Angular cheilitis, commonly known as "nozzles", is an inflammatory lesion on the lips that causes cracks and fissures in one or both corners. They are quite annoying and in the case of children it may take longer to cure.
Dr. Beatriz Iglesias Sánchez, member of the Spanish Society of Orthodontics and dentist and specialist in orthodontics at the Pérez Varela Clinic, explained to us why the nozzles are produced and how we should proceed in these cases.
What are the mouthpieces?
As we mentioned at the beginning, the mouthpieces are painful lesions that occur at the corner of the lips and that they get worse with the opening of the mouth or with any movement or gesture we make with the lips.
In the case of children, the lesion may last longer since the discomfort caused them to moisten the wound continuously, which causes the crack to open and the process begins again. In the cases of smaller babies, the same thing happens, especially if they are going through a time of excessive "drooling".
Angular cheilitis can occur in the form of cracks, fissures, ulcers or redness, and although the lesions do not usually bleed, they could become infected and cause a bulky and painful scab.
Why do they occur?
The accumulation of saliva at the corner of the mouth It could be the triggering factor of this lesion since there is a maceration of the skin and subsequent formation of the fissure, which in some cases can reach get contaminated with bacteria or fungi.
There are certain risk situations that can make this injury worse, such as stress (which may be behind the appearance of several problems in the child's mouth) or the cold, for example, that causing cracks in the lips would lead to children to moisten them frequently aggravating the wound.
Dr. Iglesias explains to us other factors that are usually behind of the appearance of mouthpieces in children:
The incubation of a flu process: we will realize if the mouthpieces are produced for this reason because in a matter of days we will begin to notice the symptoms of flu in our child.
A improper feeding that is causing vitamin deficiency, in which case until this nutritional problem is corrected the nozzles will continue to appear.
Injuries produced by objects or by their own hands
"In young children or babies, This option is usually the most common since when they start to leave the teeth they tend to put anything in their mouths, which together with excessive salivation can lead to the appearance of these small wounds "- explains the dentist
There may also be other types of causes that should be assessed by the doctor, so if the mouthpieces are of repetition, Dr. Iglesias advises us to take the child to the pediatrician or pediatric dentist for review.
How are they treated?
If there are no complications, the mouthpieces usually heal in five or six days although they require a lot of patience and vigilance on the part of the parents. If the lesion worsens or we fail to cure it with petroleum jelly, it is recommended medical assessment in case there was a bacterial or fungal infection that needed to be treated with specific creams.
"To cure it, you have to be very patient, keep the child from putting things in his mouth and put petroleum jelly or cocoa on the lips and at the corner, both day and, especially, at night. At night we will do better because being asleep will not suck your lips and take it off, and because in addition, in the case of babies drool less during the night than during the day. "- advises the dentist.
On the other hand, it is important to monitor the oral hygiene of our children, but especially when wounds or ulcers appear since bad hygiene habits could worsen the injury.
IStock photos
Acknowledgments Dr. Beatriz Iglesias Sánchez
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