perleche
A child with perleche applies a soothing ointment to the corners of their mouth.
Noun: A medical condition affecting the lips, characterized by inflammation, scaling (flaking skin), and the formation of cracks or fissures at the corners of the mouth. It is often associated with a nutritional deficiency, specifically a lack of riboflavin (vitamin B2).
This is a technical, medical term. It is used primarily in healthcare, dermatology, and nutritional science contexts to describe a specific clinical sign. - The doctor diagnosed the patient with perleche, likely due to poor diet. - Chronic perleche can be painful and may indicate an underlying vitamin deficiency.
- While riboflavin deficiency is a classic cause, perleche can also result from other factors such as fungal infection (e.g., candidiasis), ill-fitting dentures, or habitual lip-licking. In such contexts, it may be described as , a more general synonym.
- The term is often used in differential diagnoses to distinguish this condition from other causes of lip inflammation.
- Angular Cheilitis (n): The more general medical term for inflammation at the corners of the mouth, which includes perleche as one specific cause (nutritional deficiency).
- Cheilosis (n): A broader term for scaling and fissuring of the lips, which can occur on the lips generally, not only at the corners.
- Angular cheilitis (specifically of nutritional origin)
- Angular stomatitis
The core meaning of perleche is the lesion itself—the cracked, scaly corners of the mouth. Its diagnostic meaning often implies a nutritional etiology, particularly riboflavin deficiency, though this is not exclusive.
A child with perleche applies a soothing ointment to the corners of their mouth.
- a disorder of the lips marked by scaling and fissures at the corners of the mouth; caused by a deficiency of riboflavin