Angular Stomatitis

We use the term Angular Stomatitis when we talk about a wide variety of skin diseases which appear near or around the mouth. Symptoms can consist of a variety of lesions and sores.  We talk about Angular Cheilitis when there are lesions, fissures and inflammation which affect the corners of the mouth. There are many reasons why common pharmaceutical medications are often unsuccessful or do more harm than good. Sufferers will often revert to natural and alternative Angular Cheilitis remedies and cures.

The lesions and cracks can often appear to be very prominent,  showing themselves as a red rash on the corners of the mouth, sometimes those cracks and lesions can be bleeding and quite painful, especially while eating.

Angular Cheilitis, also referred to as Perleche is usually seen as “mildly painful”, but patients’ opinion may vary since the conditions can often be quite painful.

Causes of Angular Cheilitis

There are those who say that one root cause of Cheilitis is a poor diet (lack of certain vitamins), others think that dental problems contribute to the appearance of Cheilitis.

No matter what, we know that the real reason and cause are fungal and/or bacterial infections. The problem is that doctors are often still not certain whether fungus or bacteria  develop first, or whether it is actually the lesions and cracks in the first place which in turn cause those fungal or bacterial infections.

Who is at risk?

It is known that older people wearing dentures have a higher chance of contracting Angular Cheilitis, but children and and people of any age are not exempt.

Teenagers are also quite often affected by it. The problem now is that many patients are going to attempt moistening mouth and lips, and they use common ointments and lip balms, not knowing those make the condition only worse. Since the bacteria grow and survive in a moist environment it is wrong to use moisturizing ointments, treating the painful cracks and lesions but at the same time give the bacteria room to survive by moisturizing the area around the mouth.

We also know that many anti-fungal or steroids/antibiotics can cause various side effects and simply often wont help if we want permanent relief.

Angular Stomatitis is another term for Angular Cheilitis.

Is is caused either by the candida albicans fungus or by certain bacteria.

Root cause for Stomatitis is an abundance of moisture in the corners of the mouth,mainly caused by saliva buildups. This moisture is an ideal breeding ground for yeast fungus (candida) or bacteria which might trigger the condition.

Reasons for an abundance of saliva in the corners of the mouth could be drooling during sleep hours where the patient wouldn’t even notice. Another cause is frequent licking of the lips or dentures which don’t fit properly

Dentures

If dentures wont fit properly they cause a misalignment of the mouth and corners of the mouth, creating small pockets or folds where saliva can accumulate easily.

Otherwise, the same precautions and root causes for Angular Stomatitis apply as for Angular Cheilitis: Improper nutrition, namely lack of certain B vitamins in the diet, like a lack of vitamins B2, B3, B6 and B12 is one factor.

For proper treatment it is important that your doctor makes a diagnosis whether bacteria is causing the stomatitis or yeast (candida albicans). The reason is that both  causes of the stomatitis need a different approach and different medication.

If it turns out it is coming from a bacterial infection the doctor might prescribe antibiotics,while for the condition caused by yeast he might prescribe anti fungal medication instead.

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