Canker Sores: Cold Sore Information & Relief!*
MOUTH ULCERS, CANKER SORE RELIEF, INFORMATION
A mouth ulcer or canker sore is a painful open sore inside the mouth caused by a break in the mucous membrane. The condition is also called aphthous stomatitis or aphthous ulcer, especially if there are multiple or recurring sores.
Cold Sores Begone
helps relieve the discomfort associated with cold sores and fever blisters.
Suggestions which may help: If eruption has already developed and still in the
early stage, apply immediately and several times a day until the sore has
healed. If cold sores tend to erupt while sleeping, routinely apply at bedtime.
Indications
Topical. Moisturizing. Powerful. Supports your body's natural healing mechanism.
Cold Sores Begone is safe to use anywhere on the body where cold sores or fever
blisters may develop, except in or around the eyes.
Ingredients:
Allantoin, Glycerin, Deionized Water, Extracts of Lemon Balm, Echinacea, and
Golden Seal Root, Aloe Vera Gel, Methylparaben, Natural Mint Flavor.
Symptoms
Mouth ulcers often begin with a tingling or burning sensation at the site of the
future sore. In a few days they often progress to form a red spot or bump,
followed by an open ulcer.
The mouth ulcer appears as a white or yellow oval with an inflamed red border
and is on average about 3 mm across, but can be up to 1 cm across and
occasionally larger. Sometimes a white circle or halo around the lesion can be
observed. The grey, white, or yellow colored area within the red boundary is due
to the formation of layers of fibrin, a protein involved in the clotting of
blood. The ulcer, which itself is often extremely painful when agitated, may be
accompanied by a painful swelling of the lymph nodes below the jaw, which can be
mistaken for toothache.
Mouth ulcers may last anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks, and can cause intense local
pain throughout the healing process.
Causes
The exact cause of mouth ulcers is unknown, but factors that appear to provoke
them include stress, fatigue, illness, injury from accidental biting, hormonal
changes, menstruation, food allergies and deficiencies in vitamin B12, iron and
folic acid.
Dental braces can be a cause of mouth ulcers because the wires and hooks could
break the mucous membrane inside the mouth. Dental wax can prevent and help heal
the ulcers
Consumption of particular foods, such as chocolate may also trigger mouth ulcers
in some. A common cause of ulcers is gluten intolerance, in which case
consumption of wheat, rye or barley can result in chronic mouth ulcers. If
gluten intolerance is the cause, prevention means taking most breads, pastas,
cakes, pies, cookies, scones, biscuits, beers etc. out of the diet and
substituting gluten-free varieties where available. Artificial sugars, such as
those found in diet cola and sugarless gum have been reported as causes of mouth
ulcers as well.
Other disorders can cause mouth ulcers, including oral thrush, leukoplakia,
gingivostomatitis and oral lichen planus. Mouth ulcers are also associated with
ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, coeliac disease (gluten sensitivity),
bullous pemphigoid, and Behcet's disease. Chemotherapy is a common cause of
mouth ulcers. The treatment depends on the cause.
A common urban myth is that mouth ulcers are directly connected to the onset of
the Herpes simplex virus, but in reality ulcers associated with herpes are of an
entirely different nature from mouth ulcers.
Home Treatment
Mouth ulcers normally heal without treatment within seven to ten days. The best
start is to make sure you have good oral hygiene and avoid spicy/acidic/salty
foods and drinks. In addition, one can treat the pain with several
pain-relieving gels like Anbesol, Bonjela, Campho-Phenique, Orabase B, or Kanka,
available in drugstores. Some people claim that such gels also accelerate the
healing of their sores.
Use of a hydrogen peroxide antiseptic mouthwash can help to clean debris and
bacteria that can accumulate in an ulcer, thus reducing complications associated
with its presence. This treatment is widely available at pharmacies from
companies such as Colgate, whose product is called Peroxyl.
Other home remedies vary in efficacy. Certain techniques heal sores for some
people, but there are no treatments with widespread medical support. Most seem
to be based on an antiseptic (mild antibiotic), an antacid, or both. Antiseptic
techniques suggested include the following:
Gently clean the sores by roughening with a toothbrush and when clean, apply
antiseptic
Swab the sores with hydrogen peroxide
Rinse the mouth with an antiseptic mouthwash (e.g. Listerine). This can relieve
pain for a few hours.
Pouring salt directly on the ulcer can prove effective, however this can be
quite painful. Avoiding pressure on the ulcer after applying the salt minimizes
the pain.
Apply glyoxide directly to the sores and swish around mouth
Rinse the mouth with salt water—1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in 1 cup (250 ml)
of warm water (aka. a saline solution)
Take Lysine-L supplements
Antacid techniques suggested include the following:
Swab the sores with milk of magnesia
Apply powdered alum directly to the sores—available in the spice aisle at your
grocery store
Make a paste of baking soda and water—apply directly to the sores
Make a paste of crushed Tums (antacid) and water—apply directly to the sores
Rinse the mouth with a baking soda-Water mix—1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved
in 1 cup (250 ml) of warm water
Avoid acidic foods such as tomato, citrus, and soft drinks
Combination therapies tell you to use the antiseptic first, and then the
antacid, i.e., swab sores with hydrogen peroxide and then swab them with milk of
magnesia.
Treatment for severe cases
Treatments based on antibiotics and steroids are reserved for severe cases, and
should be used only under medical supervision. Tetracycline suspension is a
common antibiotic prescribed for mouth ulcers. Some doctors may also prescribe a
local anesthetic, such as lidocaine, for cases of multiple or severe sores. If
the ulcer does not heal within a week, a doctor or dentist may cauterize it
using a silver nitrate applicator or laser. This procedure immediately burns off
the sore, causing it to completely disappear within a few hours or two to three
days.
Some dentists recommend a sulfuric acid solution for treating mouth ulcers, such
as debacterol.
The miracle cures that are advertised should be viewed with skepticism. However,
aqueous sulfuric acid products as listed above can provide significant pain
relief, if not treating the underlying causes.
Prevention
In some cases, switching toothpastes can prevent mouth ulcers from occurring,
with some being able to reduce the occurrence of ulcers by approximately 80%.
Sodium dodecyl sulfate (sometimes called sodium lauryl sulfate or simply SLS), a
detergent found in most toothpastes, is thought to increase the incidence of
mouth ulcers. Using toothpaste free of this compound has been found to help many
people by reducing the amount and size of ulcers and in some cases, completely
stopping them. A few individuals have noticed that switching to a toothpaste
with Baking Soda prevented reoccurance of mouth ulcers.
Many people have found that taking Lysine-L supplements can help to reduce the
frequency of mouth ulcer appearances. Additionally, zinc deficiency has been
observed in people with recurrent mouth ulcers, and zinc supplementation
decreased recurrence of the mouth ulcers [1].
Some people have reported that the frequency of mouth ulcer occurrences
decreased greatly after a particularly large amalgam tooth filling was replaced
by some other kind of dental restoration. However, the connection between
amalgam fillings and mouth ulcers is not universally accepted, and such
replacement can be costly.
The source of this article is
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this
article is licensed under the
GFDL
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