Anyways, if a person gets canker sores occassionally in response to certain food products, does that mean they have a form of herpes?
Are cold sores the same as canker sores, just on the lips?
Are canker sores contagious? If it is herpes of some form, will you give it to whoever you kiss? Does it matter if you have them in your mouth or not?
This is absolutely the best place I can think of to seek medical advice. (just kidding, but this is definately where I would come for legal advice and recommendations for best suicide techniques…)
I used to have chronic canker sores all over my toungue and sometime on the insides of my gums and lips. Not a week would go by where I wouldn’t have one, and that’s no exaggeration. I searched all over the net for possible causes for them but found nothing, until I came across this site here:
I read there that amongst many other foods, oranges are a leading cause of canker sores. Up until that stage I was eating an orange a day (it was my favorite fruit). I gave up oranges and since that time (2 years ago), I have had maybe one canker sore. A couple of times when my appetite gets the better of me I will have an orange, but it ALWAYS results in a canker sore. But when I am not eating them, I am canker sore free.
OMIGOD I hate those things. I used to get 'em all the time. A doctor told me you could do your doctorate dissertation on canker sores because NO ONE’S DONE THE DAMN RESEARCH.
Took Lysine supplements and that curbed them and kept the outbreaks to less than a week. More importantly, I think, I’ve dropped processed sugar (thanks, Dr. Atkins) and my outbreaks are down to a few per year.
Canker sores and cold sores are not the same thing. Cold sores are caused by the Herpes simplex virus and appear at the edges of the mouth and lips. They can be spread by contact.
Canker lesions appear inside of the mouth, often along the gums or cheek lining. A lot of times if you bite your cheek or irritate a spot by overbrushing with hard bristles, you can effect a canker at that point. Sometimes they show up for no apparent reason. It is not a virus and you can’t catch one from someone else.
Campho-phenique will numb the area so that they don’t hurt so bad, but doesn’t actually “cure” the canker.
I was told by my dentist that if inner mouth sores are on the tongue, in the throat or on the insides of the cheeks, they were canker sores, not to be confused with mouth herpes. If the sores were consistently on the gums or lips, then one should suspect mouth herpes.
MadHatter and Wrath: I dont know if you read a thread I did a few weeks ago, but I searched the 'net too regarding canker sores. I found a site which claimed that the detergent (sodium lauryl sulfate) found in most commercial toothpastes can act as an irritant, and claimed that 70% of people who switched to another toothpaste experienced marked improvement. I tried a brand which didn’t contain the detergent, and my chronic sores were tremendously reduced. I used to have at least two in my mouth at all times, sometimes more. Now it’s more like one sore now and then with periods of no sores in between. God, what a relief! Enamel Saver and Tom’s are two pasts that are SLS-free, and I think maybe Rembrandt is another.
Lysine was reputed to help herpes simplex type I, or the so called “cold sores.” Perhaps you have had herpes breakouts. I’ve been plagued by them for many years, and at first they came frequently and severely. I used to get them while studying for finals in college. Stress apparently is the trigger for the outbreak. The virus resides in the nerve ganglia where your immune system cannot attack it. Your body can fight only those viruses which escape from the ganglia nd cause all the problems.
Fortunately, after many years and trials with many things, including lysine, I have found the solution: Curasore. This product is damn cheap, only several dollars for a tube. It contains ether which kills the viruses at the surface. Instant relief. Coincidentally, I began to feel as if a cold sore was developing on my lip this am. I used the Curasore and it never developed. If you apply it at the first twinge, you can prevent it from occurring. There is a prescription medicine, Acyclovir, which very recently has been formulated for herpes virsues, both types I and II (oral and genital). Any doctor can prescribe it. An opthalmologist friend of mine once prescribe it for me, and it worked, but I didn’t think it worked any better than Curasore, and it costs six times as much. Theoretically, Acyclovir can penetrate beyond the surface, but all one needs in these cases is something to kill the surface viruses.
Unfortunately, if you do have canker sores and not herpes sores, neither one will help you.
pugluvr, my mom is allergic to sodium lauryl sulfate and has the same reaction to it in toothpaste. She also will get acne-like outbreaks on her scalp if she uses a shampoo with it. Unfortunately, it is in almost every topically applied “health and beauty” item on the shelves. (It’s a derivative of coconut, and thus is also found in “natural” products.) She really has to search and read labels carefully to avoid it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, MadHatter for the link and advice. I eat one or two oranges a day, and I constantly get canker sores. Guess it’s time for a dietary adjustment. Too bad; I really like oranges.
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*Originally posted by pugluvr *
**I was told by my dentist that if inner mouth sores are on the tongue, in the throat or on the insides of the cheeks, they were canker sores, not to be confused with mouth herpes. If the sores were consistently on the gums or lips, then one should suspect mouth herpes.
Sorry, not necessarily so. Herpes sores can appear on outer lips, inner lips, gums, tongue, soft palate, pharynx (or back of throat) and even uvula (that thingy that hangs down at the back of the throat). Oral herpes is generally caused by HSV type 1, while genital is usually caused by HSV type 2, but oral sex by a person with a type 1 lesion may result in a genital lesion on the partner. A number of marriages have broken up over accusations of infidelity because this was not explained to them
I have had the exact same experience, but I have seen Toms with SLS, so read the label. Rembrant “naturals” is safe. There is another, made for “dry mouth”, which is also very good. If you get those canker sores, cut SLS out of your toothpaste, it will help.
I am a redhead, and have extremely sensitive skin. I burn in 45 minutes, on a cloudy day. In the “old days” before I got some brains about this situation, I used to get sunburned once in awhile. Whenever I got sunburned, I got “fever blisters” on my lips.
Nowadays, it is stress, or in conjunction with a fever due to flu or illness of some sort.
Some years ago, I started taking 1500 mg of Lysine a day. Since that time, I have seldom HAD “fever blisters” or whatever you want to call them. When I have gotten them, they are less severe amd do not last as long. As far as I am concerned, Lysine is a gift from heaven.
Also, my boss and my office assistant both had problems with “fever blisters.” After my successful experience with Lysine, I got them both taking it. My OA takes the same dose as I do, and she has had similar results to mine. My boss hates to take pills, so he takes 1000mg daily. He has more of these episodes than Jenn and I do. Therefore, I recommend that if you have a tendency, you shoud take 1500mg of Lysine daily.