Angular cheilitis is more likely to occur in summer and autumn when it is hot and dry. Therefore, many people think that angular cheilitis (smelly corners of the mouth) is caused by anger and will heal itself in a few days. But in fact, if angular cheilitis occurs repeatedly for a long time, it may also cause more serious Candida infection. Minor symptoms should not be underestimated! In the treatment day, we specially invite Dr. Chen Weidi, the deputy director of Zhixun Dermatology Clinic, to explain the causes of angular cheilitis, the prone groups, and teach you how to improve it quickly!
What are the causes of angular cheilitis? What kind of people are prone to it?
Angular cheilitis is not caused by anger. Common causes may be friction, immune imbalance, malnutrition, etc. Angular cheilitis occurs regardless of age and gender, and the location is not limited to unilateral or bilateral. Common causes of angular cheilitis include:
1. Friction, saliva retention
It is common in silver-haired people, mainly because the elders may have loose and sagging cheek skin, missing teeth, or insufficient dentures, resulting in more skin folds or even depressions near the corners of the mouth, which will cause angular cheilitis due to friction and retention of saliva.
In addition, angular cheilitis is also common in infants and young children. The main reason is that the mouth muscles are not fully developed, and they often drool, or the saliva accumulates in the corners of the mouth due to sucking on a pacifier, resulting in angular cheilitis.
In addition, many enzymes and bacteria in saliva can easily irritate the skin, so people who often lick their lips and corners of their mouth are also prone to angular cheilitis, and may even be accompanied by cheilitis.
2. Facial skin diseases
Patients with eczema such as seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis often develop angular cheilitis around the corners of the mouth.
3. Low immunity
Office workers and student groups have reduced immunity due to high stress and abnormal work and rest; or patients with AIDS or chronic diseases (such as diabetes) may increase the risk of angular cheilitis due to their poor immunity.
The main reason is that there will be some candida in the oral cavity. When the immunity is weakened, it may also lead to the proliferation of candida and cause angular cheilitis. In addition, viruses hidden in the ganglia around the mouth, such as herpes virus, may also be activated due to low immunity, causing herpetic angular cheilitis.
4. Malnutrition, disorders
Vegetarians and dieters may develop angular cheilitis due to lack of vitamin B2, folic acid, iron, mineral zinc and other nutrients.
What are the symptoms of angular cheilitis?
Generally, the symptoms of angular cheilitis are mainly inflammation. The most common symptoms are skin peeling, cracking and bleeding. Some patients may also have erosion, dampness, whitening, and surrounding redness and swelling. Because the corners of the mouth may be pulled to cause pain and bleeding when eating or opening the mouth, patients are usually afraid to open their mouths or eat.
However, if it is herpetic angular cheilitis, it is different from general angular cheilitis. It usually occurs suddenly. In the early stage, you will feel tingling, itching, numbness at the corner of the mouth, and gradually you will find small blisters and ulcers.
Dr. Chen added that clinically, it is often found that patients with cold sores have not taken care of them completely, which later leads to the occurrence of angular cheilitis, and therefore have the above symptoms.
I hope you know: (How to distinguish the symptoms of angular cheilitis and cold sores? Herpes blisters can be contagious! The doctor gave the Golden Triangle to prevent recurrence)
Why is angular cheilitis not getting better? How to treat it?
Angular cheilitis usually heals slowly within 1 to 2 weeks. Usually, topical steroid ointment is used for treatment, but some patients may use the ointment as a lip balm, which may cause side effects and steroid addiction problems.
Angular cheilitis may be difficult to cure because of the habit of frequently licking lips and the corners of the mouth, or because the skin folds at the corners of the mouth have not improved due to the elders. If angular cheilitis keeps getting inflamed repeatedly, you should also suspect whether you have candida infection or herpes infection. In addition to applying ointment according to the doctor’s advice, you can also apply Vaseline to increase the moisturizing degree to avoid chronic inflammation.
Vitamin B supplementation can improve angular cheilitis? What can you eat if you want to improve quickly?
Supplementing vitamin B2 is helpful for the improvement of angular cheilitis. However, angular cheilitis may also be caused by nutritional deficiencies. It is recommended to supplement the following nutrients:
Vitamin B2: eggs, milk, fish, lean meat, mushrooms, spinach. Folic acid: animal offal, dark vegetables, broccoli, sweet potato leaves. Iron: red meat, sesame seeds, cashews. Zinc: seafood, beef, dairy products, nuts such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
If the doctor diagnoses that angular cheilitis may be caused by malnutrition, it is also recommended to supplement with comprehensive vitamins and trace elements to help improve physical symptoms.
Please care about the days of treatment: (What to do with the hole in the mouth? What can I eat? Nutritionist: Quickly add vitamin C and zinc!)
A small reminder for the day of treatment: what to do if you want to prevent angular cheilitis?
Here are some suggestions shared by Dr. Chen:
Avoid licking the corners of your mouth and apply anti-fungal ointment. After eating, you can wipe your mouth first, and then wipe it clean with some water. Apply lip balm and Vaseline. Maintain a good life routine and improve immunity. Eat a balanced diet. Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and avoid scratching the skin on the lips or corners of the mouth.
Take a good day to heal your healthy life
Interview with experts:
Dr. Chen Weidi, Deputy Director of Zhixun Dermatology Clinic
2023-07-24 06:55:20
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