Nervous Habit? - Inver Grove Heights,MN

I don't really have any suggestions for how to get her to stop licking her lips, but I really like Blistex lip ointment that is also used to help treat cold sores. It cools and soothes better than anything else that I've tried. At least if she can't stop this might help relieve some of the discomfort!

I also have a child who is doing this. It all started when his lips got dry and I did not get him the chap stick soon enough. He then was licking his lips and going down farther onto his lower lip chin area and had a red circled area. I told him he looks like a clown and he needs to stop doing that to which he told me it hurts. I then gave him chap stick and told him to put it on. It now is clearing up.

Also he just lost his top front tooth so it was fun for him to put his lip through the hole and bite his lip to which this also caused more iritation to the area.

I put the chap stick on my son when he is asleep. He has a bad habit of licking it off, making the reddness worse. At 6 years old, she is probably old enough to carry chapstick. You won't be getting rid of the nervous habit only changing it from licking lips to applying chap stick, but at least her lips won't hurt.

My son does this too (since he was about 6 also), and only in the winter time. He says he doesn't even notice that he's doing it. I don't have any advice as to why they do it, just make sure she keeps moisturizing lip balm with her at all times. I have a lip balm for my son that moisturizes and heals cracked lips; it stings a bit the first time he uses it, but after the healing begins he doesn't even notice.

My daughter has carried lip care products with her in her pocket since she was 5. She also keeps lip care products in her locker/cubby at school, in her backpack, and all the other places where she is often. We like Burt's Bees (which also has a colored stick, so she feels like she's using lipstick - we get the palest, most natural color), and some brand I can't think of right now - but it comes in a skinny, longer-than-chapstick, white tube.

You can also use Carmex a couple times - this would be sort of a negative incentive. Carmex is generally used for cold sores, so it works by peeling off the top layer of skin. The reason that I used to love it is that it tingles - and if your lips are really chapped it burns slightly. You feel like you're doing something! However, by getting that dead, cracked layer off, you are better prepared to start over. Once your lips are chapped, it's almost impossible to stop licking them - because they feel like they need moisturizer and the natural thing to do is to lick them, which makes them more chapped...

The best product out there for really chapped skin is made by Eucerin, called Aquaphor. Aquaphor is a mixture of petroleum jelly and lotion. My daughter's pediatrician recommended it to me as the best diaper rash cream available. We use it overnight, or sometimes first thing in the morning, for really chapped lips. It's fantastic.

In terms of dealing with the habit -
First, dealing with the chapped lips will help. Then, you could talk to the teacher and ask if she can carry a stress ball or something small in her pocket that she can unconsciously squeeze. Sometimes, just knowing that you have control over something and have something to do with your hands can help you deal with that little bit of nervous energy. Another option would be to send hard candy (you may be able to get away with this by sending non-medicated throat lozenges like "Hall's Breezes") with your daughter to school so that she can have something in her mouth to a) help her keep her tongue in her mouth and b) provide the oral stimulation that licking her lips may provide.

Talk to her teacher and let him/her know what your concerns are and ask for his/her advice. Tell her/him what some of your ideas are for helping your daughter and ask what her/his opinion is. As a teacher, I can tell you that we like to know what's going on, and that we really do want to help your child as much as we can. That includes helping her deal with any nervous energy and keeping them physically healthy. :)

Good luck!

i wish i could tell you how to stop it but i don't know my 11 year old nephew(he has done it since he was 3) and 6 year old niece do it so your daughter isn't the only one. my sister just treats the chapped with lotion and reminds them not to do it. Chap stick made it worse for my niece as she constantly wanted to lick it off. Try to remind her not to do it and if you get her to use chap stick check with the school before sending it with her because my nephew got detention because he had a chapstick he was using for his problem and my sister wasn't aware that it wasn't allowed at the school.

Sounds like a slight nervous tick and she will grow out of it, like my daughter did. It helps to buy them a little travel-size plastic container of Vaseline and have them keep it under her pillow. Encourage her to slather it on the affected portion of the face, and reassure her it will be all nice in the morning if she can just fall asleep with it on. Perhaps you could even buy her a beauty mirror to hold while she is putting it on. The health effects of using Vaseline long-term could be harmful but for a few nights a week for a few weeks I don't see how it could hurt.

I never heard of this until last year - when I worked at an elementary school. I'd say about 3 or 4 girls, all in third grade, had this problem. Most of them used lip balm/chap stick. Seemed as though it was an issue during the colder weather months because they didn't have the problem at the end of the school year.

Good luck with whatever you try. I know I wasn't much help, but wanted you to know that your daughter isn't the only one with this issue.

Havn't heard of it. But does sound like a nervous habit.
Have you talked to her pediatrician yet, or family doc?

Maybe try a reward chart. (Incentive to think more about NOT licking lips) Winter is coming so that will be tough...chapped lips get bad in winter!
For every day she doesn't lick, she gets a sticker (or something she would think is cool/fun) and after a few weeks!
When hopefully the habit would be broken, trade all the good days in for a bigger reward...