White Spots on Lips

Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all is a question the mirror is always subjected to, every time a woman looks at herself in the mirror. If not literally, it is always assumed, even in the case of men. Most of the times, you would get the answer in affirmative, except for the conditions where you suddenly find a pimple popping out or an unassuming or inconsequential, tiny white spot. That makes you believe that as a result of that tiny white spot, the mirror is going to crack! But hey not to worry, this is not that serious, and white spots on lips can be easily gotten rid of. However, before we go on to, how do these white spots start appearing, and how do you tackle with them, let me explain what these white spots on lips are all about.

White Spots on Lips
These white spots are basically called Fordyce's spots, named after the American dermatologist, John Addison Fordyce. It is also called the Fordyce's Disease.They are typically painless, raised, white or pale spots or probably bumps maximum around 3 mm in diameter. Along with lips, these appear where there are sebaceous glands, in tandem with hair follicles. It is found very commonly in men and women across all age groups.

White spots on lips, a kind of ectopic sebaceous gland, are mostly found on the vermilion border of the lips. Not associated with any illness or disease, these are merely of a cosmetic concern. These are non-infectious and are a natural occurrence on the body. White spots on the lips are quite the opposite of dark spots on the lips and whatever is applicable for dark spots, might not be for white spots.

Causes of White Spots on Lips
The reasons for the occurrence of fordyce spots is medically termed as 'idiopathic'. This means that the reasons are pretty obscure and ambiguous. In addition to this, neither this condition is contagious nor is it caused by any virus, contrary to a belief held by many, specifically in case of fordyce spots on the genitals. As mentioned earlier, white spots on lips are widely found in men and women across all age groups. These white spots on lips are seen or rather appear in a symmetrical group of upto 100 or as a single lesion. However, even if there is no known cause, it could happen that white spots on the lips, if they are very prominent and are giving you discomfort or the likes, there could be an underlying medical condition. So its better to get them checked, if you feel that there is something wrong.

Treatment
Considering that it is a very minor cosmetic or dermatological condition, you can ignore them. But if you are too finicky and are conscious of it, well, then you can apply tretinoin cream or gel to the affected spots, daily. This will surely deter it from getting worse, if there are any chances of that. Using this tretinoin gel or cream in tandem with alpha hydroxy acid agents will more helpful to deal with the white spots on lips. This is more effective as alpha hydroxy acid agents are also used to treat acne. Amongst other things, jojoba oil, Tocopherol, and Argania extract, have also been believed to effectively treat fordyce's spots. If you are not in favor of these natural remedies or cures, well, you can go in for electro dessication or laser treatments with carbon dioxide. But, as far as possible, doctors advise against this treatment as its nothing abnormal. But there are times when the doctor can prescribe TCA chemical peels. But as soon as you stop the treatment, the spots will recur. Other treatments like laser vaporization, liquid nitrogen freezing or diathermy, pulse dye lasers are supposed to have worked on the white spots on lips.

Ultimately, these are absolutely harmless spots and are best left alone. Most of the times white spots on the lips are not even noticed by anyone else other than the one who has it. So the best way is to just let the white spots be and if someone asks you (if at all they get noticed), just tell them that they are your beauty spots and strut off in full glory!