Angular Cheilitis is a painful condition where the corners of the mouth crack and blisters appear.
The cracks might bleed and pus might also form in the cracks.
The biggest problem with Angular Cheilitis is that it tends to become a chronic infection, in other words, once people start to suffer from it, they tend to get recurring infections.
It is also found that most topical treatments lose their effectiveness with people who are chronic sufferers from this condition.
Angular Cheilitis might be caused by a variety of causes, some of which might be: Candida Yeast Infection - the candida fungus also lives in other places in the body, in the mucous membranes of the mouth for example.
Most people have the candida organisms present in their body, and normally does not present a problem.
The problem occurs when an overgrowth of candida occurs due to an imbalance in the body.
This can be caused by using antibiotics, or when the body's immune system is compromised.
In this case, there is an overgrowth of candida and a candida yeast infection occurs.
The most common infection caused by candida in the mouth is thrush, but Angular Cheilitis is also thought to be caused by the candida yeast.
A common Angular Cheilitis treatment is therefore topical anti-fungal and steroid medication that treats the candida fungus.
The problem is that Angular Cheilitis could potentially be caused by more than just the candida ablicans growing wild.
There is often an underlying factor that creates a perfect environment for the candida yeast to multiply.
Such conditions could be for example where ill-fitting dentures cause breaks in the mucous membranes of the mouth, causing the candida yeast to start multiplying.
It is therefore often found that people with badly fitting dentures or even people with teeth problems where the teeth are not aligned properly may suffer from Angular Cheilitis.
The cracks caused by the yeast infection can also be infected by a bacterial infection (staph) which can exacerbate the whole problem.
This is typically a secondary infection caused by bacteria that breeds in the cracks caused by the candida infection.
In such a case the treatment would probably involve antibiotic creams and gels that will also contain anti-fungal properties to combat the fungal infection caused by the candida yeast.
Other causes of Angular Cheilitis could be that the lips are prone to cracking due to being dry and chapped.
In that case, if the person suffers from a low immune system or an imbalance in the body of the micro-organisms that normally keep the candida yeast in check, it could also lead to the infection.