Q: I am a 28 years old male with 2 dark black spots on my lower lip, one in middle and the other on the left side. Earlier I thought that it’s dry skin but if I rub it off now, my lips starts bleeding. I am a non-smoker. What can be the cause and treatment of this problem?

A:Usually, black spots over the lips are due to lentigines or result from some inflammation. In the former the spots are small and round. The post inflammatory hyper pigmentation can be of different shapes and sizes depending upon the primary disorder that caused it. One of the commonly encountered problems causing the latter variety is Fixed Drug Eruption. In this condition, reaction occurs at the same place each time the person takes the same medicine to which he/she is allergic. Thereafter the patch becomes darker than what it was. The culprit medicine has to be identified and then avoided. The drug in question may vary from individual to individual.