“My son is 7 1/2 months old and seems to have chapped lips. It is red on the right side of his mouth, on the upper lip. It does not seem to bother him, but I feel the pacifier (only uses to go to sleep) is irritating it. Is there anything we can use to “treat” the chapped lips? For example, Aquaphor or Chapstick?”
This is very common in kids that use pacifiers or lick their lips a lot. We call it “lip-licker’s dermatitis” (it’s in the dermatology textbooks!). The cure is to stop licking your lips, or get rid of the pacifier, but that can be tough. I am a big fan of Aquaphor or Lansinoh ointment for this type of problem.
Dr. Jim
