image contribution: my everyday lips!

well, i've been posting & responding to several peeps almost all day, so i thought i'd upload a couple of pics (see the gallery). for example, here's what i have to deal with on a daily basis:





i know i shouldn't be rubbing off the skin, since it apparently worsens the condition, but i just can't help it sometimes. (oh, boo!) i saw some horrible conditions in the Image Gallery -- so sorry for everyone's pain! i really do hope we find some sort of "cure" for this. anyhoo, just posting my image contribution!

this all started with an allergic reaction to sunblock more than 13 years ago (allergy is adult-onset), and then it was aggravated by vaseline. NEVER AGAIN will i slather that on my lips! i suffered severe cheilitis for 2 years, and then one day, my doctor gave me corticosteroid or some anti-fungal cream. miracle! it went away after religiously applying it for a week! i lived with perfect lips for 2 years after that.

then i had an allergic reaction to hair dye -- very, Very, Deathly bad! what a shock to my system. it took me 6 months to heal from the chemical burns. drowned my body in steroids, etc. and then, and Then! my immune system "locked up" -- it just decided it didn't like all those steroids, and so it developed a severe "dislike" for steroids. now i've developed an allergy to corticosteroids, plus cross-sensitization to Antibiotics , antibacteria (neomycin & the like), anti-fungal creams, etc, etc. dear gawd!

stage 2 of peeling lips: after the hair dye incident, i slathered on some wonderful clinique lotion on my lips. well, whadayaknow: i had an allergic reaction! a very Bad one. but my many dermatologists keep prescribing those darn corticosteroids, so i slathered that on. nothing. Nothing! and then more Antibiotics . Nothing! only raw, sad, weeping, peeling, crusting, inflamed, miserable lips. Angry lips. i can't seem to calm it down. maybe temporarily sometimes, but it's constantly, constantly angry.

anyway, from then on, my immune system has hated me & decided to punish me with chronically inflamed lips & contact dermatitis. (i've developed allergies to many, many chemicals in lotions, potions, fragrances & cosmetics.) my poor immune system doesn't know how to reset itself: it is Always on overdrive, attacking my body because it thinks it's attacking foreign, harmful invaders. like lipstick. i miss lipstick!

i wish i could get glam with luscious, red lips that match my red dress. i miss having healthy, pretty lips. boohoo!
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