Having white bumps appearing on lips can make you be uncomfortable and you begin to ask yourself what they are. The bumps may go away on their own, and aren’t something to be concerned about, however, at other times, they can indicate a serious disease that requires treatment, for example oral cancer. Knowing what causes white bumps on lips can help you understand what to do and make prompt choices.
Causes of White Bumps on Lips
The white bumps you see on your lips may be as a result of many things some of which include:
Canker sores: These are painful ulcers that create yellow to whitish patches on an individual’s mouth, cheeks, or inner lips. Canker sores are about 1 cm or smaller. The sores may not cause cancer and they aren’t dangerous, however, they can make an individual to feel uncomfortable. Canker sores are more common among women than they are in men.
Fordyce spots: Also known as Fordyce granules, Fordyce spots are whitish in color and their size ranges from 1 mm to 3 mm. The spots are harmless and painless, however they can bring about emotional challenges because they affect your beauty. It’s not known why Fordyce spots form in individuals, but it is believed that they arise because of oil trapped in the skin’s sebaceous glands. Fordyce spots become bigger as an individual grows older. You may have a single small bump or they could be as many as 100 or so forming on the lips and they typically appear on the inner parts of lips.
Vitiligo: A person with vitiligo experiences skin pigmentation loss in different parts of their body. The skin condition can also affect lips. Vitiligo is a progressive disorder and it can spread to affect other parts of a person’s body. The cause isn’t known, however it is thought to arise due to an autoimmune disorder. Vitiligo can be genetic or it may be linked to skin cancer.
Thrush: Oral thrush is caused by a fungus and it presents with white lesions appearing on gums, mouth, lips, or even the tonsils. The most common fungus strain that is responsible for causing oral thrush is Candida albicans. This yeast infection occurs inside the mouth on the mucous membranes. When it occurs, it forms velvety, white sores all over an person’s mouth. People with other health conditions like diabetes and HIV are more susceptible to having thrush. The condition is seen more in infants and elderly persons.
Mucous cyst: A person with mucous cysts has pink or white sacs filled with fluid that appear on lips. The cysts are as a result of sucking, biting, or irritation on the lip. These cysts are usually painless and small, and they don’t cause complications. Within a few days, they rupture and empty the fluid before healing.
Herpes: People with herpes experience itchy, painful spots on their lips. The spots appear whitish and although they are not curable, the infection may be suppressed. Herpes are caused by a virus known as herpes simplex virus or HSV. It is important to realize that herpes is infectious meaning it can be spread from an individual to another through skin-to-skin contact.
Lip cancer: When you have skin cancer, it may occur on the lips. Males aged over 50 years tend to have lip cancer than women. In most cases, lip cancer goes undetected and doctors often mistake it for some other illness. Having tissue biopsy can help diagnose the condition. Lip cancer is mostly caused by overexposure of the lips to ultraviolet rays.
Milia: This condition is common among babies and it presents with small, whitish bumps forming after the dead skin cells are trapped in an individual’s skin. Most cases of milia are seen on the face, but they can also form on the lips.
Acne: In some cases, it is possible for acne to form on lips and when it happens, it causes blackheads as well as whiteheads.
Diagnosis
A doctor takes a full medical history of the individual and does a physical exam to examine the appearance of the bumps on lips. A physician also feels the face and checks the jaw to see if there is any form of swelling. Examination of the lips both inside and outside is also done. A doctor may also want to check for lymph node swelling on the neck.
A lip swab is conducted, and it is known as culture. The fluid or tissue picked from the lips is taken for testing in a laboratory to check the culture and see if there is virus, bacteria, or fungi resulting in bumps. If it is suspected that you may be having oral cancer, a tissue biopsy is taken to check for malignant cells.
Treatment of White Bumps on Lips
Having white bumps forming on your lips doesn’t always present a serious problem, however, you should visit a doctor if you have the bumps along with other symptoms like bleeding, pain, swelling of neck or jaws, fever and sore throat, numbness on the tongue, difficulty swallowing or chewing. Also if the bumps don’t dissipate after two weeks, you should see a healthcare provider.
Treatment will depend on the symptoms you are having and the cause of the bumps. If it’s a case of Fordyce spots, there may be no treatment, however, you can have them removed for cosmetic reasons or to improve the appearance of skin. Electrosurgery or laser treatment may be used to remove Fordyce spots. Anti-sebum creams or ointments as well as chemical peels can also help in reducing the appearance of Fordyce spots.
Punch excision may also be used to treat Fordyce spots. A cosmetic surgeon uses a machine to target the white spots and that instrument makes holes on skin that are about 1 to 2mm wide to help eliminate the Fordyce spots. The holes are then stitched thereafter. Punch excision can prevent Fordyce bumps from coming back but the techniques can leave behind scars.
Canker sores do fade on their own within two weeks and you may not necessarily need treatment. However, because they can be sensitive, you should avoid things that irritate the lips like spicy foods. You may also use hydrogen peroxide mixed with water to dab them.
If vitiligo is the culprit, you can use topical steroid therapy, depigmentaiton and psoralen photochemotherapy. Surgery involving skin grafts, autologous melanocyte transplants, or tattooing may be considered to treat vitiligo.
Herpes may be treated with use of antivirals that are topically applied or taken orally. For the case of thrush, it is not a very serious condition unless a person has other conditions that compromise the immune system. You can take yogurt that has probiotics to get rid of thrush. Hydrogen peroxide solutions may also help in reducing thrush. You just need to rinse the mouth using the solution.
To treat oral cancer, doctors will examine the stage of the cancer to determine which treatment to offer. Treatment includes doing surgery to extract the affected lesions, having radiation and chemotherapy to stop the cancer from spreading or suppress the growth of malignant cells.
Sometimes, having white bumps occurring lips is a harmless genetic variation and you just have to leave them. It’s like having birthmarks or moles. However, cosmetic therapies can help improve appearance of skin if people are worried about their lip’s appearance.
