Canker Sores and Their Treatments

Canker sores are painfully annoying and make eating and drinking certain types of foods we like difficult to do. Having these sores can even make daily oral care such as brushing our teeth and flossing painful. The good news is they are treatable and can even be soothed when we do have them.

What Are Canker Sores?

Canker sores are small round ulcers in the mouth that usually appear along the gum lines. However, canker sores can appear on the inside of the cheek, underneath the tongue and anywhere else there is soft tissue. Canker sores tend to burn and sting and have a whitish gray color to them, but some can look yellowish with red borders. Canker sores typically last up to one week, but with proper treatment and care, they can heal up faster. These sores are not contagious, which means you cannot get them from sharing drinks, food or kissing.

Symptoms of Canker Sores

• Flat whitish gray ulcers in mouth
• Burning and stinging sensations with sores
• Fever
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Fatigue
• Difficulty eating due to mouth pains

What Causes These Sores

• Injury to the soft tissues in the mouth due to dental work or rough brushing
• Eating too many acidy foods such as citrus fruits
• Drinking too many acidy drinks such as citrus fruit juices
• Food allergies to dairy products, grains, gluten, eggs or soy
• Disease such as Celiac, Behcet's, autoimmune, and IBS
• Stress such as emotional or physical
• Hormonal changes
• Oral care products with sodium lauryl sulfates
• Bacterial infections
• Viral infection
• Lack of Iron
• Lack of B vitamins
• Chewing on tobacco
• Smoking

Treatments

There are several different kinds of treatments for soothing and healing canker sores. One of the best treatments is rinsing the mouth out daily with a salt-water rinse to help kill the possible bacteria that is causing the sore. If the canker sores are caused by too many acidy foods sometimes liquid anti-acid medicines can be swished around in the mouth to help coat and soothe the sores to protect them from more acid damage. Sometimes when the canker sores are caused by allergies swishing and rinsing the mouth out with liquid antihistamines can be helpful for treating the sores. When the canker sores are painful and burning, sometimes numbing oral gels can help soothe the discomfort away for a minimal amount of time. I personally find rinse my mouth out with warm licorice root tea helps soothe, treat and cure the canker sores since licorice root contains antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antiviral properties in it. Sometimes I even suck on ice to ease the pain and sip on salty chicken broth to help speed up healing of the sores. When I have a sever outbreak of canker sores due to stress I rub garlic cloves directly onto the ulcers. Yes, the garlic does sting a bit, but it does contain many potent nutrients in it such as vitamin C and antioxidants that can help treat the sores and relieve the discomfort of them naturally.

Ways to Prevent Canker Sores

The best ways to prevent canker sores is to avoid eating and drinking to many acidy foods and beverages, reduce stress, use natural sulfate free oral care products, stay away from food that cause allergic reactions, eat a well balanced diet and drink plenty of water. I personally take a daily vitamin supplement to help give me the nutrients I might be missing in my diet and sip on tension tea to help relieve stress as my ways of preventing canker sores. I also use baking soda toothpastes without sulfates in them and so far, I have not had any canker sores. I even rinse my mouth out daily after every meal with an herbal oral rinse that helps prevent canker sores and keeps the mouth clean from bacteria.

Precautions

If a canker sore last longer than a week and is causing other symptoms such as high fever, vomiting, headaches, or even dizziness it is best to make an appointment with your doctor and have it checked out immediately for proper treatment. Any kind of sore you are not sure of in the mouth should be since by a doctor or dentist as soon as possible. Otherwise, small canker sores usually last about a week and go away on there own with proper care and treatment and no need for a doctors appointment.