★★★★★
I have had angular cheilitis many times in my life. I believe it to be an allergic reaction to some preservative in foods, but I haven't yet pinpointed which preservative it is. Some brands of hot sauce cause this to happen. I also just bought a new brand of toothpaste last week at the grocery store from Arm & Hammer and within an hour the right corner of my mouth started to peel. The toothpaste had touched my lips when I was brushing. It's happened before with toothpaste so I need to use natural brands - I just forgot until it happened yet again! The fluoride isn't causing it because the natural brands I use like Tom's of Maine have fluoride in them (ha, not so natural!). I am guessing you are also having an allergic reaction to either food or toothpaste and it's something you keep using! One more trigger for me is certain brands of lipstick. I don't know what they put in them but it causes the cracking and dryness at the corners.
Cortisone Cream
★★★★★
Angular Chelitis. I have found that using topical Cortisone cream 1% (over the counter strength) overnight caused immediate relief and healing of my chelitis. I think mine was caused by dental floss cutting into the angle of my mouth. Hope you feel better!
Bee Propolis
★★★★★
Propolis Balm for lips (5% of Propolis, 20% of Butter shea) cured my angular cheilitis in 2 days.
The problem was due to drooling during sleep, so if you happen to have the same problem, just put some balm for lips at night and you're done :-)
Anyway, I also have seborrheic dermatitis on the face for which current evidence demonstrates that it results from a nonspecific immune response to Malassezia yeasts.
***Complete paper --> Malassezia Yeasts Implicated in Atopic Dermatitis
Research on Propolis already shown results on Malassezia for dogs who had dermatitis.
*** Complete paper --> The Antimycotic Effectt of Some Bee Products and Vegetal Extracts on Genus Malassezia Fungi
I'm actually testing Propolis' supplements (3 caps / day), I'll let you know if I have results.
I hope this will help you, Feel free to let me know if you have any question.
Best regards,
Hydrogen Peroxide, Baking Soda
★★★★★
I recently came down with angular cheilitis, I tried different home remedies after getting 40 dollar bottle of cream from doctor (waste of cash and time). Truth is that it wouldn't clear up until I sanitized my mouth first (flush for one min with 3%hydrogen peroxide) and yes it stung, especially where the bacteria or fungus or whatever it was had been proliferating. It stings, however as I gargled and flushed, the size and number of spots disappeared quite fast, but I continued even after the stinging stopped, just reduced from 4 times a day down to 2 times a day. All the while I would wash the cracks and surrounding area with hydrogen peroxide, dry off and then apply damp baking soda to the entire site, and yes that stung but I found that the baking soda reversed the spread literally in 24 hrs and yes the first time I went to sleep with the baking soda on my face. It was on approx 6 to 8 hrs while I slept. Signs of spread and redness were clearly evident.
During the times I did not have the baking soda on, I washed my lips and affected areas with the hydrogen peroxide and left it for a minute or so and then I applied a product called correctx(my wife is a rep for essential oils and she gave that to me) basically I kept water and or moisture from getting into cracks this way. Don't confuse water in hydrogen peroxide as regular water. I flushed regularly with the peroxide and did half hour stints during day when not working using baking soda, then washed area with hydrogen peroxide and applied something to keep water from saliva and drinking water out. 4 days later it is almost completely gone. But remember it will sting at first, the less it stings indicates progress. Just for those who say they have a high pain threshold, if u cant handle this don't say u have a high pain threshold but couldn't hack it
Tea Tree Oil, Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Several times a day, dab a drop of tea tree oil for antiseptic and healing qualities and coconut oil to moisturize and lessen cracking of the new scab that is trying to heal. Took a few days and focus while eating so as not to open my mouth too wide and break the scab again. Tis healed and gone!
Vitamin B Complex
Hi Alison,
I have also read (maybe on this web site) that chemicals in toothpaste can cause cracks in the side of the mouth.
Jean
Heavy Metal Detox
★★★★★
Heavy metal detox: i've been battling angular cheilitis for years... think it started when i was pretty young and got a mouthful of silver/mercury amalgams. from all of my research which has been extensive bc need to finally get rid of angular cheilitis forever. turns out that heavy metal poisoning causes the body to farm candida to bind with the metals which in turn can cause angular cheilitis. basically get rid of the metals in your system then start to eliminate candida. they seem to go hand in hand with me. also caused health issues like hyperthyroidism, loss of hair, brain fog, muscle & joint aches... i've recently removed 80% of my amalgams and waiting for financial stability to get rid of the rest. wish the process wasn't so expensive but so far it's helping. hope this info saves some of you a lot of time and despair.
You do realize that once an amalgam filling is placed in your mouth, it only releases MINISCULE amounts of mercury? You would get more mercury from eating a tuna fish sandwich than you ever would from all your amalgams over a lifetime. When the amalgam is placed, and when it is removed are the biggest times of risk for ingesting amalgam. Bits can escape the assistants suction (I know, I am one) and as vigilant as we are, we can't catch it all. In fact, when an amalgam is being removed, it's ground into a fine dust all over your mouth, which of course is impossible to completely remove. Don't swallow, haha! Basically, don't bother getting your amalgams removed. They last years longer than composites (unless you're replacing with gold inlays, which could last forever) and you'll be exposing yourself to MUCH more mercury than you would by leaving them there.
Flax Seed Oil
★★★★★
After one bad year of chelitis I found something totally at random which was very effective. I noticed that once i introduced flax oil daily to my diet the problem quickly vanished. I took a total of 6 capsules daily at 3 intervals the capsules were 1000 mg. Each. I have never had the condition again. So 2 capsules 3 times daily...inexpensive and it worked.
