Treatment and prevention of chapped lips

Around the world and in every country, the onset of cold weather has varied effects. While cold weather brings blizzards and snowstorms in Canada, USA and Northern Europe that carries only a respite from the hot equatorial regions. However, it also brings with it a common problem of Chapped lips or Cheilitis.
Chapped lips or Cheilitis is a medical condition in which the lips of one person start drying or cracks on the upper layers. Sometimes the skin peels in small sections. The only reason for this is the loss of moisture from the upper layers of the lips. Excessive drying of the lips is usually characterized by slight bleeding and pain.
Chapped lips is caused by a variety of reasons which include:
1) cold: these weather conditions increase the rate of loss of moisture from the lips as the air is dry.
2) Licking habits: many people have a habit of licking your lips. Lick, however, does not hydrate the lips; in reality the enzymes in saliva can actually SAP the moisture from the lips.
3) vitamin B2 deficiency: vitamin B2 plays an important role in several cellular processes and metabolism of nutrients. Chapped lips is a common symptom that denotes a lack of vitamin B2 in the body (this condition is called Ariboflavinosis and is very rare).
4) Reactions to certain medications: Overdoses of some medical drugs as supplements of vitamin a and other medications containing retinoid compounds are known to induce chapped lips.
As the title of this article, the solution for chapped lips are easy and are as follows:
1) lick their lips: Read (2) above and let go of the misconception that you have.
2) using a petroleum jelly: a combination of a petroleum jelly and Cream/Moisturiser, if available in a single product is the best. Gelatine-based cream prevents moisture from escaping, while the moisturizer helps to increase the moisture content of the lips.
3) drink plenty of water: not just for chapped lips, keeping the body well hydrated will help to increase the overall health of your body.
4) Basic Home remedies include, but are not limited to: application of beeswax, honey, butter or a vitamin e oil.
5) the use of lipstick & lip balm: many of these actually include moisturizers as well.
6) Adequate amounts of vitamins B2 and iron actually help prevent such skin diseases.
To summarize, chapped lips is a condition that is easily preventable. Just apply a little common sense and some simple remedies mentioned above to make sure that your lips stay sane during the unsuitable weather conditions.