Table of contents:
- What is angular cheilitis?
The most characteristic sign of angular cheilitis is the appearance of a blister-like wound on one or both corners of the lip. Other signs include:
- the patches feel itchy, painful, and / or hot like burning,
- the skin around the lips is scaly or dry,
- the appearance of patches that can swell and bleed.
- when touched, the spot feels hard, as well
- the desire to moisten the corners of the lips with saliva more frequently.
These sores on the lips can certainly interfere with your daily activities. It becomes more difficult for you to eat, talk, or use cosmetics. Not infrequently patients also experience a decrease in appetite because of it.
Who is at risk for this condition?
- How is angular cheilitis diagnosed?
- How to handle it?
- Prevent angular cheilitis
Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt the corners of your lips sting? When seen, this type of sore on the lips has red patches and is swollen. If so, this may be a sign that you have angular cheilitis.
What is angular cheilitis?
The most characteristic sign of angular cheilitis is the appearance of a blister-like wound on one or both corners of the lip. Other signs include:
- the patches feel itchy, painful, and / or hot like burning,
- the skin around the lips is scaly or dry,
- the appearance of patches that can swell and bleed.
- when touched, the spot feels hard, as well
- the desire to moisten the corners of the lips with saliva more frequently.
These sores on the lips can certainly interfere with your daily activities. It becomes more difficult for you to eat, talk, or use cosmetics. Not infrequently patients also experience a decrease in appetite because of it.
Who is at risk for this condition?
As already mentioned, angular cheilitis can be triggered by an excessive amount of saliva. This might happen for a variety of reasons, such as:
- using braces,
- wearing ill-fitting dentures,
- habit of frequently licking lips,
- messy teeth,
- sagging skin around the mouth, which could be the result of aging or a rapidly fluctuating weight,
- thumb sucking, especially children,
- smoking, as well
- lack of B vitamins or iron.
Certain medical conditions can also put you at higher risk for this disease, such as:
- anemia,
- blood cancer,
- diabetes,
- down syndrome,
- immune disorders, such as HIV, and
- kidney, liver, lung, and pancreatic cancer.
How is angular cheilitis diagnosed?
Maybe you can easily tell if you have angular cheilitis by paying attention to the condition of the sore on your lip. But to be sure, it's better to check with your doctor for this condition.
Checking the doctor at the same time can ensure that you do not have other, more serious diseases. The reason is, there are several diseases that show symptoms similar to angular cheilitis, namely herpes labialis and lichen planus.
The doctor will examine your mouth and lips closely for cracks, red spots, swelling, or blisters. Then, the doctor asks what habits often affect your lips.
If necessary, further examination is also carried out through a swab test that is rubbed on the corner of the lips. Later, the swabs taken will be observed to see what types of bacteria or fungi are causing the disease.
How to handle it?
In fact, in mild cases, angular cheilitis can heal on its own. You just need to do some home care such as:
- use lip balm regularly to prevent chapped lips,
- keep the injured lip area clean and dry to prevent the infection from getting worse,
- rubbing the abrasions with petroleum jelly or coconut oil to moisturize the skin around the lips, as well
- increase fluid intake and eat healthy, especially those containing vitamin B2. You can get it through the consumption of fish, beef and chicken liver, eggs, or nuts.
If it turns out that your condition requires special treatment, the doctor will give you a medication that is tailored to the cause. If it's caused by a yeast infection, your doctor can prescribe an antifungal cream or ointment such as:
- Nystatin (mycostatin),
- Ketoconazole (extina),
- Clotrimazole (lotrimin), and
- Miconazole (Lotrimin AF, Micatin, Monistat Derm).
If it is caused by bacteria, the doctor will prescribe antibacterial drugs, such as:
- Mupirocin (bactroban), and
- Fusidic acid (fucidin, fucithalmic).
Prevent angular cheilitis
Although it often appears with mild intensity and does not cause dangerous complications, this disease can still make lips feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are various habits that can be done to prevent it, namely as follows.
- Maintain oral and dental hygiene, especially when using dentures or braces.
- Eat a nutritionally balanced diet, especially those containing B vitamins and iron.
- Quit smoking.
- Maintain blood glucose levels and consume insulin properly.
- For people with asthma, make it a habit to regularly rinse your mouth with water after using steroid inhalers.
If you still have questions about this condition, please consult your doctor.
