Re: I Need Help With Angular Cheilitis

Hello.I am new here.4 years ago I had a slight case of AC before along with chapped lips and possibly eczema all around my lips and mustache area.Painfully red ,itchy,irritated,sensitive,chapped and rubbery at times with no elasticity.The area where the lip skin meets the lips was the worst part.you could NOT tell where the lips started and the skin began.Creams ,waxes,ointments,etc would burn like and itch like hell and would most likely need to be washed off.I had this consistently for eight-ten years .It finally went away about four years ago and I never looked back and honestly don't remember how or why it went away.

I am writing in this forum because it came back about four weeks ago which has me scared because now I am back to my old ways of constantly being uncomfortable and feeling like I need to apply vaseline or some kind of cream that will provide temp relief and make me feel normal.And more importantly the AC portion of this situation appeared about a week ago.I thought nothing of it for a day or two and while I was researching to find some current relief different than what I was told 9 years ago regarding chapped lips etc. ,I decided to search what this "cracked sides of my mouth "is all about and ended up here.
So here is how my healing of just the cracked sides(AC) is coming along since I started the steps last saturday:

-Day one of AC :
I had 4 cracks on right side and 1 on left side(+plus chapped lips and slight irritaion all around mouth.)
Did steps from flossing to applying jelly to my entire bottom half of my face after leting it come to a desert dry for 15 minutes.It was torture during drying but I was in heaven and felt normal once the vaseline was on.After I removed the jelly I of course needed to apply a bit more back on just to keep my face from just falling off onto to the ground.
I have to say that after just one run through the steps I felt a lot better and visually the cracks and my lips etc. were improved.
-Day two of AC:
After sleeping on my back with no pillow and a small pillow on my chest under my chin to keep my mouth shut so I wont breath through my mouth and to prevent drool from causing more problems ,I woke up for the first time in weeks with my lips not swollen or crusted over with god knows what the hell has been attacking me during my sleep.To be more precise 2 cracks on right side half of one on the left.
At this point I am also trying to discipline my use of vaseline and creams because if I am careless I will find myself applying these reliefs 25% of the hours during the day.I have found That using nothing is just as uncomfortable as constantly worrying about my lips and mouth area and that my skin and lips actually go through short moments of no itching,burning,chapping,stinging etc and it seems like they are trying to return to normal but them the symptoms return all at once but I just hold on like I am going down the big drop of a roller coaster and try to get through it.
-Day three of AC
I noticed a little crustness in the morning so I went through the steps twice today just to make sure the fungus or bacteria hasn't been reborn.
One crack on right side and zero on the left.Mustache area feels like new and I was able to shave(probably should not have though but the hair sometimes itches more than the rash)Lips are not chapped and not even on my mind.I apply nothing to my lips and a little aveeno eczema cream around my mouth after I shave.Cracks get a little vaseline but they are practically gone.
Day Four of AC:
Cracks are gone but rash is present below bottom lip and above top lip.(probably from shaving.So a little aveeno cream for that and a little vaseline for the AC area and I go about my day but I am forced to apply spf15 aveena cream on my entire face because I 'll be out in the sun working today.
But basically the AC is gone!!
OK now the Bad Part.
DAy 5 of AC:
I slept like normal with the pillow jammed up under my chin because I can feel saliva trying to get to the corners of my mouth even when my mouth is closed,my head is beyond horizontal to be sure that all saliva gets sent back to my throat and not towards my mouth/lips.Get this ..I wake up with the maddest crust covering my entire mouth I have four cracks on each side and they are bad and deep.I cant open my mouth because my lips have glued them selves together and after showering I am able to get the crust to give.Very uncomfortable.Irritation around my mouth is really funky and wrinkly,dry,swollen.Lips are swollen and dont look like lips.I was thinking "sun?"but I avoided working more than a total of 30 minutes in the sun.

This goes on for the next three days.I have clown lips with cracks.When I sleep..I don't know how but saliva seems to float or climb upwards and get to the cracks/edges of my lips.I believe this to be the root cause of at least the cracks.
The lips and mouth irritation that I am familiar with and have dealt with years ago seems to me to have the same cause but was just first to show signs.My mother tells me to sleep with cotton balls in the corners of my mouth to catch the evil living climbing saliva.
Obviously my saliva is carrying a fungus and my outside lips were trying to tell me this before the AC arrived.Just like it did almost 10 years ago until I had cavities filled all four wisdom teeth pulled in one visit.
I am not sure but I believe when I flossed really well before doing the steps a week ago everything went away and was fine but prehaps I have exposed some deeper cavities in my teeth that is holding bacteria and /or fungus and contaminating my saliva to the point that it has become alive like a Science fiction blob of some sorts.My next step is to continue to deal with this but I have to be careful and I can only treat this condition on a day to day basis.Some days will require different sorts of treatment depending on what mood or disposition my skin /lips/and cracks feel like handing me that day.This will only give me temporary relief until I get to the root of this problem.There lies the cure.I believe this is dental related.I have cavities that are over due on getting fixed plus a cap that fell out not too long ago.
For preventing other root problems I:
Eat healthy
Drink too much water
Dont over apply creams/vaselines/prescriiption /non prescriiption and
try my best to let my lips and skin build strong immunities on there own.
Take multi vitamins everyday.
Floss a few times a day.
Don't use toothpaste.Use baking soda.
Rinse with hydrogen peroxide.
Control the drool while I sleep.(the most difficult loosing battle.)

Years ago, I tried every cream and perscriiption cortisone/steroid etc ointments when this attacked me ten years ago.I think the dental work got the condition to pack its bags and slowly go away.At the same time I was given a steroid cream which I used sparingly until the mouth irritation went away and it was gone for 4 years until now.
I'll be back with an update.Possibly after I get some cavities filled.
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