Cranker Sores Overview Canker sores afflict 20 percent of Americans. They nestle between the folds of your inner cheeks and lips, on the base of your tongue, the floor of your mouth, or on your soft palate. Eat anything acidic, and they will burn like fire. Eat anything acidic, and they will burn like fire. These painful critters, also called recurrent aphthous ulcers, are yellow-gray or white with bright red borders. They are tiny, round, and pop up individually or in clusters. Fortunately, they are not contagious and usually heal within 7 to 14 days. But when they do crop up, they can make talking, eating, and even brushing your teeth a hair-raising experience.
Stress, heredity, and certain foods such as chocolate, nuts, tomatoes, green peppers, strawberries, oranges, and other citrus fruits are top canker sore triggers. Sharp-edged corn chips and pretzels are just as guilty. They can irritate and injure your mouth’s lining and produce an ulcer. Studies show that vitamin and mineral deficiencies in B6, B12, folate, iron, and zinc are linked to the nasty sores. In rare cases inflammatory bowel disorders such as colitis, celiac, and Crohn’s disease are the culprits. How serious In general, canker sores aren’ t serious, except for the discomfort. But if they recur more than once a month, show you in bunches, appear very large, or last longer than 14 days, see your doctor. Solutions Gargle with antacids. Grab some Mylanta, Maalox, or milk of magnesia from your medicine cabinet. Chew the tablet or, if you have the liquid form, shake the bottle, take a swig, and swish it around in your mouth. Just don’t swallow it. Numb the pain. If your canker sore is full-blown, dab on a topical anesthelic gel or cream designed for oral use containing benzocaine. Zilactin-B and Orajel are good choices to buy at a drugstore. Use the anesthetic before meals and more often, if necessary, for comfort. But you probably should not apply it more than three or four times a day. Go for vitamin E. Instead of swallowing the gelcap, crack it open and rib the oil on the ulcer. You can use plain vitamin E liquid for convenience. Four times a day, just saturate a cotton ball and dab it on the sore. Alternative approaches Wash it away. Wash out your mouth goldenseal. Prepare a tea to be used as a mouthwash by using two teaspoons of the herb and one cup of water. Rinse with the tea three or four times a day. The mouthwash will ease the pain and speed healing. Soothe it with calendula as a tincture – a solution of the herb steeped in drinkable alcohol or a similar substance – is sold at some health food stores. Buy the water-based or glycerin-based variety; the alcohol-based tincture will sting. Smear the liquid right on the canker sore or dilute it with water to use as a mouth rinse. |
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