Hi, I've a feeling this came up recently but can't remember seeing any solutions.

I've been playing my clarinet a lot more lately and have developed a sore and irritated lip mainly on the outer edge where it would be in contact with the reed. It's slightly reddened and a bit itchy and dry.

Playing plasticover (as I think was previously suggested) is just not an option for me as I HATE them.

I usually use vaseline as a lip balm sometimes before (like about an hour before) playing and again after playing but not always immediately after.

As a child I used to get horrendous chapped lips and had some cream called Healan-C (sp?) that I used twice daily as a protective/preventative as well as a healer and was told to use vaseline over the top.

I wondered whether anyone knew of an over the counter remedy to help prevent this as it does make playing very uncomfortable. Also does wearing lip balm etc whilst playing really yack up the reed? I try to avoid if at all possible and NEVER wear lipstick when playing.

I have been breaking in a few new reeds too if that makes any difference


Any advice/solutions would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks.

You could maybe try using some Blistex lip stuff (which is much more effective than vaseline and lip balm) but don't use it just before you play. It might have changed it's name to Blisteze, so you might need to ask in the chemist (I never remember which way the name change went ). It comes in a little blue and white tube with a red cap - or did last time I bought some.

A pharmacist might have other suggestions.

Yes, new reeds are much harder on your lips. I made my bottom lip bleed recently by playing for too long on a new reed...

My teacher has come across this a few times - if it's the same as what you're referring to, it's "contact eczema" apparently, and she was a nurse in a previous life so knows about it from her medical background as well. I'm not sure if an over-the-counter preparation would work or whether you need to get a steroid preparation from the doctor. One of her pupils got it so badly that he had to go on to plastic reeds, but others find that it clears up quite quickly and only happens spasmodically. Apparently!

Sounds like this could be right as I have had contact eczema/dermititis on other areas of my body in the past, wrists - under watches, fingers - around rings etc. I have a 1% hydrocortisone cream but am unsure about using it on my mouth. Any doctors/ pharmacists out there to tell me if it's ok?????

Have you thought of mybe trying the Pomarico BioReed -
http://www.windblowers.com/product.php?id=1357&

This is what Pomarico say about them -
More than 50 years of experience in the mouthpieces production, allowed us to put the best reeds on the market.
They are called "Bio Reeds" because they are made with canes cultivated without the use of pesticides and herbicidal. "The reed is an accessory kept for long periods of time in the players' mouths, and we are absolutely convinced that it has to be biological, in order to avoid bad consequences". -POMARICO-

Hope something helps

I get this all the time and it is a contact eczema/dermatitis. I find using lip balm etc makes it itch more and usually have to resort to hydrocortisone cream to keep it under control. The other thing I've been doing more lately is using a small piece of clear medical tape such as blenderm or the end of a clear sticking plaster will do, this looks a bit daft but seems to work well for me

Hi.

My 11 year old son had a similar problem last year. The doctor said it was an allergy to the reed, but when I phoned the reed manufacturer he said it was more likely to be the ends of the reed fibres sticking up and scouring the lip as the reed vibrates. He sent me some industrial grade sandpaper (600 and 800, I think) and told me to wet the reed, let it dry and then very gently stroke over the reed (from base to tip) until it was really smooth.

Apparently ordinary sandpaper from the DIY store is no good because the grains come off and get embedded in the reed...

Anyway, we tried this and it sorted the problem out. I also started giving my son a zinc supplement as he often gets a crack in his lip and this also seems to have toughened up his skin. He tried a zinc oxide ointment first but didn't like the combined smell of codliver oil and wintergreen - can't say I blame him.

Hope this helps.

I remember having this problem when i began learning clarinet at school. I got some sort of hydrocortisone cream (It may have been called Betnovate?) from the doctor to treat it, which worked to a certain extent. I used vaseline also. When I was in my final year at University preparing for my recital, it flared up again probably due to several hours per day spent practising. I used HC45 ointment which is available from the chemist without prescription. With me it does go away, but always comes back when i've been overdoing the practising. It's maybe just something you'll have to live with. I have to avoid kissing my poor husband at these times too!

