Angular Cheilitis Does Not Need To Ruin Your Quality Of Life
Most people, at some point or another, would be “cursed” with really dry or chapped lips, typically in the corner of the mouth. If this is left unattended for too long, it can rapidly become a very agonizing problem, called angular cheilitis. Deep cracks or splits can soon form and you will be dealing with a very unpleasant situation which can easily start bleeding when you simply try to open your mouth.
Before we glance at different cheilitis treatments readily available, we will first explore the causes of angular cheilitis. The most typical trigger is through a fungi or other pathogen, but studies have also shown that nutritional deficiencies can also be a trigger. Nutritional deficiencies are usually as a result of poor diets or lack of nutrition and can for that reason be managed to a certain extend by paying more attention to what you take in. Still on the subject of malnutrition, someone suffering from anorexia or bulimia would also be prone to developing angular cheilitis as a complication. Another trigger for angular cheilitis can be medicines which dry the skin.
If the air is fairly cold and dry during wintertime time, this can also bring about chapped lips, which is basically a very mild condition of cheilitis. Unfortunately people have the inclination to then lick their lips, but actually this does more harm than good!
As said before, cheilitis treatments depends on the cause of the cheilitis. For minor infections (the cold air, chapped lips phase) a gentle anti-biotic can be applied which will get rid of the infection in a few days. Over the counter antifungal lotions are also available and if something stronger is required a doctor’s prescription might be required.
Several B-12 vitamin 2 shots can also help get rid of certain instances, particularly where the cause of the infection is due to mal-absorption.
There are numerous of natural home remedies available, but use caution when making use of home cures you don’t know for a fact will work. Quite often such treatments just provide momentary relief by moisturising the lips, bear in mind that you are wanting to treat a fungus here and what you are in fact doing is just moisturising the fungus – to put it simply you are turning a tiny bug into a large monster! What you should in fact be doing is allowing the area to totally dry out, which will in turn destroy the fungus. For that reason specialized special balms are available which should generally only be applied to the affected areas.
Something else that you might not have known is that if you wear dentures, they can actually become contaminated as a result of this fungus/disease. It is vital to sanitize your dentures very carefully to firstly get rid of this contamination and to secondly stop it from returning.
As with all infections, the more effective you deal with the root of the problem, the better! Don’t wait until your mouth starts bleeding before you start with treatment or seek medical advice on cheilitis treatments – you are causing yourself unneeded agony!
For more information about cheilitis treatments visit the website http://www.angular-cheilitis.com