moist, this in turn makes them more susceptible to go dry when:

-it is cold outside

-it is really windy or are exposed for a long time

-you lick them frequently

-there is an allergic reaction to lip stick

These conditions can be brutal for lips and can lead to things like angular cheilitis. We just need to learn to be aware of our lips before they start suffering. If you see any of the following things occur use extra care and caution.

-dried and cracked lips do to lack of moisture

-bleed from the cracks, or in severe cause pus

-are painful in any way shape or form

-become extremely sensitive and/or tender

-become red or develop rashes around the corners

-start to peel or crack inside the mouth.

If you have any of these symptoms you should avoid the following:

-extremely acidic foods

-heavy cosmetics

-heavy lipsticks

-sunburn to the lips

It is important that you are aware of the condition of your lips and constantly be prepared with lip balm so that at the first sign of chapped lips you can avoid the temptation to lick your lips. Because licking your lips is the a sure way to angular cheilitis. Your lips have served you well so far, learn to take care of them so in the future they serve you with the same pride and dignity. The lip is one of the most noticeable facial features, so make sure yours are worthy noticing.