I had some kind of reaction (whether virus, food allergy, or other cause) that made my upper lip act very much like a chapped lip accompanied by itching around (not on) my lips (I was not dehydrated or taking any medication when it happened) in a matter of one or two days. At first sign (day one) I started to use chapstick in hopes of preventing it getting any worse. Alas, it got much worse, and has lasted (dying out now) almost a week (?). I'm not really sure how long. My lips got very dry (crusty, I think).
The very outer part around my lips, especially my lower lip, got itchy (I had to take pain reliever to make it stop). Right about now it seems to be fading. This morning (a little while ago) I took my fingernail and scraped crusty, dead skin off of my upper lip. This caused my lips to get kind of wrinkly (lack of moisture?). There appear to be very, very tiny, almost unnoticable bumps that appear around my lips between the tan skin and my lips when this whole thing happens.
I would like to know if anyone has any idea of what this could be and what I could do to prevent this annoyance from happening again. I am worried it might be an STD, but I have done nothing to give myself an STD, so it is probably just my mild OCD-like paranoia kicking in. When this happend before, I complained about it a lot. My Mother, who is also a nurse, does not seem to make any big deal out of it, but it annoys me a lot - a lot worse than normal chapped lips. I believe it might be an allergic reaction to eating almonds, but why it would last so long is beyond me (I ate several assorted nuts and many almonds before this happened).
This *HAS* happened to me before. I take vitamin supplements. I am not depressed or stressed out at the moment. The only things that could have caused this are a visit to the dentist and eating nuts more than usual (mostly almonds).
Did you eat fresh pineapple, mango or anyother tropical fruit within days before getting this? I had what seemed to be the same thing and found it to be the mangos.
Your symptoms sound exactly like what a friend of mine went through. His lips swelled slightly, kind of burned/tingled. He said his lips felt 'tight'-- like they were swelled to him, but i could not really tell they were swelled by looking at him. He said the lips felt like they had a layer of something on them like dead skin he described it as feeling almost like a scab to him, --but it wasn't really visible, it kind of looked slightly white. He was told he had oral herpes. Good luck. I hope I didn't scare you.
damn. i have the same thing happening to me. but how could i get herpes from nothing? i am a virgin in every single way! damn *** is wrong with me!!?? i think i may have gotten it due to like self re infection. i swear to god i have herpes. i think i got it from my mom somehow because i found out she had it. and i got this rash when i first got my period 5 years ago and thought it was the pads. but when i found out about my mom everything clicked in when i got another rash...? does anyone know if you can get herpes like from a person that you didnt have sexual contact with??
I have heard that someone with herpes can infect themselves in other places on their body, or on someone else's body, if they had the virus on their hands (from scratching) or it can be spread by kissing lips. You may not have herpes at all, but if your mom has it--maybe it is worthwhile getting a blood test.
Lip problem (not chapped lips) 
