If you have been feeling a little pain at the corners of your mouth and you find some splits in between the folds, you might be suffering from angular cheilitis. Angular cheilitis, also known as Perleche, is a skin infection where you can find horizontal splits in the corner of your mouth. Most often, you will see cracking of the skin and it can be inflamed. You will also feel pain in the area, and in severe cases, it could also bleed when you open your mouth.
Although angular cheilitis is not a very serious condition, it can however be embarrassing as the symptoms are in the face and are very visible. It is also annoying as it can cause discomfort when opening your mouth. If you are trying to find treatment, it is important to know the causes of angular cheilitis so you will know how to deal with it.
Angular cheilitis is a skin infection caused by the fungus known as Candida (or yeast). The folds in the corners of the mouth may accumulate saliva that creates a suitable environment for fungi and bacteria to thrive and create infection. If you have a bad habit of biting the tip of your pen or biting your fingernails, it can also contribute to the presence of bacteria in the folds in both ends of your lips, so it is always advisable to cut the habit of putting things into your mouth.
Angular cheilitis can also start when you get dry and chapped lips from exposure to dry, cold air during winter. Most often, people who suffer from chapping lips tend to lick it to provide moisture, which can also spread bacteria in the folds of the mouth. This is why licking your lips when dry is not a good idea to moisturize it. Use a lip balm.
If you have dentures that prevent your mouth from opening wide enough, it may also contribute to the occurrence of irritated skin folds at the corners of the mouth and when it gets contact with saliva, it can lead to angular cheilitis. To avoid this, you can get your dentures replaced or fitted properly. It is also important to ensure that dentures are clean all the time to make sure they are not breeding grounds for bacteria as well.
Vitamin deficiency is also one of the causes of angular cheilitis. If you lack Iron and Vitamin B12, there are tendencies that you can suffer easily with this skin condition. If you do not have sufficient Iron to make your immune system working, it can result to longer healing of the crack on your lips that eventually cause further infection.
Continuous occurrence of angular cheilitis can also mean underlying conditions like HIV infection. Your immune system slows down when you are suffering from HIV infection and this speed up any infection in the body.
It is indeed important to know the causes of angular cheilitis if you don't want to be bothered by this skin problem next time. It is said that once you are affected with this disease, it sometimes tend to recur, so after finding the treatment for your condition, it is always wise to avoid the causes of angular cheilitis the next time around.
Author Resource:-
Carolyn Anderson is constantly studying about natural cures of many simple diseases we often encounter. For natural cures for angular cheilitis, check out Angular Chelitis Foundation. Also check out Acne Free In 3 Days if you need natural acne cures.
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