Dryness around mouth can be problematic for a number of reasons, both practical and cosmetic. The skin around the mouth is extremely sensitive and without care and attention can easily become dried out. While dryness may seem to be simply a mild irritation, without treatment dryness may become severe enough to cause cracking around the mouth and lips that can cause pain. Beyond the discomfort that dryness around mouth can cause, dryness may also cause unsightly redness, cracks, or sores that become a source of embarrassment in social situations.  However, these unwanted consequences are easily avoided by using simple tricks to avoid dryness before it occurs and to treat it after it has already developed.

The first important factor to consider when faced with dryness around your mouth is to rule out the presence of skin irritations other than simple dryness. Perioral dermatitis, fever blisters, and psoriasis are examples of skin diseases that can cause redness, sores, or dryness around the mouth. However, these irritations may require treatment beyond that of simple dry skin. For example, perioral dermatitis may be treated by topical or oral antibiotics. If the source of your skin irritation is unclear, you may want to see a health care practitioner to rule out any serious conditions before self-treating your dry skin.

Prevention of dryness around mouth is your first line of defense and the best way to deal with this problem. Preventing dry skin anywhere on your body, the mouth included, is first and foremost a matter of hydration. Your body is made up of approximately 60% water.  When your body becomes depleted of water, one of the organs that suffers from dehydration is your skin. This means that one of the best things you can do for dry skin is drink plenty of water and make sure your overall hydration is sufficient.  The recommendation for water consumption is to drink approximately half your weight (in pounds) in ounces per day.  This means that for a person weighing 140 pounds, the recommended water consumption would be 70 ounces per day. In addition to staying hydrated, preventing dryness around the mouth is also aided by regular use of lip balm and facial moisturizer. Using these products daily can provide extra moisture to the sensitive skin of the lips and surrounding area which will help prevent chapping and dryness.

Despite your best efforts to stay hydrated and use lip balm, occasionally a lapse in water consumption or weather factors such as low humidity or wind may dry your skin out anyway. When this happens, it is important to know how to treat dryness around the mouth. If the dryness is very mild you may choose to simply hydrate and continue your use of lip balm and moisturizer, making sure to sufficiently coat the affected areas. If this is not effective enough, you may choose to purchase a special balm designed to facilitate the healing of sensitive skin. Blistex Medicated Lip Balm is one such product and is effective because it contains dimethicone, a skin protectant, and sunscreen ingredients to prevent lips from further damage. Other balms may include soothing ingredients such as vitamin E, which functions as an antioxidant to protect and repair your skin, or calendula, a skin soothing herb.

The healing process for severe dryness around mouth can take a long time. This is primarily because the mouth is a moving part of the body, meaning that the skin surrounding the mouth is constantly stretching as you talk, eat, or drink. This constant movement can interfere with the healing of dry cracks or sores, because the cracks are frequently being broken open again as you move your lips. If you have dry cracked skin that is slow to heal, taking care not to break open the cracks when talking or eating is extremely important. Additionally, using healing balms before bed can be ideal because the balm is able to heal your lips and surrounding skin for many hours during which your mouth is not moving frequently. Once your lips have healed, make sure to use the prevention strategies above to avoid uncomfortable dryness from developing around your mouth in the future.