What is perleche ?
Perleche is the inflammation of the sides of the lips (or the corners of the mouth) following a fungal or a bacterial infection. It is also known as angular stomatitis, angular cheilitis and cheilosis.
This problem manifests in the cracking of the corners of the mouth where cuts or ulcers may form. In severe cases of perleche, these cuts can bleed whenever the mouth is opened.
Perleche can also cause some swelling or a red rash that can spread in the areas near the sides of the mouth.
Perleche is not dangerous or contagious. However, because of its painful symptoms, it can cause a lot of discomfort in eating, speaking or laughing. Its unsightly look can also be a big cause of embarrassment to many people.
This problem manifests in the cracking of the corners of the mouth where cuts or ulcers may form. In severe cases of perleche, these cuts can bleed whenever the mouth is opened.
Perleche can also cause some swelling or a red rash that can spread in the areas near the sides of the mouth.
Perleche is not dangerous or contagious. However, because of its painful symptoms, it can cause a lot of discomfort in eating, speaking or laughing. Its unsightly look can also be a big cause of embarrassment to many people.
What causes perleche ?
As I said earlier, perleche (or angular cheilitis) is caused by the infection of the mouth corners ( labial commissures) by the fungus candida albicans or by a bacteria.This infection can be caused by the use of ill-fitting dentures. The reason is that, when dentures are not fitting properly, they can cause the over closure of the mouth. As a result, folds start to form in the sides of the lips and saliva starts to accumulate in those folds.
This creates a moisturized environment that favors the infection.
The other factor that can be considered a cause of perleche, mainly among young people, is the constant licking of the lips. In fact, following a long exposure to the sun or the cold weather, the lips get dried out and irritated.
When this happens, the person starts to lick the lips to bring a certain relief from that irritation. As a result, saliva builds up in the corners of the mouth and the infection starts.
Contact dermatitis or allergies to toothpastes, lipsticks and other cosmetics are also some less common causes of perleche.
It is also important to note here that the people who have a deficiency in iron, vitamin B2, B3, B6 or B12 are more vulnerable to that problem as well as those who have a compromised immune system.
Perleche treatment :
The most widely precribed treatment for perleche is 1 % hydrocortisone. This medicine is available under many different brand names .However, there are some cases when a doctor may want to determine if the infection was caused by a fungus or a bacteria and then prescribe a treatment accordingly.
If the diagnosis reveals that the cause of the infection is fungal, then he may prescribe an antifungal like Mycolog-ll or Mycostatin.
If it turns out that the infection is caused by a bacteria, then he may prescribe an antibiotic along with vitamins to help speed up the healing.
from: http://www.squidoo.com/perleche
