Hello Chopper,
Prior to reading your post I had tried numerous treatments but none worked. I was keen to try out your recommendation so I bought 1% w/w cream hydrocortisone from my local Asda pharmacy. After just 14 hours of application, I can open my mouth wide without any pain.
I had to create an account on this platform just to thank you.
May God bless you. Amen.
I decided to also join the clan of people who created an account just to reply to this thread.
I'm currently taking Accutane which dries out your skin like crazy: including lips. Last week one corner of my lips decided to crack, and man oh man, it is such an awful thing to live with. I put chapstick on it, and yes it made it feel better temporarily, but it didn't heal it. I stumbled upon this thread yesterday and decided to give it a go. I live in Canada and went to Walmart searching for from Hydrocortison, but they only seemed to carry the cream rather than the ointment. I then went to Shoppers Drug Mart and they had the ointment, but only 0.5%. I read on here that another person found success with using the 0.5% so I ended up buying this one to try it out.
I applied it for the first time around 4pm, and within an hour I was able to open my mouth fully with no pain, though I could still feel that there was a crack there. I kept applying it throughout the evening and by 10pm I could feel that the crack was beginning to close up. I applied it overnight, and when I woke up in the morning, it was completely cured! I've been awake for about 4 hours and haven't applied any on today, and it has yet to re-crack.
My mom also recently starting suffering from chapped/cracked lips, so I offered her some of my hydrocortisone as chapstick just wasn't doing it, and she was amazed at her results too. Her lips were smooth within a few hours. This product works well and FAST.
Thank you so much! 
I mixed up some hydrocortisone cream 1%) some athletes foot cream, some vaginal yeast cream, some burn gel (for the lidocaine to numb it), some aloe, and some bag balm. I had some very deep and sore splits, and my left side started to split last night. I thought I'd cut myself eating chips or something. When the left side started cracking, that's when I found this info. I was willing to try anything! I put my concoction on last night, after dabbing the area with rubbing alcohol. When I woke this morning and showered, I washed the gunk and crust off. Both sides are almost completely healed! It's like a miracle! I don't know which ingredients worked the best. Probably the hydrocortisone, but I wasn't taking any chances. The lidocaine really helped because I was so sore, I could barely brush my teeth or eat, or anything! I wish I had researched this sooner. This worked like a charm!
I just created an account to say thank you!!! I have tried everything for my angular cheilitis...I thought I had found a cure with listerine..as it went from lasting two months to two weeks....I'd dab it on the area with a qtip and it does in fact get rid of the main crack because it's an anti fungal....but then the surrounding area dries up and that part cracks a hit and it's such a pain to become a mute and not really eat while it heals. This time around i was determined to make it even shorter as I have to get my new license picture taken today, I did my listerine route...so far so good.....then I applied vicks...nooooooooo.....never do that....I woke up to a total disaster last week...It looked beyond terrible and hurt so bad. I was trying to stay positive and applied Chapstick and listerine daily ....with only a slight change. I found your post yesterday and went out and bought some hydrocortisone cream....I could only find 0.5%. Within an hour I could open my mouth...I woke up this morning..the crack above and below the initial crack are completely gone, I have an even smile again and had a decent breakfast. The large area of gross dry scabby skin is almost healed. Is it perfect no...but will i not cringe every time I look at my license for the next five years....yes. And will it be healed when I go out for my bday this weekend, yes i think so. Happy birthday to me:) Thank youuuuuuuu!!
GOD BLESS YOU. I went on vacation in Italy and I noticed my lips had gotten EXTREMELY DRY AND CRACKED all around my mouth. It never happened before. After vacationing, it went away for like a week and came right back. It may have been triggered by my mouth swelling after eating fruits and walnuts (oral allergy syndrome), which irritated my lips again. My lips stung, felt raw, puffy, and red. It even got so bad that yellow pus was oozing. It hurt everytime I tried to open my mouth to eat something or even floss. I tried nystatin once overnight and it did nothing. I tried Lubriderm lotion and it did nothing. I ran into this forum and bought the Walgreens version of hydrocortisone 1% ointment for $0.79 (thanks to rewards). I felt like I had nothing to lose. Right when I put it on my lips and surrounding skin, it felt so much better. My mouth seemed more flexible and less painful. I applied it overnight for 3 nights and during the day just applied it on the corners of my mouth (because who wants to look like you have really wet and shiny Vaseline on your lips all day). I also put medicated Blistex on the rest of my lips during the day. In the meantime, just try to remember not to rub your lips or mouth, not even with your own lips (like smacking them) or those tiny pieces of dead skin will arise. So after 3 days of using hydrocortisone 1% ointment, my lips and mouth are 95% back to normal. THANKS FOR SAVING ME. You sure saved me a lot of time and money - I was considering going to a dermatologist!
