Angular Cheilitis: Symptoms And Causes

by Shivani Singh
Angular Cheilitis

Angular cheilitis is a painful condition in which the corners of the mouth become inflamed. Angular cheilitis is also known as angular stomatitis and perleche. Once it appears, this inflammatory condition can last for a few days or in some persons it will become chronic.

What Are The Symptoms Of Angular Cheilitis?

If you have angular cheilitis then your corners of the mouth may become red, swollen, cracked, itchy and blistered. You may have difficulty in eating due to irritation, burning sensation and a bad taste in your mouth. This will lead to the loss of weight and other health issues since you are not getting a sufficient amount of food and nutrients. You may also feel dryness in your lips.

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Causes of Angular Cheilitis

The main cause of angular cheilitis is a yeast infection due to saliva. When the saliva that gets trapped in the corners of the lips gets dried, it causes the lips to crack. In order to soothe the dryness, you may lick your lips frequently. This moisture and warmth create a perfect atmosphere for the yeast or fungus to grow rapidly.

Angular Cheilitis

Apart from fungus angular cheilitis can also cause due to certain bacteria and viruses. This condition can occur for persons in all age groups including babies. But the risk of angular cheilitis is more if you have;

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  • A lot of saliva
  • habit of smoking
  • sensitive skin
  • anemia
  • cancer
  • diabetes
  • any other inflammatory decreases
  • regular oral thrush
  • the habit of frequent use of antibiotics or oral retinoid medication
  • have a habit of licking your lips a lot

Commonly diabetic patients are more prone to have this type of fungal infection because their immune system will be weak so that their body may not have the ability to fight against infections. Moreover, the excess amount of glucose present in their blood creates a breeding environment for the fungus so extra care must be taken by the diabetic persons who have angular cheilitis.

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If you find any symptoms of angular cheilitis, then it would be better to consult a dermatologist so that you can control the spreading of the infection to the adjacent skin. Once the cause is found it is very easy to treat. If it is caused by the fungus the doctor may prescribe a topical antifungal and if it is caused by the bacteria then you may have to take antibiotics.