If inflammation appears on the lips, it is best to immediately contact a qualified doctor to find out what it is. "Cheilitis" - perhaps such a diagnosis will be made by a specialist. This term refers to the focus of inflammation, localized on the red border of the lips or oral mucosa. In some cases, the disease is independent, and sometimes it is a symptom, indicating the presence of a pathological process in the body.
general information
Inflammatory processes in the human body do not start just like that. Doctors have long been studying the features of the disease, in order to know exactly what it is. Cheilitis is localized precisely in this part of the body, since the skin here is quite delicate and rather weak, they are constantly influenced by aggressive external factors. A chemically aggressive substance, low temperatures, and strong winds can provoke the formation of an inflammatory focus. To choose the best course of treatment, you should consult your dentist. In some cases, a commission of doctors is collected to guide the patient. They can attract a specialist in the work of the immune system, a dermatologist and an allergist.
Where did the trouble come from?
It is important for doctors to know all the causes of the disease, and not just to have a general idea of what it is. Cheilitis, studies have shown, can trigger a variety of factors. To determine the exact etiology in a particular case, it should be determined whether the pathology is primary or is a symptom of some disease.
Primary case
Doctors know well what cheilitis is. This is a disease in which you need to consult a doctor in a timely manner, who is able to assess whether there is an allergic and ordinary form due to contact with an aggressive factor. A simple type is formed if an irritating substance gets on the mucous membranes or a mechanical effect occurs.
Cheilitis can appear if there was contact with vegetation, insects, chemically aggressive compounds. Sometimes inflammation is caused by pressure, friction. There is a likelihood of developing pathology due to the effects of the environment at elevated, low temperatures. Certain risks are associated with ultraviolet light and the chemical composition of saliva. Many cheilitis due to the tendency to lick in the winter, bite their lips.
Types and Causes
Very often cheilitis forms on the lips of a child in a meteorological form. It is provoked by low temperatures, solar radiation, strong winds and high levels of humidity. All these environmental factors negatively affect the delicate skin, especially in children.
An allergic type of disease is possible if the oral mucosa, lips have become a location of contact with the allergen. Often these are cosmetic products, including decorative cosmetics. A toothpaste or chewing gum can provoke such an organism response.
Causes and consequences
You can see in specialized medical guides how the symptoms of cheilitis on the lips look in the photo. Treatment is prescribed based on developmental features. So, the condition can be caused by a lack of vitamins in the body. Most often, the inflammatory process develops if a person does not receive a sufficient amount of vitamins B2 and B6.
Actinic cheilitis is diagnosed if the skin is too susceptible to ultraviolet and an inflammatory focus develops under the influence of such radiation.
There is the likelihood of exfoliative cheilitis. Pathology is provoked by anxiety, a depressed depressive state.
With fungal infection, fungal cheilitis is possible. This disease is considered contagious.
Exfoliative type
On published in medical guides, photos of cheilitis of this form are quite common. Doctors classify pathology as psychosomatic. More often it is detected in minors, youth. Psycho-emotional disorders lead to the development of one of two types of cheilitis. If a person suffers from depression, it is likely that he will have a dry form of pathology, with anxiety - accompanied by the release of exudate. In any variant of the disease, a clear area of localization on the red lip border is characteristic. Cheilitis of this type never covers the oral mucosa, does not extend to the skin near the lips.
Dry type
The main symptom of cheilitis on the lips, if the disease forms in a dry form, is congestive hyperemia of the lip rim. Grayish scaly patches appear here, and the lips tend to peel off regardless of the care taken. The scales can be detached quite easily, but soon new ones will form. Many have dry lips, sometimes worried by a burning sensation. If a dry type of disease has developed, there is a likelihood of its transformation into exudative. For this type of symptomatology is more pronounced.
