Lips: Body part of the week

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Saturday, September 2, 2006 5:16 PM PDT ∞

Lips are a portal to the body's inside, an indicator of health, agent of affection and place of adornment. Lips can be smiley, pouty, thin, thick, natural, collagen-filled, plain, decorated, smooth, cracked or ulcerated.

Lips are an immediately recognizable emblem of Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger and the cult classic movie, the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." They also can be dangerous. Loose lips sink ships, you know. Safer to keep your lips sealed. In romance, their meaning can be cryptic. When is a kiss more than just a kiss? A smile more than just a smile?

Anatomically speaking, lips have a dual surface. Rub your tongue along the inside of your lips. It's slippery, and technically classified as a mucous membrane, along with the interior of other bodily portals such as the nose.

Along the exterior, the lips are smooth and dry. The "vermillion border," that familiar reddish area prone to adornment or osculation, is so colored because it is thin, allowing the blood vessels underneath to show through. This effect is especially seen in light-skinned people, who have no melanocytes, or pigment cells, in that area.

If those lips are blue instead of red, it could be because there's not enough oxygen in the blood, giving the blood vessels a bluish tint. The condition, called cyanosis, can be serious. However, it's not possible to be sure just by looking, so medical examination is needed to confirm the diagnosis.

Unnaturally red lips (sans lipstick, that is), may be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide binds very tightly to hemoglobin, crowding out the oxygen this molecule usually transports. At the same time, carbon monoxide turns the hemoglobin cherry red. If you see this happen to someone, especially if there are other indications that the person may have inhaled carbon monoxide, get medical help immediately.

Lips themselves are vulnerable to a number of afflictions, some serious and some less so. Most people have experienced the indignity of cold sores, which are painful blisters on the lips. These are caused by a herpes virus, most often a kind called, for obvious reasons, oral herpes.

Cold sores are apt to appear when you're sick or stressed, which debilitates the immune system. This gives the already-present herpes virus an opening to rev up its infection machinery. Usually, the cold sores heal in a week or two. The fluid from cold sores contains the virus and is contagious. So take special care with items such as cups, spoons and any other objects that may touch infected lips.

An antiviral drug given right when symptoms appear can halt the infection. And over the counter remedies such as lip balm can ease the pain. But in general, the only cure for cold sores is time. Even then, the virus is not eliminated from the body, and can do a repeat performance.

There's a San Diego connection to the cold sore saga. A biomedical company called Lidak Pharmaceuticals spent years developing a drug called Lidakol for cold sores. During that effort, the company underwent a messy ownership struggle and change of management. The company changed its name to Avanir Pharmaceuticals in 1998.

Eventually, Avanir received permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the drug. Now called Abreva, it is sold as an over the counter treatment. Information about the drug is on the Web at www.abreav.com.

Chapped, cracked or bleeding lips are often caused by cold, dry winter air, although vitamin deficiency or disease can be responsible. Don't lick the lips to moisturize them, because the saliva can cause more damage. If the problems persist or get worse, see your doctor.

When there is no underlying disease, lips can be treated with a balm such as Blistex, Carmex, ChapStick, petroleum jelly or other substance that keeps moisture inside. If one product doesn't work for you, try another.

The versatile aloe vera plant can help treat cold sores and other lip ailments, according to a study published in the January/February issue of the journal General Dentistry. The study describes treatment of a patient with a disease called lichen planus that caused oral lesions. The patient drank two ounces of aloe vera juice a day and applied aloe vera lip balm. The lesions healed completely in four weeks. A dentist or dermatologist can help you learn how to use aloe vera, which can be even applied as a gel directly squeezed from a fresh leaf.

Lips are best when kept intact. Those with lip piercings run the risk of contracting a number of disfiguring or even dangerous diseases, doctors say. Piercing the lip, tongue or cheek can cause receding gums near the piercing site, stated a report in the November 2000 issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

Unhygienic practices can allow bacteria and can infect the site of such piercings, according to a number of studies. Worse, these bacteria have been found to travel via the blood stream and wind up in the heart. Piercing these sites, and the nose as well, has been linked to cases of endocarditis, an inflammation of the interior of the heart and the heart valves.

If you get a lip piercing, consult with a dentist. Better yet, let your lips stay kissably intact.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

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