Fordyce spots on the lips are common findings in general population. Although Fordyce spots on lips are usually harmless and do not required any treatment, many people seem to suffer from emotional stress and anxiety.
Clinically, Fordyce spots present as small, painless, slightly elevated, white or yellowish papules that can be seen on the lips and other areas like Fordyce spots on penis ( shaft or glans of penis), labia of female, and inside the cheeks. They are common in men and women of all ages. They may appear in a group or as a solitary lesion.
Fordyce spots are a variant of sebaceous glands. As sebaceous glands are always associated with a hair follicle, these Fordyce spots are sebaceous glands without hair follicles.
How to get rid of Fordyce spots (Fordyce spots treatment)
Although, Fordyce spots on lips are harmless and do not require any treatment, it can cause significant cosmetic concern for individuals. One should avoid squeezing the spots. Several treatment options are widely being used which consist of electrodessication, laser treatment with Co2 lasers and Pulse Dye Lasers. Though current techniques have shown successive results, there is still a chance of scarring from lasers.
Fordyce spots on the lips are common in general population and are non-cancerous. No treatment is advised, but if your Fordyce spots become irritated and itchy, consult your dermatologist for further evaluation.
Honestly when i first noticed them they were small ink pen tip sized white dots that were underneath the skin on my lips. It was on both corners of my top lip. I watched them and it never spread or turned into a sore but just never went away. When i say corners of lip i mean corners but actually on the mucosal portion of my lip. I hid it by applying light lipstick. Years later it seemed to get worse. At 32. These bumps are all over my top lip. The pinpoints are still in the corners but my middle portion of the lip is greatly affected. I cant burst them as i said they are under the skin of my lips. My bottom lip is not affected at all. Im so embarrassed about these things. Dermatologist said it was normal and to stop using lipstick. Unfortunately thats not an option with the looks of disgust i get. I went bk to see my gp to get her to looking into it and get a diagnosis after examining these gross looking white yellowish dots. After a week she called back and informed me that they were fiordyce granules and that there was really no treatment. She explained to me exactly what they were. Sadly i hate living with this stuff. Every job i get ppl think its a form of vd. I hear rude sly remarks no man will get close to me. I only go to work and home because no one believes its fordyce spots. Im a black lady so you can imagine the looks i get from all people. I see them i know others see them. Ive requested a formal doctors explaination be written so ghat when im given dirty looks or try explaining it to ppl i have a valid doctors diagnosis of it to support my answer but ppl avoid me like the plague. I never want to go out in public with my kids. I feel like my kids are too embarrassed to even be seen with me because of it. Having big lips as a black woman doesnt help either because thats the first thing people see. And honestly the lipstick makes it worst but nothing is just as gross. I hate my life because of these things. Cant blame ppl for their reaction but honestly even after u explain and tell them they still aviod any and all contact with you. At work is the worst. They think i have herpes or warts or something. Herpes goes away so if it was that i wouldnt have the same spots everyday. Warts arent smooth and under the skin they areprotruding and on top of skin but of course this is what they believe it is instead of having the guts to ask me. Since i will never have a relationship ever in my life because of these fordyce grannules, i have just learned to distance myself from human kind unless i absolutely have to interact with them ie work, quick shopping. I always try to work nights and go out during nights. Disgusted gross embarrassed and depressed. There has got to be something that can be done to rid ourselves of this. Interviews for jobs are very stressfully because then they are even looking at me crazy and grossly.
I have been dealing with this issue since I was 8 years old. I have tried several treatments which have worked but when I used my lip moisturizer the spots would come back and appear bigger than before after 2-3 days. I have been using this chapstick from edelsie health which is formulated to help those suffering with Fordyce spots and after using it for almost 2 week the spots have not increased in size. I absolutely love this product and this is the only thing that I have been using since then. Here’s the website if you guys want to check it out.
http://www.edelsiehealth.com/get-it-now
Like many of you I have fordyce spots on my upper lip line on the left. When I first noticed it, it looked like I was getting a cold sore and I went to get a abreva right away but luckily it’s wasn’t I then went to the dermatologist and he told me that it was called fordyce lip spots and its a natural thing and I asked what could I do about it and will it get worse? He said nothing because to him it was natural and he also said no it will not get worse. In January towards the end it started to get a little worse meaning more noticeable even when I put on makeup to cover it up. So I decided to cut them and I kind of burned it which I know is crazy but when u have something like this and there’s no treatment u will do ANYTHING to get rid of them. I’m 21 and i never leave me house because I know people are going to look at them and I know they can see it. I hate my life because it’s not fair who the hell gets this type of shit. I don’t work or go to school because I cant deal with the fact people can see it. Just the thought makes me depressed. The only thing that can help is contacting a cosmetic dermatologist and ask if they treat it.
