Are angular cheilitis and cold sores the same? And what is the treatment?

1. Is Angular Cheilitis A Cold
Sore?

2. Angular Cheilitis And Cold Sores
• Angular cheilitis and cold sores are two totally different
things.
• Briefly, a cold sore is an inflamed blister caused by the
herpes simplex virus which clears up on its own in 7 to
10 days. It is also highly contagious.
• Angular cheilitis, on the other hand, is inflammation and
cracking of the lips (cheilitis) at the angles (i.e. corners)
of the mouth which then get infected with a fungal or
bacterial infection.
• It does not clear up on its own.
• And it is not contagious (which is at least a bit of a relief).

3. How Does Angular Cheilitis Occur?
• Your angular cheilitis will have started with
dry lips which then get so dry that they
start to crack.
• You probably felt tightness before the
cracking started.
• Normal movements of your mouth such as
talking, eating and smiling will have
caused the cracking.
• You probably felt it split. Not a nice feeling!

4. What To Avoid
• Before the cracking started lip balms will
have helped with the dryness.
• But now that you have angular cheilitis
don’t use lip balm as the moisture will leak
into the cracked corners making them
more moist – creating ideal conditions for
bacteria and fungus to multiply.
• And try not to lick your lips - as the effect
is the same.

5. Traditional Treatments
• Angular cheilitis is normally a fungal infection or
(less commonly) a bacterial infection.
• If you have been on antibiotics recently for any
reason the antibiotics will have killed off your
good bacteria as well as the bad. These are
important in preventing fungal infections from
taking hold. So if you have a fungal infection this
may have been a contributory factor.
• Traditional treatments kill off the bacterial or
fungal infection which then allows the body to do
its job of healing and closing up the wound.

6. But What If It Doesn’t Work?
• Sometimes the treatment doesn’t work or if it does your
angular cheilitis comes back.
• This is because treatment is tackling the symptoms and
not the cause.
• Eradication of angular cheilitis requires a two-pronged
attack.
• 1. You need to get rid of the fungal or bacterial infection
so that your body can then get on with the process of
healing the wounds.
• 2. You need to address the cause of the dry lips –
usually a nutritional deficiency such as riboflavin (vitamin
B12) or iron or sometimes zinc.

7. How To Get Rid Of Angular
Cheilitis
• Is angular cheilitis a cold sore? No, the
two are totally different and require
different treatments.
• For more information on angular cheilitis
and the best treatment
• go to www.AngularCheilitisEase.com