4. Blisters
When angular cheilitis bacteria or fungi start to colonize in the mouth, it’s only a matter of time before the patient begins to experience symptoms of swelling, inflammation, and tightness in the lips. As the condition progresses, the corners of the mouth start to crack, increasing pain symptoms.
As the infection intensifies, the patient may find that they start to develop blisters in the corner of their mouth due to the cracked skin and presence of bacteria or fungi. These blisters are about the size of a cold sore and present similar symptoms.
However, it’s important to note that these are not cold sores. Fever blisters occur due to infection with the herpes simplex virus – not angular cheilitis and are far more challenging to get rid of, and that stick around for far longer than blisters caused by angular cheilitis. Most blisters caused by angular cheilitis, heal in a few days after the infection subsides.