Cracks In The Corners Of My Mouth

[Guest Chrisbee]

All my life I have had upset stomachs and the only way I could work was to have a bottle of Kaopectate, or later, when it came out, Immodium. Couldn't go out to eat unless I took Immodium first. I also have joint and muscle pain, but the thing I think that drives me craziest is the corners of my mouth. I have had cracks and blisters there and on the lower part of my face and my hands and feet for fifteen years. I've had different prescription creams which sometimes help, but as soon as I stop them, it comes right back. The bottom of my face is always red and either blistered or peeling and the corners of my mouth are cracked and scarred. I haven't been diagnosed, but I had my son in to see our new family practitioner and mentioned some of our symptoms to him. He thinks it my be Celiac disease and is sending my son to see a pediatric gastroenterologist. Has anyone had blisters on their face, hands or feet and the awful cracks in the corners of their mouth? I decided to go gluten-free a few weeks ago and my face has improved some, but Sunday morning I woke up with the cracks and blisters again. The only thing I did different was take an OTC decongestant which I'm wondering if it contained gluten (maltodextrin was listed as an ingredient). Can these blisters be a Celiac symptom? I also have them on my neck and up into my scalp.

[Generic]

I used to get cracks at the corners of my mouth when I was a kid pre-diagnosis. My mom is a nurse and says that the cracks are due to a vitamin b deficency. When ever I got them she gave me vit. b and it cleared up.

Yes, vitamin deficencies go along with celiac.

[CarlaB]

I got the cracks, too. I also heard it was a vitamin deficiency.

Maltodextrin is fine. Even though it sounds like it, there's no malt in it.

Be sure that you don't go gluten-free prior to testing, it will affect the results. If you think the blisters are dh, then that can be tested by a biopsy of the skin near the blister.

[chrissy]

it can be a vitamin deficiency and it can be a symptom of celiac---but it can also be an infection----and there is something else that can cause the cracks, also---but i can't remember what it is. i looked it up because one of my kids was having a problem with it. one of my twins still has cracks in the corner of her mouth when she is gluten free.

[Suzie-GFfamily]

The cracks near the corner of your mouth could be angular cheilitis. Angular cheilitis is a symptom of celiac disease.

There is a good (but slightly old) article in the American Family Physician journal called "Detecting Celiac Disease in Your Patients" by Harold Pruessner, M.D.

See figure 6 for a picture of angular cheilitis:

Open Original Shared Link

[Generic]

That is a really good article, one of the best I have seen. Even if it is almost 10 years old. That man really has a good insight.

[Guest cassidy]

I've heard it could be related to candida overgrowth. I had a problem with candida last year and the corners of my mouth were so sore it hurt to smile. Candida is a common problem with celiac because your intestinal bacteria gets out of balance and the nasty stuff can grow out of control. If you look it up and you have other candida symptoms, that may be something to look into.

[confused]

The cracks near the corner of your mouth could be angular cheilitis. Angular cheilitis is a symptom of celiac disease.

There is a good (but slightly old) article in the American Family Physician journal called "Detecting Celiac Disease in Your Patients" by Harold Pruessner, M.D.

See figure 6 for a picture of angular cheilitis:

Open Original Shared Link

That picture looks exactly like the things my son gets on his mouth. And the arm looks like my arm when i eat gluten.

paula

[Guest Chrisbee]

That picture looks exactly like what I've got. I've also got the hyper-pigmentation, which doctors told me was melasma and I should stay out of the sun.

I'll tell you what, the more I read the angrier I get. I've been to more doctors through the years than I can count, and none have ever tested me, my children, my brother or my father for celiac and we all have the same types of symptoms. My dad now has adenocarcinoma which they think originated in the appendix. He's had at least five surgeries and been through chemo. From what I read, that possibly could be related to celiac disease. I told Mom to mention celiac to his cancer specialist, but she ignored me. He's always had problems with his digestion.

I had problems all my life with my stomach too, but my mom always thought it was just nerves. When my little brother was in grade school, he developed the same problem and she took him back and forth to the doctor and they told her had a parasite from the well water or else he had developed salmonella from eggs. The first time I went to the doctor for my stomach problems, I was given a prescription for an anti-depressant and sent to a psychiatrist. This was a military doctor. I did actually feel better and gained some weight, but I got tired of feeling medicated and went off the anti-depressants. I lost the weight and had stomach problems again. I went to another military doctor who told me I had a spastic colon and I needed to eat more fiber. I went back when I developed swollen lymph nodes and had test after test run. My doctor diagnosed me with lupus and never told me what to do or how to treat it. I just put up with the joint pain, rashes, and stomach problems for the next ten years. When I had had enough, I went to doctor after doctor and was "diagnosed" with rheumatoid arthritis, Adult ADD, depression, connective tissue disorder, fibromyalgia, excema, psoriasis, osteo arthritis, and IBS. I gave up. Each doctor had a different opinion and people started to think I was a hypochondriac, especially my family.

My kids have had similar symptoms and I have run them from doctor to doctor too. My daughter has been to Shriner's Hospital, Children's Hospital in St. Louis, and Carle Clinic in Champaign to different rheumatologists. The last one wanted to give her a dose of chemo to put her in remission, but thankfully, she went into remission on her own before they got her in to do it. Her fingers swell and she gets big blisters on the palms of her hands and soles of her feet. She also has had alopecia and lots of stomach problems.

We need a good doctor!!!!!

And now I'm off to buy some vitamins!

[Brenda Sue]

Hi All, I've just recovered from Angular Chelitis and I highly recommend this since it only took a couple of days once I used these products for my situation to clear up. My doctor wrote me a script for (generic name) Iodoquinol and Hydrocortisone. If you don't want to do the doctor route you can buy Hydrocortisone Creame 1% and Miconazole Creme over the counter, mix small equal amounts together and apply to the corners of your mouth. Apply the cream 3 or so times per day. I would also wash the area each time before reapplying cream. Oh, and drink from a straw until the corners of your mouth heals. You can also put Vaseline on the corners of your mouth overnight if you are worried about drooling onto your wound. Good luck cuz this aint a pretty thing to deal with.

[kareng]

Just an FYI, the original posts are 5 years old. They are probably not on this forum anymore.