I've been dealing with cracked lips on and off for a month or two now and I've tried everything from chapstick to olive oil..even baby butt ointment LOL all that gave only mild relief. This hydrocortisone ointment is amazing My lips after just a hour feel soo much better. Thank you for the info!
I've been dealing with angular chelitis for a while on and off, but it's been persistent for the past couple months - one corner heals, then the other cracks. no amount of aquaphor helped. i ran across this two days ago, picked up some cortisone cream at duane reade and as i type this the cracks are gone. i swear it's a miracle. the internet is so cool! thank you chopper!!
Well I just read this and rand to Walgreens to pick up cortizone 10 ointment and aguafor. When I got home I immediatly applied it to the corners of my mouth and the inside of my nose which have been dry and cracked for weeks. I just cant see going to the Dr to deal with this so this is my last try. Once I put it on I feel immediate pain relief. I know ot will take a little time but I am hoping when I wake up in the morning I will feel at least a little better and not so damn miserable. I have tried everything from more vitamins to vaseline to saline spray to essential oils and Tamanu oil and coconut oil. NOTHING WAS HELPING! I will try this one last thing. But after reading this I feel that this might actually help so thank you all. I will keep you posted
I finished my course of accutane in August and in October (with colder weather in Canada) the corners of my mouth started cracking and I've been putting vaseline and Carmex on, but it is not going away. Sometimes it is almost gone and then comes back if I'm not constantly slathering stuff on. I have a prescription from my dermatologist of 2.5% hydrocortisone cream that he prescribed me for the eczema I was getting from the accutane. I tried putting this on the corners of my mouth a few times, but not enough to see a difference really because I know it was not intended for my mouth. I'll try again and hopefully it gets rid of it for good, although I don't think this is meant to put around the mouth and the percentage is more than double what OP recommends.
YES. Signed up to post a response, since that's what all the cool kids are doing. I've been struggling with AC for about a month now and at first had no idea what it was. With the changing seasons I initially assumed it was just chapped lips from the cold weather. I tried a whole list of treatments: Chapstick, Aquaphor, Gold Bond lotion, Vitamin E oil, various moisturizers, home remedies. The only thing that gave me temporary relief was a homemade honey sugar scrub that got rid of the dry skin and made the moisturizers sink in more. The days went on and my symptoms waxed and waned, and after 3 weeks I was starting to get really frustrated and embarrassed by the horrendousness on my face. So late the othernight I started doing research and found this forum. I had never seen so many positive replies to an original post!I went right out to my 24-hour pharmacy to pick up Hydrocortisone 1% ointment. Put it on before bed and woke up still with chapped lips, but I could feel the potential of the ointment. So I kept at it. No more than 48 hours later of applying it a few times a day, I am about 95% better. I was thrilled because with the holidays coming up, who wants to try getting in touch with a dermatologist lest risk disgusting painful cracks? Not me! I've read some articles that the ointment may not be a permanent cure, particularly if the AC is caused by a bacterial infection, but I'll just have to wait and see if it comes back. For now though, I am happy.
P.S. I was on Accutane for 6 months back in the day and never had this problem! I feel for everyone on Accutane who's dealing with this and all the other side effects and hassles of the drug. But stick with it! It got rid of my cystic acne, and though I still have scars and a few occasional breakouts, Accutane really was the only thing that did the bulk of the clearing. Good luck to all.
