A Crack in the Corner of the Mouth is a Serious Infection

This unusual condition is known as Perleche or it's other name is Angular Cheilitis. Millions of sufferers are going through the painful symptoms of this infection and it is often a very difficult ailment to treat. Often the prescription is an increase in iron or 1% hydro cortisone or the physician may prescribe steroid cream. These approaches have little to no benefit and most people who suffer from Angular Cheilitis go on to suffer through the symptoms without hope.

 The condition is not life threatening, however it can have subtle yet serious affects on the patients life. The discomfort is persistent and the pain is present every waking hour of the day. Also, because the infection is right on the face, it is often socially embarrassing. This may be tolerable for a few days or a few weeks if the condition cleared up quickly and there were no further outbreaks. But the truth is, when Angular Cheilitis has progressed from chaffed lips to lesions in the corners of the mouth, the condition is usually there on a permanent or semi-permanent basis.

It is a very angry skin infection that persists without let up. The infection has a questionable pathology and it is difficult to pin point exactly how it develops. There is a thought that it develops in people who are over weight or in people who have dentures out of angular alignment. (Hence the name angular cheilitis) The thinking is that the corners of the mouth develop skin pockets or folds due to the overbite of poorly aligned dentures. This makes the patient close their mouth further than it should causing these pockets or skin folds at the corners of the mouth. The bacteria then have the perfect warm, moist environment to dwell.