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| Angular cheilitis as marked by the oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The lack of effective over the counter remedies or prescription medication leads many to look for a natural cure for angular cheilitis. Having cracked lip corners can be painful, frustrating and embarrassing. For many people, once they have this condition, it can be difficult to eradicate. The cracks at the corner of the mouth never seem to heal, with everyday things such as laughing, speaking, eating and drinking sometimes causing excruciating pain.
We all have bacteria which naturally lives around the lips. Under normal circumstances, this causes no problems whatsoever. When something happens to cause the bacteria to reproduce, it can develop into a fungal infection It is primarily caused by a fungal bacterial infection, causing the typical symptoms of angular cheilitis which include cracked corners of lips which can bleed intermittently. Sore, red patches in the corners of the mouth which develop into painful lesions and some sufferers also have white swollen patches on the tongue.
The actual causes of angular cheilitis are varied but can include a deficiency in certain nutrients-particularly iron and the vitamin B group. One common cause is improper mouth closure often caused by ill-fitting dentures or braces. This is because the mouth can remain slightly open, causing small amounts of saliva to be trapped in small pockets of skin. The moist warm conditions are perfect to aid bacterial growth and as the bacteria within the saliva is effectively "trapped", it flourishes and then causes the symptoms of angular cheilitis. Similarly, people who gain large amounts of weight can develop small pockets of skin around the lip area and this can lead to the condition.
Although many people believe that angular cheilitis is caused by the cold virus, this is not the case, although it is known that extremes of temperature can increase the likelihood in susceptible individuals.
Other common causes include anything which results in saliva being in contact with the skin around the mouth-for example pen-biting, thumb-sucking and nail-biting. In addition, people with a generally weakened immune system can also suffer.
If your condition is mild, there are a couple of natural cures for angular cheilitis which can help give some relief and may in some cases provide a speedy cure. You could try putting a thick layer of petroleum jelly over the affected area. This will give some pain relief as it will temporarily ease cracked corners of lips. If you feel that dentures are the problem, then have the fit checked over and in the meantime, use a medicated mouthwash and ensure the dentures are kept scrupulously clean and sterilized overnight to avoid them harboring bacteria. If the problem is due to pen or nail biting or thumb sucking, it is worth using an anti-nail-biting solution on the fingers/thumb and even painting this on the end of pens to discourage the practice.
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