Angular Cheilitis is an inflammation of skin which commonly affects one or both the corners of the mouth. It appears as flakiness and cracks in the mouth angles and thereby the term Angular Cheilitis. Common causes of Angular Cheilitis are bacterial or fungal infections, dryness, habit of licking the lips leading to excessive dryness and nutritional deficiencies. Usually the lesions in the corners of the mouth do not cause any bleeding but you may experience a lot of stretch and stinging sensation on the lesions especially in the mornings right after waking up.
Doctors prescribe medicated ointment for moistening and pills. You may be given some dietary supplements for making up for the nutritional deficiencies. In this feature we will introduce our readers to various natural treatments for this condition that can be tried before popping the pill!
7 Effective Natural Treatments For Angular Cheilitis
Yogurt
If the Angular Cheilitis is caused by fungal inflection then use of pro biotic substance like yoghurt or curd can provide numerous benefits for alleviating it. Our body has a number of good bacteria that helps in proper digestion and keep the fungal infections at bay.
Bacteria keeps the fungi and yeast in check by feeding on it. The imbalance in the population of this good bacteria causes the fungal or yeast infection. Common causes of depletion in bacteria are over consumption of anti-biotics or intake of food items that are spoilt. Yoghurt or curd is a great source of good bacteria and it can fulfil both the needs of fighting the infection as well as keeping the infection moisturized especially when curd is prepared out of full cream milk.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is an anti microbial herb and you can use it if your condition is purely an infection caused by either bacteria or fungus. Aloe Vera is also a skin moistening agent which is a great help in angular Cheilitis as it dries out and stretches the skin. Extract some Aloe Vera gel by cutting through the sprig of Aloe Vera.
You may even store it for 2-3 days without refrigeration and keep applying it repeatedly throughout the day. You may also mix some drops of aromatic oil as the Aloe Vera juice itself has no odour. One consequence of using Aloe Vera gel is having a bitter taste in your mouth sometimes or if you happen to lick the corners of your mouth.
Tea Tree Oil
This oil is a known anti-microbial agent. However it is a very strong oil and has an undesirable odour as well.
Therefore it is recommended that tea tree oil be used after an equal dilution with coconut oil or a few drops of lavender oil which makes it aromatic. If using lavender oil then make sure that you use some other oil to dilute the tea tree oil.
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Herbal Remedies For Angular Cheilitis
Neem
Neem is an anti-microbial herb and you can use its leaves or even oil for treating Angular Cheilitis. Neem oil is commonly available and can be applied in a thin layer on the mouth corners or just like a gloss. However, it is a highly bitter oil so you may choose not to use it. Alternatively, make a paste out of cream and neem leaves.
Apply it on your mouth and let it rest for 15 minutes. Wash off with normal water and wipe thoroughly. If you like, you may apply a drop of neem leaves on the infection after thoroughly drying out the area with infection. You can also use neem water by boiling a bunch of leaves in the water for 15 minutes. Strain and use this water for washing your mouth area. However, make sure that you dry the mouth corners thoroughly every time.
Baking Soda And Honey
Baking soda has been made popular as a treatment of Angular Cheilitis, but the truth is that baking soda is effective in alleviating some symptoms of this condition and not cure the condition itself. Baking soda is usually helpful in cleaning the lesions properly and reducing the swelling and limiting the infection from spreading.
Baking soda also has pain relieving properties which will help in soothing the pain. Use of baking soda along with other agents can help in clearing Angular Cheilitis. For this purpose honey seems to be the best option. It fights the bacteria and moistens the mouth corners as well. After using baking soda for cleaning the surface of your skin, dry it by patting lightly and apply 2-3 drops of honey.
Saline Water And Exposure To Sun
You can prepare a salt water solution by mixing a spoonful of salt in a glass of warm water. Wash your mouth with this solution and let it dry. Once it dries, apply this solution again by soaking a cotton swab and applying it on the skin. Salt in the water has a property of dehydrating the bacterial cells which kills them as bacteria can only survive with humidity and well hydrated environment.
Moving to tropical climates also helps a lot as these areas are humid that do not dry your skin out. And sun exposure tends to kill the fungus and yeast infection. Sun exposure is also a great source of vitamin D whose deficiency is also known to cause Angular Cheilitis.
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Do It With Food
Nutritional deficiency is one of the common causes of Angular Cheilitis. Therefore, nutrition may hold the key to treating this condition. Mostly this skin condition is associated with vitamin B deficiency and specifically with Vitamin B2. Vitamin B2 is also known as Riboflavin and is a water soluble vitamin. This means that it does not get stored in the body and its flush out mechanism out of the body is very fast.
Therefore it is very important to replenish the levels of this vitamin in the body regularly and continuously. Eating food stuff rich in Vitamin B2 and making it a permanent part of your meals can help in alleviating angular Cheilitis caused by deficiency of vitamin B2. Dried herbs, almonds, dried soybeans, dried herbs, wheat bran and sesame seeds are some of the good sources of vitamin B2.
Caution: Please use Remedies after Proper Research and Guidance. You accept that you are following any advice at your own risk and will properly research or consult healthcare professional.