On 6/12/2010, 1239, Chopper said:Hey everyone,
I just wanted to share my experience with trying to combat painful, annoying, and persistent cracks to the corners of my mouth (technically called angular cheilitis). My derm told me to slather Aquafor on my lips and the corners of my mouth, but no matter how much and how frequently I applied it, the cracks were extremely slow to heal. When one side would be almost healed (after WEEKS), the other would start up...and it looked absolutely horrible.
Anyway, I got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore and put a call in to the derm 4 days before my appointment (I couldn't wait!). I was told to get a 1% hydrocortisone ointment (as opposed to a cream, but that might work to some degree, as well), and apply it 3 times a day. So I headed to Walmart and bought Maximum Strength Cortizone 10 ointment ($7, I think, for a ginormous tube).
Oh..my..god! All it took was ONE DAY to heal the cracks and after three days the raw/inflamed skin around the cracks (that made me look like the Joker) was completely healed and barely noticeable. I couldn't believe it. I was finally able to yawn and eat sandwiches like a normal person. I stopped applying the ointment after three days and the cracks haven't come back (it's been a couple weeks since), which is incredible since I had been battling the cracks for over a month with Aquafor.
I also tried applying it to my lips at night and then covering the hydrocortisone with a layer of Aquafor and found that it significantly improves my lips, as well. I'm only doing it one night a week, though, because there are some side effects associated with prolonged usage of hydrocortisone, like skin thinning, and I'm generally against the overuse of medications, anyway. My derm said the ointment could be applied to the inside of the nose, as well, if my nose gets super dry, so I think $7 for a big tube is well worth it.
Anyway, I had done searches on the forum for treating angular cheilitis and didn't find much, so figured I should post this in hopes it helps someone (or many ones!). I did come across mentions of Dr. Dan's Cortibalm, which has hydrocortisone in it and is supposed to work well, but I was too impatient to wait for it to be shipped. It would have been just as expensive as the Cortizone, too.
That's it - good luck all you taners!!
I can smile again! I had this issue on and off for about 6 months and I kind of settle into the thought that this was going to be my life! Every day when I thought I had it healed up, it would worsen again.Then I was like "duh look it up on the internet!" And thanks to the wonder of Google I stumbled on this post and it changed everything. I bought the Cortisone 10 the next night and over the next three days it completely healed! Such a blessing! It shows up every now and again (very rare) but i just slap that Cortisone 10 on there and it is completely cleared up.
Thanks so much for posting this - My smile and lips appreciate it.
And yes - I am one of those people that made an account just to post about this issue 🙂
So I guess I'm the only one that this didn't work for. I had cortisone ointment at my house and have used it for the past week and have not noticed any difference. I read that the cracked sores can be caused by a fungal or bacterial infection. I'm currently on antibiotics for a different skin infection so I went and picked up some antifungal cream. I read on here that listerne has worked for some. I'm going to give that a try too. If it's not better by Monday, I have an appointment with my dermatologist so I'll ask him what he thinks.
Hi Ive had this awful complint for allmost 2 years now and nothing has shifted it fucin cream supplements ive tried everything lip salves berts bees wax and now the gp has gave me 5% hydrocortisone cream 3 days in hasent touched it. i live in wales in the uk cardiff we have an asda by us my ? is would they sell that there its walmart in the states but i live in cardiff in the uk i hope so as its made my life a real misery i got it both corners of my lips very red sometimes goes white and it is very sore any help on this ? would be greatful.
There is nothing that will work exept hydrocortisone. The problem is contact dermatitis. I tried everything, thought I had tried the hydrocortisone but had to look at all my crap I bought and discovered that I had not. 2 months of hell were replaced with joy when I bought 1% hydrocortisone ointment from Walgreens. Completely gone in a few days. Also it provided IMIDIATE relief.
