How To Cure Canker Sores

Ouch. The aphthous ulcer, a.k.a. the canker sores. They may look small, but if you have several in your mouth at the same time, they begin to be very annoying. If you are one of the fortuitous people to be plagued with them (about 10% of the population), you share my pain (sarcasm intended). Although they are completely harmless and noncontagious, they are really a pain in the arse to deal with. Canker sores are painful, open sores on the mouth or throat, characterized by a break in the mucous membrane.

Canker sore victims can suffer from the sores in varying levels of amplitude. Some may only experience a sore or two every so often, but others, such as a friend of mine, may get a mouthful of these dreadful canker sores just from eating a piece of candy. Thankfully, I am not one of those sufferers, but I still receive a modest share of it.

One day, as I was licking my canker sore, I thought, maybe I'm not entitled to suffer from it. Maybe there might be some way to assuage my pain. So here I am, I ended up with several ways to cure that sore, or at least, to help it recover. And I, as the kind person I am, have decided to impart this knowledge to all my viewers.

As they all say, Prevention is the best medicine, and that proves true for canker sores. While there are a few remedies to help relieve the pain caused by these sores, the best way to save you from all the trouble is to prevent the canker sore from happening in the first place. There are a few factors that have a proven correlation with the occurrence of canker sores in the victims.

Injury

Nearly all of the canker sores I get are from injury. This is not only proven by research but also by me. Even the slightest injury can warrant the coming of a canker sore. That means you must be extra careful as to not bite your tongue, lip, or inside of your cheek. Also, it may mean to brace yourself after a trip to the dentist; an injury will cause you pain for quite a while.

Vitamin Deficiencies

Grabbin' Pills! Time to take out those vita-pellets (or whatever you choose to call them). Canker sores can mean that you are lacking some vitamins and minerals, especially iron, folic acid, and vitamin B-12. I can back this statement up as well--I had much less canker sores when I was eating a few of those Vitamin Gummies they sold at Costco than when I forgot to do so. That means, whichever supplement you're taking, make sure it has the minerals I stated above.

Stress

It doesn't matter whether its emotional or physical, when you strain your body, you make yourself for vulnerable to canker sores. Try to keep getting worked up from small matters, or overreacting to a small mistake. Take it easy. Also, refrain from staying up too late at night, it can over stress you.

Toothpaste

Yes, you heard it right. Toothpaste has to do with canker sores. Actually, its not that irrational. The ingredients in the toothy paste, especially a certain ingredient called SLS, can irritate your mouth, and cause canker sores. SLS (or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) and SLES (or Sodium Laureth Sulfate) are the chemicals that make your toothpaste, along with other hygiene products, like shampoo and soap "foam up". So next time when you buy toothpaste, find ones that don't have SLS and SLES in their ingredient list. And that makes a better reason to not eat your soap--it probably contains that too.

If the above methods do not work, and you're still here with a canker sore, we must resort to medicine to rid your mouth of the awful sore(s). There are quite a few ways to do so, including home remedies whose ingredients you most likely may have in your home.

Home Remedies

The most convenient remedy available is a solution of half hydrogen peroxide and half water. The mixture is applied directly to the canker sore along with a bit of Milk of Magnesia. This soothes the sore and can help heal it.

Another remedy is the mixture of Milk of Magnesia along with Benadryl liquid allergy medicine. Swish the solution in your mouth for a minute or so, and then spit it out.

Medicine

For more severe cases, or if you are just too lazy to concoct your own remedy, you may want to use specially prepared medicine. For that, there are several drugs available for use, listed below. They typically contain a local anaesthetic to relieve the pain, and the Vitamin B-12, which may speed up the healing process:

So, after reading this, I hope you learned a thing or two about canker sores, as I sure did. If you still have problems with canker sores, or any questions about them, feel free to ask and share in the comment section below. I will do my best to answer all inquiries.

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