Exudate stands out
In this case, much more unpleasant symptoms of cheilitis on the lips will be disturbed. Photos of patients presented in medical guides demonstrate people who regularly experience unpleasant sensations provoked by swelling of the lips. This part of the body responds with pain, large scales are constantly formed here. Sometimes they become so large that they can hang from the lips. When such a site disappears, the opening surface looks redder than the norm.
If cheilitis is accompanied by the release of exudate, this form of the disease bothers a person with severe pain, which complicates food intake. When diagnosing a condition, it is necessary to differentiate the eczematous form of the disease, lupus erythematosus - their manifestations are close to exudative cheilitis.
Glandular type
Indicating the need for treatment, a symptom of cheilitis on the lips of this type is an increase in the salivary glands. Small red spots appear on the oral mucosa. There is an increased generation of serous secretions that accumulate on the lips from the inside. Visually, it resembles dew.
The glandular form appears if the adnexal glands responsible for the production of saliva become inflamed. More often this form of the disease is localized on the lower lip. Risk group - people over forty years of age. The primary type is possible with an abnormal structure of the glands, and the secondary often accompanies lupus erythematosus or may indicate leukoplakia.
Purulent form
Perhaps the most unpleasant are demonstrating precisely this type of disease in special editions for doctors of photo cheilitis on the lips. Symptoms, the treatment of which requires the mandatory supervision of a doctor, are especially pronounced in this case, and the disease is severe. As can be seen from medical statistics, purulent type in patients is diagnosed quite rarely.
If the purulent type of cheilitis develops in the superficial version, the clinic of manifestations coincides with the glandular variety. A distinctive feature is the generation of purulent secretions by the glands responsible for the production of saliva. These organs themselves become larger than normal.
With a deep variety of purulent cheilitis, the lips swell, on the red border you can see numerous areas of erosion, crusts and suppuration are formed. If you touch the site, the patient will feel severe pain.
Contact form: allergens
It is likely that contact with an allergen will provoke the need for treatment of cheilitis on the lips. Photos in specialized publications, demonstrating how such a pathology develops, make it possible to understand that from case to case the process proceeds individually, serious differences in progress are possible. Studies have shown that cheilitis is a delayed allergic response provoked by chemically aggressive compounds that can penetrate deep into the body through cracks in the skin. Thus, the allergen seeps into the circulatory system and sooner or later initiates a hypersensitivity reaction.
The duration of the development of an allergic response varies significantly, a lot depends on the individual characteristics of the body. Some require only a couple of days to form cheilitis, while others require several years from the moment they come into contact with the allergen. In many ways, the duration of the development of the reaction is determined by the susceptibility of allergic components. The health of the body, the adequacy of the digestive tract, nervous and endocrine systems play a role.
The nuances of manifestation
Allergic cheilitis on the lips is often localized on the red lip border, but can also protrude behind it, covering the skin adjacent to the skin. The site of direct contact becomes an area of erythema. The inflammatory process leads to the appearance of small vesicles, erosion is possible, the surface of the lips crack. The patient feels itching and burning, lips swell. In some cases, the symptoms are practically absent, the only manifestation is peeling.
With a prolonged course of the disease, the red lip border becomes dry, grooves and permanent small cracks form here. In many ways, the manifestations are close to the atopic form, exfoliative. This complicates the differential diagnosis of the case.
Meteorological type
Such cheilitis is provoked by the climate and a variety of external stimuli. It develops if the air is very dry or too humid, the weather is characterized by sharp temperature drops or a person often moves from a warm room to cold and vice versa. Very often this form develops in men who do not use protective caring lip balms. The main manifestation is tightness of the lips and a feeling of dryness. The lower lip is more often affected, swells and becomes inflamed. There is a chance of infiltration. On the border you can see small scales, this area is peeling. The pathological process does not go to the mucous membranes and skin integuments.
When choosing a treatment, you need to remember that the disease is chronic, and relapses are observed if there is a certain aggressive factor. In a vanishingly small percentage of cases, the affected area is reborn. The complexity of the differential diagnosis is associated with the similarity of manifestations with the allergic form and atopic.
