Corner of the Mouth Cracks

Symptoms

Mouth corner rhagades manifest as inflamed tears in the area of the corners of the mouth. The symptoms are often bilateral and and often involve the adjacent skin. Other symptoms include redness, scaling, pain, itching, crusting and dehydration. Mouth cracks are uncomfortable, bothersome and often slow to heal.

Causes

Typical causes and risk factors include: Irritant factors:

  • Cold, dry air, humidity
  • Frequent moistening of the lips with the tongue
  • Braces and dentures
  • Pacifier (Nuggi), saliva
  • Dental treatments

Infectious diseases:

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies:

Skin diseases:

  • Atopic eczema
  • Contact eczema, e.g. due to cosmetics and care products.
  • Psoriasis

Systemic diseases:

  • Diabetes mellitus
  • Dry mouth, Sjögren’s syndrome
  • HIV

Pharmaceuticals:

Diagnosis

The diagnosis is made in medical treatment on the basis of the clinical picture, physical examination (including oral cavity) and with laboratory methods (blood values, pathogen detection). Differential diagnoses include cold sores and lichen planus, for example.

Drug treatment

Treatment depends on the cause. The following are the main treatment options. Ointments with antibiotics, antifungals, and glucocorticoids:

Disinfectants:

  • Instead of antibiotics and antifungals can also be applied locally compatible antiseptics in the form of ointments, which are effective against the pathogens.

Herbal remedies:

Vitamins, minerals and trace elements:

  • Such as the vitamin B complex and iron are indicated if there is a corresponding deficiency. This should be clarified in advance. Also possible is a therapy attempt with a multivitamin preparation.

Skin care:

  • With skin care products and a suitable lip balm or lip salve.

Concomitant oral thrush must be treated with appropriate antifungal agents, see under oral thrush.