I have one of the WORST canchre (cankor, kankor- I don’t know) of my life. It is in my right cheek and I have had to chew everything on one side for days.
I have this little tube of stuff that numbs it, but it also numbs my tongue and only works for about 10 minutes anyway.
I know eating chocolate and tomato sauce irritates it (I had the painful experience of eating both spaghetti and Heath bites today) but I can’t get any relief. My teacher told me it’s actually part of the herpes virus, like that helps me.
How can I get rid of this???
I get them almost monthy. Very little has worked in the way of curing.
However, I recently discovered a magically mystical, substance of the gods capable of disposing of the little bastards in days.
MOUTHWASH! It was so simple! I just never thought of it. Swish it in your mouth around the canker once or twice a day. It should feel a bit numb after one day and in less than a week it should be healing over. I can confirm this, because one developed on Monday and all thats left it a bit of a bump where it is still healing over. Nothing else I’ve tried ( asprin, halls, salt (ow!)) has ever done anything, other that irritate the sore.
Oh and FYI, Cankers are usually attributed to consumption of sugar and anything with Vitamin C. Its not herpes, your teacher was probably thinking of Cold Sores. Cankers are mouth ulcers.
I get them 2 or 3 times a year, and here’s the one thing I’ve tried that makes them go away fast:
Hurt them. I had a bad one recently, and I brushed it HARD with my toothbrush. It was excruciating at the moment, but it didn’t hurt after that day, and was gone within 3 days.
Temporary fixes that make your mouth feel better: Salt water, Mouthwash, very carbonated soda, etc. That will numb the spot and give you a good relief for a while.
I hear that using a toothpaste without Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is good prevention. My brother uses one called rembrandt, and says he hasn’t had one since he started it.
When I get one that is really bugging me, I use a teabag, that was run under hot water (cheap tea, I heard, was best for this) and then squeezed out. It hurts at first, after 15-20 minutes, it hurts a lot less, and then not at all. Mine usually go away after a few days, or at least don’t bother me after a few treatments. I heard that it had something to do with the tannins.
I used to get them once in a while, and I swear by Phillip’s Milk of Magnesia tablets. Let one dissolve directly on the sore by placing it between your gums and your sore. It will sting mildly for about a minute, tops, then it’s numb. On the plus side, it tastes good (much better than vinegar), it’s not as masochistic as brushing it with a toothbrush (I’m not saying that doesn’t work, I finched just reading it, though), it’s pretty cheap, and if you ever have an upset stomach, you can use the tablets for their original purpose.
My brother gets canker sores. I get cold sores. We both claim we’d trade the other in a heart beat.
Lots of topical things help, (Wearia 's mouthwash comment…spot on…especailly if you use a high end mouthwash like Sterisol or prescription Peridex) Still I have to reccomend you megadose on Vitamin C while you have them…vitamin C really speeds tissue healing and the tissue in the mouth is especailly sensitive to this.
(Besides it also acidifies your pee, and sometimes makes it bright flourecent yellow, always “GOOD FUN”)
Very interesting page Lissa, and very informative. I’d say its advice on causes and cures regarding sodium lauryl sulfate should be taken with a grain of regular old sodium chloride becaues the site seems to be run by a company hawking ‘SLS-free’ toothpastes and mouthwashes. Despite that, though, I learned a lot. From this thread too. I get the sores rarely but I hate the bastards.
I get canker sores regularly & my sister gets cold sores. We discovered that the amino acid, L-lysine (found in the vitamin/herbal section in any pharmacy) helps a great deal. When you feel one coming on, take 1-2 tablet(s) daily. It help to arrest spread of more sores & also decreases intensity. Hope this helps!
I don’t know about canker sores but cold sores ,I’ve been told, can be cured by putting honey on them.
I’ve not had one since I heard about the cure so I cannot attest to the remedy.
Reasoning
Honey doesn’t spoil. Bacteria cannot grow on it. Cover the sore with honey and the sore starves.
I don’t know.I’m sure going to try it though.If I can keep from licking it off.
Let me second Silverheart’s suggestion of l-lysine. It’s certainly helped me.
For topical treatment, my dentist recommends something called “Tincture Benzoin Compound.” It’s available OTC. It numbs the sore, and makes a protective film over it. Stings like crazy for a second or two, though.
If you are talking the nasty blisters that form on your lips that are called cold sores or fever blisters, this won’t help at all. Those are caused by a virus (herpes, specifically), and while honey is considered to have antibiotic properties, viruses are not affected by said properties. Otherwise you could just slather on some mycitracin and be done with it.
For those, there is an OTC medicine out now that does a bang-up job of wiping them out called Abreva. If you don’t have the medicine and feel a blister coming on, you can also try applying ice to the blister before it erupts. You should be able to tell this by the tingling that presages an eruption. I am not a doctor, but I’ve had this work. However, once the blister erupts, only the medicine will work.
For canker sores, I always take a Q-tip, dip it in Hydrogen Peroxide, and swab the sore. It disinfects the sore and usually heals in a couple days. I usually do it right before I go to bed, so I dodn’t have anything else in my mouth, and the peroxide can work on it for a bit. It also stings a bit, then gives a numbing sensation.
I will second the Abreva, for cold sores. I keep some with me most of the time, and anytime I feel the tingle in my lip, I put some on. I’ve only ever had one breakout, it happened very soon after Abreva came on the market, and I’ve never had a breakout since.
This is exactly what I do to mine and it does work. Alum is used in pickling so it’s found on the spice aisle at the supermarket. Before I go to bed, I wet a q-tip, dip it in the alum and dab it on. It hurts alot and makes my face go :eek: but then I go to bed (trying not to slobber it off) and in the morn it’s always much better if not gone altogether. It’s like it dries it up or something.
BTW, Dread, I’ve never met anyone else who uses alum. Maybe we’re from the same freakish family… :o
I get a cankor sore on the inside of my lower lip to the left side. I think it happens because I have a canine (tooth, not a bow wow) that’s a bit crooked. The point of it tends to rub the spot where they always erupt (making my super painful). The way I’ve treated them is with an OTC medicine called Kanka. It works for me, but it’s slowly than what some of the above posters reccommend. Usually takes mine a week to week and a half to completely heal (with it hurting like hell for about four to five days).