8 Things Your Lips Tell You About Your Health

Did you know that our lips are more sensitive than other parts of our bodies, like the fingertips? They have a million nerve endings and they need some special care. Because they are so sensitive, we can extract some major signals of health only from our lips.

Keep an eye out for any change of color, texture, or size. If anything seems out of the ordinary for you, there’s always a dermatologist that can help you with any problem.

Of course, staying hydrated and frequently applying lip balm is a great idea for your lips. Here we gathered 8 signs you can read on your lips *wink-wink* about your health.

• Cracks at the corners of your mouth – This happens when saliva gets trapped in the corners of your mouth and dries out your skin. The more you lick your lips and moisture the corners, the more it creates the perfect conditions for infections.
• Dry and chapped lips – The dryness of your lips can indicate a lack of moisture, but it can also be caused by stress or an allergy.
• Bumps on the lips – If it’s not herpes, which is the most common cause for bumps on the lips, it’s most probably a reaction to food or an injury from an injection of hyaluronic acid.
• Red ring around the lips – This happens when you make a habit out of licking your lips, which only dries out the natural oils from the skin around the lips. It’s called the “lip licker’s dermatitis”.
• Wrinkles on the upper lip – Wrinkles on your lips can only come from physical and emotional reasons. Maybe you should consider giving up that smoking out of stress.
• Discoloration of lips – Blue lips can indicate poor oxygen circulation in the blood. White lips, on the other hand, might indicate anemia, which requires immediate medical attention.
• Swollen lips – Swelling is a sign of an allergic reaction, so if you notice your lips are getting bigger when you use certain cosmetics, maybe you should give up on them.
• Black spots on lips – There are various reasons why you might have black spots on your lips. One of them is hyperpigmentation, a common condition that can cause brownish patches. Another one might indicate some sunspots, in which case you’ll feel them more than you’ll see them. And in the end, you might have black spots on your lips due to an excess of iron from the food you eat.

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