Atopic type
This inflammatory process develops due to neurodermatitis. The reason is heredity and genetic factors. Allergy activators can be medications, dust and pollen, cosmetic formulations. Diseases are characterized by a prolonged course with relapses and remissions. Usually, the acute stage is observed during cooling, in the summer the condition improves. Relapse leads to flaking of the lips, the areas redden and itch, swell, examination shows infiltration.
Diagnostics
If you suspect cheilitis on your lips, it is better not to practice the treatment at home - first you need to contact the dentist to determine the nature of the disease, its type: the choice of the therapeutic course depends on it. The doctor examines the patient, can go to specialized instrumental studies. In the general case, however, it is enough to interview the patient and examine him visually. Since many types of cheilitis manifest similar symptoms, the problem of differential diagnosis comes to the fore.
About therapy
Choose how to treat cheilitis on the lips, based on the characteristics of the pathology. So, when identifying a fungal colony, you must first clarify the nature of the infection. The doctor will select a drug that is dangerous for the detected fungus, and will also advise the patient to take vitamin B2 in a course. To prevent relapse, you should eat right, consuming less carbohydrates if possible. Often, a patient is prescribed zinc ointment. The duration of the course is selected individually.
If exfoliative cheilitis is detected on the lips, the treatment consists of anti-inflammatory medications and antibiotics. The patient will be prescribed funds to increase the activity of immunity, vitamin complexes. Focusing on the particular state of the psyche, they can give a prescription for sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants. If the case is complex, the patient is referred to a psychotherapist. The duration of complex treatment can reach several years.
Forms of the disease and the fight against them
When identifying an allergic type of disease, it is necessary to take funds to reduce the susceptibility of allergens. Additionally, the patient is prescribed a course of vitamins. Useful in the treatment of cheilitis on the lips of the ointment: zinc, salicylic, sulfuric. Creams and lotions, for the preparation of which boric acid is used, will help improve the condition.
To cope with the actinic form of the disease, it is necessary to exclude the influence of ultraviolet radiation if possible. It is recommended to use cosmetics to protect from sunlight, regularly take vitamin complexes.
The meteorological type of the disease also requires the intake of vitamin compounds. Especially useful are those belonging to group B, nicotinic acid. It is recommended to use makeup that protects the lips, rinse with chamomile and oak decoctions and, if possible, limit exposure to the wind in cold air.
With hypovitaminosis, cheilitis can be cured by taking vitamin complexes, diversifying the menu with products rich in these compounds. It is worth getting into the habit of using a protective balm, as well as controlling yourself - do not bite or lick your lips. It would be reasonable to review the diet, exclude spicy foods, fried and sour, refuse very salty. Products rich in iron and riboflavin will benefit.
Types and cases: the nuances of the struggle
If the doctor has diagnosed macroheylitis, the optimal course will be focused on alleviating the main manifestations of the disease. The patient is prescribed treatment to weaken the hypersensitivity reaction, prescribe drugs that are effective against viruses, as well as drugs to increase the immune status.
The doctor will select a hormonal treatment course that is suitable for a particular case. As practice shows, with macroheilitis good results are given by a treatment course, including the use of Pyrogenal, Prodigiosan. To alleviate neuritis and completely cure this disease, you can undergo a course of physiotherapy. The duration of treatment is selected individually.
With the atopic type of the disease, it is first necessary to identify and exclude factors provoking the disease from life. First, the use of local agents is indicated - ointments based on anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as facilitating itching and eliminating the illogical reaction. As a rule, antihistamines are chosen for the systemic effect. The patient will have to adhere to a lightweight diet. Correctly and successfully selecting therapy and practicing it responsibly and in a timely manner, you can get rid of unpleasant manifestations. Neglecting medical reactions, a person increases the risk of cancer.