Mango
★★★★☆
My first response is to say that there is absolutely nothing simple about AC else we wouldn't need these chat rooms. I like the idea of flax seed and the MSM.
I am not cured but I accidentally came upon something that helps with the worst of the symptoms, the cracks and sores, but does not stop the sloughing at the corners of the mouth nearly to my chin and I am also convinced the same sloughing around my nose. My husband brought home some dried fruit, which I was unfamiliar with but immediately fell in love with - so delicious! It is dried Mango from the Phillipines. If I eat half a dozen pieces daily the sores are gone. Now if I can just get rid of the skin sloughing! I am not sure which ingredient in the dried Mango helps, but I suspect it is at least in part to the Vit A. Now I am off to try the MSM and flax seed which is such a lovely assist and I do not mind using it at all.
I have another embarrassing symptom (sounds worse than it looks) that I am curious if anybody else has because I think it is related to the AC. In the nares of my nose I get hundreds of white heads, not pus, just white heads. If I run the side of the tweezers with a tiny amount of pressure, they just explode! I have always had a few over the years, but it seems if the AC is active so are they. ( no it isn't visible! ) Anybody else experience this? To treat this, I have been using Frankincense oil applied directly to the inside of my nose and it seems to help significantly, & no I do not use a carrier oil just because I want the full impact and it doesn't burn, sting or blister! I have had AC for nearly 15 years, tried many remedies, this is not a remedy, but it keeps the discomfort and sores at bay. So eat your Mango~
Vaseline
★☆☆☆☆
I have been using vaseline and it's getting worse. But maybe mine is because of the black mold in my home
Over The Counter
★★★★★
I developed angular chelitis last November. It went away then it came back. My doctor didn't know what to recommend. I tried different oitments with zero results.
Finally, I used Maximum strenth Hydrocortisone which started to heal these lesions the same day. In 3 days both cracks healed, and the area remained pink. Since it's an obvious imflammatory condition - try Cortisone. Thanks
MSM
What exactly is MSM? Ive been doing the B Vitamins And Iron, with only mid success.
MSM
I agree totally. After several years of trying everything I think this might be the cure.
MSM
Tea Tree Oil
★☆☆☆☆
I tried tea tree oil and it made it worse. I also tried plain yogurt, antibiotic ointment and hydrocortisone treatment. The crustiness just kept getting worse and it hurt to open my mouth. I actually figured out why I was getting this problem, which was due to a new mouthwash that had all kinds of really strong essential oils in it. The mouthwash works great on my mouth and gums, but the oils seep out of my mouth and into the corners causing severe irritation, redness and crustiness. I finally tried using Carmex, I had a little jar in my medicine cabinet from like 15 years ago. The crust peeled off within hours and it was healed completely after a day or two. The little tub version works, not the tube kind though.
Tea Tree Oil
★☆☆☆☆
Angular chelitis - I believe mine was an allergic reaction to something I ate or drank at a wedding we attended. It came on very suddenly, but I have no clue what it was, and so far (2 days later)it's not very bad. I did put tea tree oil on it a day later when we got home, but can't say that it helped. I plan to try plain yogurt when I get some.
Dakin's Solution
★★★★☆
First, thank you all a million --and especially to Ted from Thailand, as my terrible oral Thrush started going away as soon as I started his protocol. Very severe case, as I had no idea what it was and treated it with Corsodyl mouthwash for bacteria.
But, the angular chelitis on my lip corners has been very resistant. That is where the infection started, but until the Thrush went inside my mouth and turned white, I thought I had cut myself with dental floss, or burned my mouth on coffee and maybe it had gotten infected--therefore, I treated it incorrectly until the entire inside of my mouth, tongue, tonsil area and palate were covered with white plaques, and the corners of my lips cracked so that I could not talk for 4 days-- until I started the Apple Cider Vinegar, Hydrogen Peroxide anti yeast diet heavy acidoplilus.
Even when this was clearing up well, the lip corners did not respond. That is when I tried OTC antifungal (some result), tea tree oil (no result), lavender oil (very soothing but no rememdy)...the application of ACV did not help, nor did (name brand) lip ointment with alantoin (sp?) to reduce keratin formation.
But, this Dakins Solution has worked a treat...so I wanted to let you all know, in case you have a similar problem.
I found a recipe for Dakins Solution: 1/4tsp household bleach (sodium hypochlorite only) in 1/2 cup water. Pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda optional.
I rinsed with this and within a few hours the inflammation was noticably reduced, and the cracks were less "oozy". For the first time, I feel that my lips are actually healing, rather than just not getting worse.
I wanted to put a little lavender oil on them, but I am just holding off and letting them dry out a bit.
I will continue on the anti-yeast diet and ACV, H202 tonic--because I have had such a bad sinus for years that I think I might have had a long-term yeast problem and not known it. I catch every flu around, and my sinus infection is chronic and I don't treat with antibiotics anymore for fear of developing resistance.
BTW...
Does anyone know how to get the Allantoin that reduces keratin formation in some other form other than that popular ointment? It is very expensive here in Africa, and it works so great on anything chapped or scar forming?
Thank you all again for all the great advice and I have sent this site to several friends, whom I know will love it!
EC: More about Dakin's Solution: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakin's_Solution
General Feedback
I am curious if you have any remedies for Angular Cheilitis- About a week ago, I started having this little crack at the corner of my mouth- it gets flaky, and is painful, and won't go away- I've been putting lavender and tea tree oil on it. Any ideas? Thanks
EC: New page created, thank you for the suggestion!