Canker Sores
Canker Sores
Of all the great medical mysteries, the run-of-the-mill canker sore is among the most baffling. “Canker sores continue to frustrate oral pathologists,” says Brad Rodu, D.D.S., professor in the department of pathology at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. “Researchers have looked for the reasons that mouth ulcers develop in the first place, and nobody has been able to get a handle on them.”
Canker sores begin as small white swellings and develop into open ulcerlike wounds in the mouth, says Flora Parsa Stay, D.D.S., dentist in Oxnard, California, and author of The Complete Book of Dental Remedies. Most of these painful sores heal within 10 days.
If you are among those who continue to get these pesky mouth ulcers, here are several swift ways to cope with them.
Try This First
Soothe with aloe or E. Dab a bit of aloe vera gel or juice from the inside of a cut aloe leaf directly onto the sore, Dr. Fischer says. Or poke a hole in a vitamin E capsule, squeeze the liquid out, and apply it directly to the sore. Be sure to dry the sore off first, Dr. Fischer says. Either of these remedies will speed up the healing process and reduce the stinging. You can use these remedies as often as you like until your sores heal, Dr. Fischer says.
Other Wise Ways
Slip in some supplements. L-lysine, an amino acid that is available in health food stores, may help, Dr. Fischer says. Take 1,000 milligrams three times each day with meals. Continue this until the sores are gone. After they disappear, take 500 milligrams three times a day with meals for a week. People with recurring canker sores may try taking 500 milligrams each day as a maintenance dose, he adds.
Supplement some more. Try taking 500 milligrams of vitamin C with bioflavonoids three times a day and 15 milligrams of chelated zinc two times a day. These supplements can help boost your immune system and speed healing of canker sores, Dr. Fischer says. Continue to take these supplements until a week after your sores are gone, he says.
Note: Excess vitamin C can cause diarrhea in some people and this amount of zinc should be taken under medical supervision.
In addition, try taking 400 micrograms of folic acid, 18 milligrams of iron, and 200 micrograms of B12 daily, Dr. Stay suggests. Deficiencies of these nutrients may cause canker sores. With any of these doses, take them just until the canker sore improves—then stop.
Disinfect it. To help cleanse your mouth and prevent a canker sore from becoming infected, gargle three or four times a day with a solution made with three parts water and one part hydrogen peroxide, Dr. Fischer says. But be sure to avoid swallowing the solution.
Try flower power. To try an herbal remedy, make a solution of 1 part calendula tincture and 10 parts water. Rinse your mouth with it, then spit the liquid out, Dr. Fischer says. It’s a good disinfectant and you can use it as often as necessary until your sores heal.
Watch what you munch. Allergies to foods like chocolate, nuts, and citrus fruits can trigger canker sores, says Richard D. Fischer, D.D.S., dentist in Annandale, Virginia, and past president of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology. If you suspect that a particular type of food is causing your canker sores, eliminate it from your diet for two weeks. Then try a small amount. If a mouth sore develops, you may have found your culprit, Dr. Fischer says.