I had this problem really bad for over twenty years. I had a mustache which helped a little bit. I had a cosmetic tattoo specialist camouflage them. She was amazing and only cost about $300. I wish I had done this a very long time ago. Do not go to a tattoo artist. You need a good cosmetic tattoo specialist.
Hey randy, don’t be in such stressed, its nothing to worry about. They usually develop sometimes in our life and in most cases are stable. I’ve seen many peoples who developed in in their 20’ties and after 10 years are still stable or not increased in number (some have decreased). If its bothering you u might consult a dermatologist or a cosmetic surgeon and get it removed by lasers…
I am only 18 years old and I’m just starting get these. I try to talk to my family about it but my mom just yells at me and tells me not to worry about it, and that she can’t see it. but can look in the mirror and see them fine, and their beginning to get worse. I’ve been to the dermatologist and they just gave me atralin which is a .05 tetonin gel. it’s not helping at all. in the post above they explained how someone with these would feel in society, and honestly I can’t live like that. I’m self concise as it is and If they get worse I won’t be able to get a job, a girlfriend, or honestly leave my house knowing other people would see it and be disgusted. I’ve become extremely depressed latley about the fact that they’re getting worse and I don’t want to live like this anymore can someone please tell me my best option. (type of treatments or just kill my self kind of thing)
This is a great article in spreading awareness of this skin condition. Yes – I called it a skin condition even though doctors and dermatologists do not like to acknowledge this as a skin problem. I agree that there are other far more debilitating diseases, but this skin condition, when it is severe, can be debilitating to a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health.
I hope that more dermatologists conduct deeper research on this condition and try to come up with a treatment that actually works. I hope more doctors really consider this to be a real problem.
Before a derma says that this is normal and there is no treatment necessary, they should consider the person who looks constantly in the mirror while the FS slowly or rapidly encroach on his/her lips, the reaction of the person who does not have FS on their lips towards someone who does (a look of disgust on their faces), or how about a person who has watched his/her friends avoid physical contact (nonchalantly) for fear of FS being contagious or they think it’s some disease, or strangers avoiding physical contact such as the cashier at the supermarket who, at all costs, will avoid touching your hand when giving you your change back, or when people look at you, and then they do a double-take on your lips and stare, probably thinking, what kind of disease this person has?
So many young teens and adults seek dermatological solutions to treat their acne and other skin conditions, what makes you think FS is any different? Fordyce Spots are far worse.
I been having fordyce spot on my lip for about a while and it just sucks I been depress for about 6months but now moving on I kno soon I’ll get rid of these so I just gotta keep my head up and still live a normal fun life.
I’ve had them on my lips forever. Just tonight I tried to pop one just to see how easy it would be. I had to squeeze a little harder than a pimple, but it barely hurt and popped! The white stuff came out and that was it. I did all of the larger ones and the clusters of tiny ones I just squeezed around and most of them “popped.” My lip is a little swollen from squeezing, but not painful at all. I put a little antibiotic ointment to prevent infection just in case. Hoping they don’t come back, but if they do, I’ll just pop them again!
These spots on the lips can be removed much simpler than a doctor would recommend, because he wants to charge you a ton of money. I suppose a chemical peel could work, but I would try my method instead. You will need a medium sized syringe needle and a pair of fingernail clippers. Isolate the spots one at a time, stick the syringe in at the edge of the spot, and pull the white thing out. You will see that it is not a gland as many quacks claim. The white thing will come to the surface, but will not detach itself, so you need to clip it off with the fingernail clippers. It is painless; if you feel pain while clipping, you are cutting too much skin; just focus on getting the white thing out. It may take months to remove all of them, but your lips will not scar so dont worry. Start with the bigger ones first, then when you get your technique down, you can remove the smaller ones, which are a little harder to pop out.
I see it when I stretch my upper lip near the mirror. went to CVS earlier to get tretinoin based on looking at the net. Couldn’t find it then there was abreva for cold sores but I felt it wasn’t sores. I’m just afraid if they grow and show if i dont do anything about it
I have recently noticed white spots on my lips. Do you guys know if they’ll stop or will they keep on spreading as the years go by? I read on the Internet that accessive oil is what causes them to grow. Is that true? I also heard blistex helps. Please get back at me!
Apparently i have read on forums using blistex lip medex.
[…] Fordyce spots don’t require any treatment, one may have discomfort especially about fordyce spots on lips and even more worried when there is fordyce spots on penis which might affect the sexual life too. […]
SO HOW DO YOU GET RID OF THESE THEN!!!! WITHOUT SPENDING HUNDREDS AT A DERMO?!?! THEY ARE GROSS AND I FEEL IT’S ALL ANYONE IS LOOKING AT ONE MY FACE!
Fordyce Spots on Lips…
Fordyce spots on the lips are common findings in general population. Although Fordyce spots are usually harmless and do not required any treatment, many people seem to suffer from emotional stress and anxiety…
i’ve heard somewhere that Fordyce spots on the lips can sometime be removed by using regular lipstick. is it true ? anyone tried it?