Yes!!! I too created acct just to comment. The cheilitis hit me in Nov after high stressful time, not eating, not sleeping, sugar, coffee, etc. I noticed at first my lips seemed dehydrated, like I'd walked through a desert for days without water, creased and kind of sunken in. I thought how weird! So on went the blistex and Vaseline. Within days the tiny blisters appeared just above and below one side of my lip corner. More lip balms. No relief. Within 2 weeks it hit the other side, red swollen, burning, itching, just the corners and below the bottom lip, about 1/2 inch in length. I used Vaseline, coconut oil, silver gel, tea tree oil, polysporin, myconazole cream 2%, camphophenique , clotrimazole 1% cream, Lotrimin fungal foot spray which I sprayed on my finger and quickly applied to affected areas (this one seemed to work a bit but didn't get rid of it), and then lastly, after reading "choppers" blog at top, I went to my med cabinet and found a tube of Clobetasol Propionate cream 0.05%, that had been prescribed for something else - dermatitis I think. Anyway , with always using a clean cotton swab (never use an end twice- toss and use clean swab after touching affected area- cross contamination prevention) I applied the Clobetasol, topping with dabs of miconazole. Within 24 hrs I noticed big difference! I applied morning and night. After having the cheilitis for 3 months, it went away after 5 days. Hallelujah! I also started eating very healthy organic fresh foods rich in vitamins- cut way down on breads and sugars, and added a vitamin B sublingual (liquid) complex to daily vitamins. I do not take high dose vitamins as it can be bad (unless your doctor has told you otherwise!) Just a basic good high quality vitamin. But, I repeat, results didn't really happen and stick till I applied the Clobetasol which if I read it correctly, is like the hydrocortisone 10 cream chopper recommended at top of this blog chain. Thanks chopper! I was desperate and praying to God to find a cure and was Internet surfing late one night and saw your suggestion. Hope all others experience a cure!
Every winter I get painful cracks at the corner of my mouth. I just ignored and let it heal on its own. This winter they were very painful, ugly and embarssing. I thought that is all people see when they look at me, and I work with the public. I was desparate. I did research and found Hydrocortizone Cream worked well for other people. Went to the nearest store bought some, applied it three to four times a day. Within one day I could open my mouth with no pain. Three days later all cleared up. Now I apply it once in the morning and once at night for maintence.
Thank you.
I had tried everything - tea tree oil, coconut oil, natural lip balms, salt water and more with no success.
What worked for me was dabbing rubbing alcohol on the corners of my lips with a q-tip, then dabbing them with the dry end, followed by putting Canesten (vaginal yeast infection cream) on the corners right after. I alternated doing this with dabbing 1% hydrocortisone cream on them a few times a day. I drank fluids only through a straw, kept the corners dry, and took a Vitamin B Complex daily and it cleared up within a few days.
I'm sorry you're going through this! It does get better.
Thank you so much for this post!! I've never had this type of condition before and it started up around the first week of March. Nothing worked so I decided to google it and stumbled upon this forum. I bought the CORTIZONE 10 MAXIMUM STRENGTH OINTMENT from Walgreens for like $10. As soon as I applied it, the swelling and irritation stopped. Less than 24 hours and my lips already feel and look so much better! 
Like everyone else I created an account to thank the poster for this information and thread. For about 3 weeks I had been fighting those annoying cracks in the corners of my mouth. It started while I was in Europe -- this frequently happens to me when I go abroad, but it usually goes away when I come home. I don't know what causes it but it always happens within 4-5 days of being in Europe. (Toothpaste? Traveling? Drier air? Stress?) Well, this time it would not go away when I got back. It would get a little better and then flare up again. I went through 2 tubes of Chapstick, and one container of Carmex over the course of those 3 weeks. Nothing. No help. And then my lips decided to jump on the "chapped" bandwagon as well. I looked like the Joker and mouth was a hot mess.
I found this forum and decided to give the Cortizone treatment a try but I only had the cream in the house and it was a holiday weekend, so I had to make due with what I had. The cream (1% Hydrocortisone) helped a lot, but did not complete cure it. After the weekend, I went to my local Walgreens and picked up the Cortizone 10 OINTMENT (also 1% Hydrocortisone), applied it, and began to see a difference within a couple of hours. I put more on before bed and this morning my mouth is almost completely back to normal. I can open my mouth wide and the cracks do not reopen. All I notice is a little spot on one side that is a little sore, where I can still tell that it had recently been an open wound. That's it. IT'S A MIRACLE!!! THANK YOU!!!!