cracked corner in mouth?

[Clare]

Any ideas why this is happening to me? I don't think it's a cold sore as there is no blister. Also, my ears are itchy. Looking up the mouth thing it looks like a vitamin deficiency. Seems hard to believe with all the green smoothies I drink and even supplements! Is this a yeast thing? I have been raw since Feb. of this year, though slipped a couple meals in the last few weeks with cooked starches.

[Mischa]

I have been prone to cracked lips and a sore tongue in the past and they always turned out to be a vitamin B deficiency.

[RawHeaven]

this is not a medical recommendation, but it sounds like you have a fungus

remedy: eat more onions, cucumbers, take grapefruitseed extract oil, break open a garlic clove and rub it directly on the irritated skin or dab a cottonball of tea tree oil on it

drink lots of water or make sure you're adequately hydrated with veggies & fruits

visualize it gone

best wishes

[Veganforlife]

Increase water.

[RawHeaven]

^^^^ echoing the vitamin deficiency concern...do you take B12 supplements and are you getting a variety of nutrients from the foods you're eating? what do you usually eat?

[Bookish Lass]

Yes, B vitamin deficiency. I started making kombucha and drinking that seemed to help right away :)

[Clare]

Thanks for all the advice. I take a multi with high B-vitamins, extra zinc and use nutritional yeast! I have been eating lots of fruit and greens both in smoothies and salads plus the yeast, some spirulina, and some veggies like zucchini and celery. I don't seem to digest nuts well at all so I eat some flax and/or chia and take a DHA supplement.

I was a big kombucha drinker until about a month ago when my scoby died from tea that was too warm when I added it. I didn't restart because I wanted to eliminate caffeine. Maybe I can make decaf kombucha...also, I am an on and off wheatgrass juicer who has been off for a few weeks.

I will definitely drink more though I feel like I drink a ton. But I don't know what else to do and stay raw. I so want to believe that this is the best diet for me. Especially the simple rhythm I had of green smoothies, fruits, and salads with lowfat which for me meant more energy. I do have tons more energy and actually want to run at the gym. I want to believe that this is retracing or something but I don't want to fool myself and do damage...

[RawHeaven]

Hey Clare, based on what you've shared your diet sounds fine, but try eliminating the nutritional yeast for now to see what happens. Just a hunch. ;) I bet you are retracing as you mention though. Whatever it is I hope you experience great healing and relief.

Hugs,
Crystal

[domestic goddess]

Eating lots of raw pineapple will cause some to have a rash around their mouth/cracks. Also could make your ears itch if you were having a mild reaction...just another thought...

[Clare]

OK, I will test eliminating the nutritional yeast for awhile. I have been using it most days since becoming raw, though. I also use pineapple as a GS staple, and it doesn't seem to irritate my skin. The ears thing is now beyond itchy and became raw and now both ears are painful and crusty :-( despite constant application of coconut oil. I just put slivers of garlic in there- ouch. Does seem to be a yeast-related thing. But nutritional yeast is dead and a different strain than would cause infection. Also, if yeast is involved (or yeast "allergy" than drinking kombucha wouldn't make sense either.

I really appreciate y'all's thoughts. :-)

[domestic goddess]

There is a bunch of 'controversy' around drinking kombuchu and ingesting other probiotic items(yogurt, kefir) if what you are dealing with is some sort of systemic yeast problem like Candida. However it is often recommended that you avoid ALL yeast products, including nutritional yeast.