At-Home Angular Cheilitis Treatment

With beauty influencers such as myself, you typically only get to see the good side of everything. In early November 2023 or late October, I developed a condition at the corners of my lips that prevented me from wearing makeup for roughly two months. This was devastating to me, as it hindered my ability to make content for you all, but it also took me away from my passion. I know what it feels like to be desperately searching for answers, as well as trying ‘everything’ but not having it work. It involves a lot of wasted time and money while suffering. Thisarticle is dedicated to angular cheilitis treatment, and I hope that it will help someone else. I will cover everything that I learned, the trial and error that I went through, plus what actually worked step-by-step. I did not even take pictures of it, because I was so embarrassed.

Please note, I am not a medical professional, and this article is not a replacement for seeking medical attention. I strongly recommend that you do see a doctor, and I will get more into that later.

Symptoms

First, I want to cover symptoms and what on earth it actually is! Most commonly, it presents as redness, swelling, pain, dryness/flaking, and cracking/cuts at the corners of the mouth. I developed all of these symptoms at random. One day, when I opened my mouth to take a bite of my lunch, it hurt. I thought it was seasonal dryness giving me a cracking sensation. I developed actual cuts!

An important note here is that this is no where related to cold sores. Cold sores look very different, more like bumps similar to acne. Those are caused by a viral infection, and there are plenty of targeted treatments on the market for it. They normally present with tingling, and they are contagious. Angular cheiltis has no tingling, and it is not contagious.

Causes

This is where a medical professional comes in handy! This condition can be diagnosed by your general medical doctor, a dermatologist, or even a dentist. If you are someone that drools a lot when you sleep, that is a big cause, and a dentist really helps there. Otherwise, the most common cause is a fungal infection. Beyond that, it can be bacterial. A doctor can swab the skin and test the sample to determine the cause so that they prescribe the right treatment.

I admit, I do drool when I sleep. What you need to consider is that our saliva is the first part of the digestion process in breaking down food. As it sits on our skin, it actually starts to break the skin down. Saliva can naturally be filled with bacteria and fungus, so, it then enters the broken down skin and causes the infection.

I kept racking my brain trying to think if I changed anything in the months leading up to the infection. I did not think that my drooling got worse, but it is still a consideration. Then, it hit me! In the summer I changed my toothpaste and mouthwash. I never found an article that talked about toothpaste allergies. This idea came to me on my own, then I started researching it, and found the articles.

Another cause is an allergic reaction to your toothpaste. Beyond that, a toothpaste allergy may feel like your gums are burning, which I did not have. I had stopped using basic Colgate and off-brand mouthwash and I switched to fancier stuff (Parodontax and Oral-B Gum Detoxify). I noticed that the new toothpaste would work its way to the cornerns of my mouth and burn a lot, which did not happen with the former. What is even more interesting is, my old toothpaste contains ingredients that people are commonly allergic to, but the new does not! My brain also went back to fungal. My new mouthwash did not have alcohol, but the former did. I considered that extended use of the non-alcohol may not have been effectively killing the germs in my mouth.

At-Home Treatment

Third, I am going to take you thorugh my self-care trials.

What Did Not Work

When I first felt the cracking pain, I started applying the only medicated lip balm that I had laying around. As long as the areas were covered at all times, it did not hurt. I saw slight improvement, but, it never healed.

Then, I tried applying the same lip balm with a layer of Vaseline over it to lock in the moisture. Again, I kept the areas covered at all times. I saw a bit more improvement, but it still never went away.

I discontinued the lip balm and Vaseline, and bought myself some original medicated Carmex. Yes, I kept the areas covered at all times. I saw the most results with this, but it still did not fully go away.

Near the end of November, I had a special occasion that I wore makeup for. It was looking the best at this point, but still not fully healed. I had not worn makeup all of this time. After about two hours of wearing the makeup, the spots became red, inflamed, and painful. It looked downright horrible at the event! So, I swore off makeup again.

