Since winter is near,????

You won't get by on a lick and a promise. "Chapped lips are a dehydration problem," according to Dr. Basler. "When you lick them, you momentarily apply moisture, which then evaporates and leaves your lips feeling drier than before. Besides, saliva contains digestive enzymes. Granted they're not very strong, but they don't do your sore lips any good."

"Licking chapped lips can lead to something called lip-licker's dermatitis," cautions Dr. Bark. "It's usually seen in kids but can occur in adults, too." What happens when you lick your lips is that you scrape off any oil that might be on them from surrounding areas. (The lips themselves don't have any oil glands.) Pretty soon, you're licking not just the lips but the area around them. Eventually, you end up with a red ring of dermatitis around the mouth. The moral: Don't start licking in the first place.

Give toothpaste the brush-off. "Allergy and sensitivity to flavoring agents in toothpaste, candy, chewing gum, and mouthwash can cause chapped lips in some people," says dermatologist Thomas Goodman, Jr., M.D., assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences. "My dentist says the new tartar-control toothpastes are even worse at drying lips than the regular ones. So I tell people to stop using toothpaste. Just use a toothbrush alone or a brush with baking soda on it.

Thank you,

Francis Daniel (Bahrain).