I have the same problem, it does get really annoying, I use blistex, it coms in a white tube now, but still with the red lid. I find it helped if constantly applied, but if i don't use it say for a day, then my lips go straight back to how they were before.

Thanks for all the replies. It's not so bad at the moment. I think it's worse for me with new reeds.

That sounds quite feasible Dawn.

Most of the advice has already been given : I think you're probably looking at using a combination of the pieces of various bits of advice above.

It might be worth trying the reeds Nicia has recommended, but I wouldn't be wildly surprised if you still have the same problem with them.

An update. I visited the local chemist and was sent away with a tube of Blistex healing cream. used regularly it seemed to do the job. Or it could have been coincidence.... but then it ran out My hubby picked me up another tube in the supermarket but it was the moisturising cream and not the healing cream. Although this initially seemed ok my lips are feeling rather sore again at the moment - No new reeds and not really any increase in my playing hours..... So..... it'll be back to the chemist for me tomorrow I have heard though about another member of my band who has the same problem... She uses a special cream she got from a music shop. Not got any details yet but will post them when I find out.

Just thought I'd post this in case any other clarinettist out there would benefit from it

Hi Dawn,

At risk of asking a really silly question, do you use a lip balm etc when you aren't playing? I'm just wondering if you are prone to dry or chapped lips anyway and the clarinet playing is just aggravating it rather than causing it. I can just see from the time between your posts that perhaps it might have improved over the summer months and possibly this was due to kinder weather etc?

It's something that I have never suffered from but can see how it would cause real problems. I do use a lip balm (even at night!) but obviously nothing when I'm playing, though I suspect that I don't play at anything like the intensity that you do!

Hope you can get it sorted before the colder weather comes!

Might it have been this that your friend suggested, Dawn? I've tried it and it's lovely stuff.

j

Has anyone with eczema/dermatitis tried this as I seem to be fighting a losing battle with my lip and any amount of lip balm/blisteze just makes it worse, it won't however stop me playing

I have no more advice to add, sorry just sympathy. I also suffer from sore lips. I use lip-salve all the time now, playing or not. I dont think it "yacks up the reed" to any great extent and even if it does it's certainly preferable to suffering with sore lips. I agree that "Chopsaver" is really good.

I do tend to suffer to some extent anyway but it's in a different place when it''s clari related ie more under the lower lip rather than the lips themselves. Will follow up the link posted another time as need to dash out now.... Thanks though

Now this isn't really something to help with already painful lips, but I find that, when breaking in new reeds "polishing" a few times during the breaking-in period with a scrap of rough writing paper (flat side down on a flat surface) until it's slightly shiny when held up under a light makes them noticeably smoother and more comfortable to play. It's probably the fibres in the reed.

Hey,
I don't get any sore patches outside my mouth but just inside my lower lip i get a patch of... well, not sure how to describe it but it's sort of rough, sort of irritated. Always worse after I play obviously, but it isn't too painful/disruptive, was just wondering if anyone else gets it??

Where the teeth rest?????

I get it a little but it shouldn't be too bad if you don't bite unless you have sharp/uneven teeth. I know a girl who folds what i think is a Rizzla over her bottom teeth before playing, I suspect for this reason.


I find mine's worse if I'm practising reallh hard and my concentration gets the better of me and I tighten up my embouchure - particularly when playing altissimo register. OOps

Thanks for the advice in some weird way, I sort of value it, it makes me feel like I've worked hard XD

Does anyone buy reeds from the internet - apparently there are some extremely good forgeries of Vandoren reeds on the market and they may not have been manufactered correctly. I buy reeds online myself but only from established shops and I get a sore lower lip if I play for too long.

I often use Reeds Direct : who are excellent. Forgeries of Vandoren reeds are around, but I haven't come across any as yet, and if you use reputable dealers, who buy directly from Vandoren or their importer, it shouldn't ever be a problem.

I use reeds direct too here