After this, I ended up buying an anti-bacterial ointment called Terrasil, which I will talk about more later. I ditched all of the other products and started keeping the areas saturaed with Terrasil at all times. After about two days, the areas started to burn as if they were becoming raw. I abandoned this and all treatments and went “dry” for a few days. The spots scabbed up with flaky, dry skin. Back to the drawing board!

What Did Work!

After all of my research, I decided that I wanted to create a mixure of over the counter creams to mimick what a doctor would prescibe. This is tricky, since I never had my mouth swabbed to know if my condition was bacterial, fungal, or neither. In my reading, I found there are many combinations of prescription ointments they could give you, such as:

• Anti-bacterial
• Anti-fungal
• Anti-bacterial and anti-fungal mix
• Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and steroid mix
• Anti-fungal and steroid mix
• Anti-bacterial and steroid mix

Topical sterioids help to fight the inflammation. I ended up going on Amazon and buying Clotrimazole 1% cream, which is the active ingredient in anti-fungal creams. I already had Terrasil Anti-Bacterial Skin Repair Ointment. Finally, I bought Hydrocortisone 1% cream, which functions as the sterioid. Typically, 1% creams are all you can get over the counter, and higher strengths require a prescription.

From here, I developed a treatment routine. By the way, these creams do not have a taste.

1. In the morning, wash your face.
2. Combine the smallest amounts of Clotrimazole and Terrasil. Pat that onto the areas.
3. Allow those a few minutes to sink into the skin and absorb.
4. Apply the smallest amount of Hydrocortisone by patting it onto those areas.
5. Allow those a few minutes to sink into the skin and absorb.
6. Apply Carmex over the areas to seal them.
7. Once in the afternoon, re-apply the Carmex.
8. Before bed, wash your face and re-do steps two through six.

In addition to that routine, I went back to my old toothpaste and mouthwash. I made this switch at the same time that I began the creams, so I really cannot say for sure what the exact culprit here was. The results were evident in a day or two.

I continued these steps for a week or two after it looked like the condition fully went away, because I wanted to be on the safe side. I even applied the three creams before makeup application and they functioned like a moisturizer and primer without harming application!

You should keep in mind that this condition can be chronic and return every so often. While these products and steps may not work for you, it is worth giving it a shot before trying an endless at-home treatment that leaves you feeling desperate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to cure angular cheilitis?

The fastest way to cure angular cheilitis is by seeing a doctor. They have tests that will identify the cause so that they can prescribe the right topical treatment. If you want an at-home treatment instead, try to cover all of the bases by mixing anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and hydrocortisone creams. Remember, there is no instant or over-night cure.

What triggers angular cheilitis?

The most common angular cheilitis triggers are dental issues. Some of these are drooling, lip licking, and poor fitting dentures. It can also be caused by nutrient deficincies and allergic reactions.

What cream can I use for angular cheilitis?

A mixture of anti-fungal and anti-bacterial creams layered with hydrocortisone creams and Carmex can be used to treat angular cheilitis, as those will mimick what a doctor will prescribe. At the prescription leve, you may be given a sterioid combined with something that is anti-fungal or anti-bacterial.

Shop The Creams

In conclusion, I have found that the best angular cheilitis medication when you are seeking an at-home remedy is to mimick what a doctor might prescribe to you. I found healing by mixing anti-fungal and anti-bacterial creams, then layering hydrocortisone and Carmex over top. Now that it is fully healed and gone away, I apply Carmex every night before bed. I stopped using any other lip balms or masks to go back to basics! Knowing that this condition can be chronic, I will do this routine again if it returns. Since I did this mix and went back to my old toothpaste and mouthwash all at the same time, I will never truly know the personal cause for me. I suspect fungal. Please let me know in the comments if I am able to help you. Until next time, continue to let your true beauty shine.

Do you have any tips on treatment?

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