Please excuse the delay. I don't have constant internet service as I normally do. I'd suggest you stop using the products and start using non-lanolin containing products. You can find these in most health food and supplement stores. Burt's Bees products do not have lanolin and have several things you can choose from. Some people are allergic to lanolin, and as it is made from petroleum, some believe that it blocks the skin's normal oils. Burt's Bee products are in most grocery and drug stores, but there is also a web site with the products. See: http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/lips-lip-care/ If you are in a dry environment you may want to consider the frequent use of a humidifier (at least at night as you sleep). I have an article that guides one on finding the most appropriate type of humidifier for various purposes. If you would like a copy of the article, just let me know. If you are not getting Riboflavin, a B vitamin, it can cause a condition called Chelitis. Normally this appears as an inflammation cracking to the lateral edges of the lips and mouth. Riboflavin is added to bread, but you may still want to consider a supplement. I'd suggest a multiple B vitamin that includes ribolflavin and vitamin C as well. Vitamin C is needed for connective tissue health. The essential fatty acids are certain fats that our body can not make on it's own so we must obtain them from our food. People are often lacking in these. They are necessary for the central and peripheral nervous system as well as for lubrication of the skin and other components of the body. If you are not a consumer of cold water fish or flax seed you could be low in them. You can increase your consumption of cold water fish or add flax seed to cereal and smoothies, or you may want to consider taking capsules of them if there is a possibility you are low in these. I hope this helps. If you have questions or comments please feel free to reply. Also, write back in a month or so and let us know how you are doing if possible. Good luck

Edited by Susan Ivy on 10/22/2009 at 5:56 PM

Have you considered if there is anything that you are eating at only this type of year? There are different types of HEPA filters, and there are portable ones. I'll give you a web site that has a lot of info on it. So if you took one to work with you (depending on the type of work you do) and at home, it might make a significant difference. Also if you are not a person that washes hair daily that can help wash pollen out of the hair. Especially those that have sinus allergies can use nasal lavage or the neti pot to wash pollen out of the sinuses, and this helps to remove pollen that very easily gets into the sinues when breathing. Here is an article that might possibly give you some ideas to try: http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/Natural-Relief-for-Allergy-Symptoms.html This link has filters, HEPA are considered the best, but they are most expensive: http://www.gaiam.com/p2p/searchResults.do?method=view&search=basic&keyword=air+filter&sortby=bestSellers&page=1 Here are some less expensive small HEPA air filters: http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-HAP412N-U-Hepa-Type-Tower-Purifier/dp/B000BX56YQ This one can be used in the car: http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/roomaid.html

IF you are allergic to pollen, and in your case the pollen caused the lip symptoms (which is possible) then using a neti pot to get the pollen out of your sinuses, might help. I'll take a look at your link.

I guess I did not understand your above post, I thought you meant you were allergic to pollen. If benadryl helped for awhile, it seems to indicate an allergy is likely. Cortisone works at decreasing inflammation. Inflammation can also be cause by stress. Your pattern of problem with this makes it not seem likely to be stress related, but mind and body can do unusual things. Do you have any problems with anxiety (don't be insulted, I'm not insinuating you do, I am just asking, as I was with the bathing) I read the first page of posts, but I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from it. If I were you, I'd still go for the lanolin free products, unless you found that things got worse. My battery is going out, I'll get back to you shortly, but feel free to reply in the mean time.

Prolonged stress in one person may lead to a certain illness. In another person it may lead to something else. This depends on the genetics of the person or where ever their weakest system is. Persons that are unhappy or think they have to put up with certain conditions in their lives, are often the individuals that end up with multiple physical illnesses. In other words, although medication is sometimes the answer, there may be other answers as well. Most Doctors will agree. So it is possible, that if for some reason your immunity is decreased in the fall, then you might react more to the lanolin. But again, I am not sure it is the lanolin, but I do know that it is a problem for many people. Seeing a therapist is one way to gain a different perspective on one's life. Life coaches (they don't require certification yet - so you have to make sure if you ever choose to see a life coach that they have had training on their own). Life coaches have a method of helping you evaluate each area of your life and surprizingly there may be certain areas and issues that you are not aware of that you can be made aware of and develop goals and methods to deal with them or these things that you were not even aware of. There is a web site that explains Stress and Anxiety and the physiology of how they effect our systems over time in more depth. I'll give you the link: http://www.helpguide.org/ (Looking under the topics of Stress and Anxiety and even Panic you'll find a great description of how these states change the body) The above site also provides links to methods to change your life and methods to decrease the stress and/or anxiety. Even if a person's anxiety is completely biological certain measures can still help you. These are certain deep breathing techniques, visualization, exercise, and of course yoga is the oldest method known to get anxiety and other physical and mental issues under control or released. By the way, you sound like you are aware and intelligent, I am just giving you some information that is partially scientific and partially related to 25 years of working with people both purely from a medical perspective and also as a therapist, and recently information I have been studying (life coaching) One other thing - you mentioned that you had to keep your lips moist at all times. Make sure that is not a nervous habit. I have heard before that that leads to chapped lips (constant moistening of the lips with salivia). I know your problem isn't chapped lips, but still, if you do do this by any chance, it is likely not helping the situation.