What Are Canker Sores?

There is nothing more irritating than canker sores. Although on the most part canker sores are not that big of a deal, they can be fairly painful, especially if you are taking a drink of orange juice; now that is painful!

Well it seems that women get canker sores more often than men and in individuals between the ages 10 to 40 years. Many folks get them at least once a year.

Canker sores are small sores on the inside of the mouth, they particularly show up on the cheeks and lips or on the tongue. Small canker sores can crop up by themselves or in a cluster and they can persist anywhere from 4 to 10 days and can be very sore and painful. Some people can get larger canker sores and although they are not as frequent, they may need weeks to heal.

From time to time, some people who gets canker sores could as well come down with a fever and feel ill and uncomfortable. But it maybe a relief for you to know that canker sores are not contagious.

So what causes canker sores, well physicians really don't know precisely what causes canker sores. It could possibly be genetic, so it tends to run in families however doctors don't really know why this happens. Some doctors also believe that they perhaps are an overreaction to the streptococcus bacteria, since the bacteria are frequently observed in the canker sore.

There are various reasons why an indidual may get a canker sore, they can frequently pop up close to the time of a woman's menstrual period. They could also be induced by eating various foods. Some allergic reactions, such as hay fever, are also connected with an increased risk for canker sores.

It is best that when you have a canker sore to watch what you eat especially hot spicy foods and acidic foods such as oranges or tomatoes; these foods may cause a great deal of pain when you have a canker sore.

Canker sores generally go away by themselves within a week to 2 weeks with no treatment. There are however, some ways that you can alleviate the pain. Many individuals use rinsing their mouth with salt water as a remedy to deal with the pain from canker sores. Also using Benzydamine mouthwash may also alleviate some of the pain from canker sores, just remember that it does not necessarily speed up the healing process.

If you are finding that your canker sore is not healing after about 14 days, or if they keep reoccuring, you may want to make an appointment with your doctor, they may want to run a few blood tests to check for any vitamin deficiency, or food allergies. But at any rate it is good to know that most canker sores are not considered to be dangerous or cause any complications.