the redness, swelling, and cracking of their lips, a condition called chelitis. Of course we many times think this is due to #food allergy, but think again. I wish it were as easy as food allergy. Yes, it’s true that foods go past your lips in order to be swallowed, but that may not have anything to do with food allergy or fixing your problem.
Let’s get it on with those not so strawberry lips….
Background
- Cheilitis is an acute or chronic inflammation of the lips, which may extend to include the vermilion border. Cheilitis may occur in isolation or associated with perioral involvement depending on the cause of the inflammation.
- There are many causes of cheilitis. The most common causes of inflammation of the lips are contact with an allergen or irritant, angular cheilitis, infection, or actinic (also called solar) cheilitis.
- Other causes of cheilitis include drug-induced (particularly retinoids), cheilitis glandularis, granulomatous diseases (such as, cheilitis granulomatosa or systemic disease such as Crohn disease or sarcoidosis), and plasma cell cheilitis.
- Multiple factors may contribute to cheilitis, and 1 or more causes may present simultaneously.
- Cheilitis may present as a manifestation of a generalized skin or other medical condition, such as atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, or discoid or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
- Actinic cheilitis and, the more rare, cheilitis glandularis are considered premalignant conditions that may transform into cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Evaluation
- Patients with irritant or allergic cheilitis may present with dryness, scaliness and/or fissuring, with or without erythema or edema of the vermillion border.
- Ask about common allergens, such as lipsticks, cosmetics, nail polishes, and oral hygiene products; and common irritants, such as wind or cold weather exposure, irritative topicals (lip cosmetics, antiseptics), repeated lip-licking behaviors, and musical instrument contact.
- For allergic contact cheilitis, consider patch testing if the culprit allergen is not identified by history.
- Angular cheilitis (also called perleche) may occur in young children or in adults with dentures or dental appliances. Erythema, scaling, fissuring, bleeding, or ulceration is seen at the angle (corner) of the lip, and may be unilateral or bilateral.
- Actinic cheilitis (also called solar cheilosis) typically presents in older adults (aged > 40 years), more commonly in fair-skinned individuals, and is more common in men. Actinic cheilitis may be seen as dryness, scaliness, color variation on lip, atrophy, leukoplakia, erythema, solitary papule or nodule, and/or with blurring of the vermilion border. Consider biopsy to rule out cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
- Consider other differential diagnoses of lip lesions, such as cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma, salivary gland tumors and metastatic tumors of the lip.
Management
- Management for any identified infection should follow usual, advised treatment.
- Management for any identified generalized or systemic causes of cheilitis, such as atopic dermatitis or lichen planus should follow usual, advised treatment.
- For allergic or irritant cheilitis, advise patients to avoid the culprit agent or exposure. Consider short-term topical steroids for symptoms of pain or pruritus.
- Management of actinic cheilitis may depend on the type of lesion.
- For lesions with suspicious features of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, obtain biopsy.
- For well-circumscribed nodules or papules, consider surgical excision.
- For larger focal lesions, prolonged ulceration, and areas of atrophy, consider topical 5-fluorouracil or imiquimod, or ablation with cryotherapy or electrosurgery.
- For diffuse disease, particularly if the vermilion border is involved, consider topical 5-fluorouracil or imiquimod, photodynamic therapy, vermilionectomy, or laser treatment.
- Management of angular cheilitis (perleche) depends on the cause.
- For idiopathic angular cheilitis, consider application of an emollient barrier such as petroleum jelly.
- Advise correction or elimination of any sources of irritation, such as ill-fitting dentures.
- For Staphylococcal infection, use topical mupirocin or fusidic acid.
- For Candidal infection, use a topical antifungal, such as ketoconazole 2% cream.
- Replete nutritional deficiencies if present.
- For cheilitis glandularis, consider intralesional steroid injection, topical tacrolimus or pimecrolimus, or vermilionectomy.
- For plasma cell cheilitis, consider topical fusidic acid, topical pimecrolimus, or tacrolimus.
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