Also known as cheilosis or perleche or angular stomatitis, this is a persistent inflammatory disorder of the corners of the mouth. A patient of angular cheilitis is normally related with a Candida or Staphylococcal infection as well as oral candidiasis (thrush), indicated by a white lining on the tongue.



Those who are troubled with angular cheilitis often experience several attacks annually, each persisting for days to weeks or even months.

People who are afflicted by this disorder include those with nutritional deficiencies in Vitamin B12, folate and iron, diabetics as well as people with continuing pooling of saliva, low immunity and have undergone radiation therapy.

When it comes to degree of risk, age seems to be a factor even though no one is insusceptible to angular cheilitis.

Angular cheilitis develops frequently in the elderly population who have to make use of dentures because of loss of teeth. Unfortunately, dentures that do not adequately hold up the facial musculature frequently result in dangling of the corners of the mouth ultimately resulting in angular cheilitis.

A minor type of angular cheilitis called chapped lips affects mainly young children and teenagers. Chapped lips seem to be typically triggered by low temperatures such as during winter.

Cracking, redness of the corners of the mouth, development of ulcers, tissue softness and drainage of pus are typical signs of an angular cheilitis attack.

While angular cheilitis is not a life critical disorder, many sufferers of this humiliating disorder will do just about anything to alleviate the pain and get rid of the infection for good.

The ordinary angular cheilitis patient will turn to their doctor for assistance, not unlike what he / she would do for most medical disorders.

The angular cheilitis patient may be prescribed with medical antifungals such econazole, clotrimazole or nystatin or even oral antifungals. Depending on the severity of the angular cheilitis attacks, the doctor may even prescribe a blend of medical antifungal with a medical steroid such as hydrocortisone.

It is unfortunate that the disorder could not be healed effectively with these prescribed treatments.

Almost all angular cheilitis sufferers tend to throw in the towel on controlling their disorder; they simply endure the pain during the attacks and wait for the symptoms to vanish.

The sores unfortunately do not go away for many angular cheilitis patients who have to endure legions at their mouth on an almost persistent basis.

The good news is that there are other treatment methods that can be found by searching online.

For those of you who have (non-metal) dentures, you can start by soaking dentures overnight in a solution consisting of 10 parts water to 1 part household bleach – this is to make sure that the dentures do not act as accumulators of angular cheilitis infection.

If you have metal dentures, you can lower the risk of discoloring by using sodium benzoate or chlorhexidine mouth rinse.

There is also a harmless, straightforward and painless procedure that restricts and eliminates the Candida bacteria merely by isolating this fungal bacteria and creating an environment they cannot survive in. This technique is remarkably inexpensive for an angular cheilitis patient and makes use of common household items.