FUNCTIONAL DISORDERS.
Among these are the convulsive closure of the jaws in tetanus, the flaccid state of the lips, cheek, and tongue in paralysis, and the pendent state of the lower jaw in paralytic canine madness. See these different subjects.
STRUCTURAL DISEASES.
INFLAMMATION OF THE LIPS, CHEILITIS.
Causes of Cheilitis: Local injuries; poisoned; envenomed; secondary disease. Symptoms: swelling; salivation; difficult prehension; cracks; blisters; ulcers; indurations. Treatment: obviate causes; astringents; antiseptics; derivatives; gravitation; for venoms antacid; antiseptic, Iodine.
Causes. Blows, pricks, wounds and bruises with bits or twitch, and other mechanical and chemical irritants, irritant vegetables, bites of leeches or snakes, stings of insects, etc. It may be a skin disease dependent on disorder of some remote organ, or a local engorgement due to a constitutional state. (See, Urticaria Surfeit, Purpura hæmorrhagica, Variola, Strangles).
Symptoms. Swelling, stiffness, heat and tenderness of the lips, with or without local abrasion, or incised or punctured wound. Food may be entirely refused from inability to take it in with the rigid tender lips, and saliva drivels from the mouth because of their imperfect apposition. Cracks, blisters and raw sores or ulcers may or may not supervene. In old standing cases the lips become indurated and comparatively immobile.
Treatment. Remove the cause whether irritants in food, or drugs, sharp pointed bodies lodged in the tissues, injuries by bit, twitch or otherwise. Local applications have comparatively little effect, being promptly removed by the tongue, yet a lotion of vinegar and honey;—of borax 10 grains and honey or glycerine 1 oz.;—or of alum in a similar medium will often prove useful. A dose of laxative medicine will favor resolution, and if there is great tumefaction, feeding thick gruels from high manger, and tying to a high rack so as to prevent drooping of the head, will favor recovery. In snake bites and stings the local application of aqua ammonia and its administration internally (horse and cow 1 oz., sheep 2 dr. in 20 times its volume of water) should be practiced; or permanganate of potash may be used.
When the heat and tenderness subside, leaving much thickening and induration it may be repeatedly painted with a lotion of one part of tincture of iodine in three parts of glycerine.