Not that I’ve got a vested interest.
HEEEELLP…
Do you mean something like a canker sore?
Er…
what’s a canker sore? Is that an Americanism?
Basically I’ve got a small pit in my tongue that just appeared overnight. Perhaps I bit my tongue whilst sleeping, but all I know now is that IT REALLY REALLY HURTS. And I’m hungry but don’t wanna eat 'cos it’ll hurt even more.
How did it get there anyway? An old wives tale is that they are the result of worry or stress, but I’m not worried or stressed (well, I bloody am now). Does any of that have any scientific basis?
How do I ease the pain? What’s the quickest way to make it dissapear? Is there a way I can prevent new ulcers/canker sores(?) from appearing in my mouth.
Arrrrgggghhh…
That sounds like the old wives were referring to cold sores, from the herpes virus. The dormant virus can, indeed, be reactivated by stress, causing cold sore outbreaks. But it sounds like you have something different. I’d vote for the accidental biting theory.
I’d like to know this too. I’m an American, and I’m not sure what a canker sore is, but I occasionally get mouth ulcers. In the last few days, I finally got over three of them at the same time, and they had been there for about two weeks. They’re whitish spots that are usually 2 to 5 mm across, and they hurt like hell. They’re always on the inside of my mouth, usually just inside the lips, although one of the recent ones was on my inside cheek near my back molars, and sometimes I get one on my tongue.
Does this clear it up? I think this is a different thing completely from cold sores, which as far as I know are on the outside of the mouth, although I’ve never had one. Is there a cure?
Whenever i accidentally bite my cheek i take a mouthful of Listerene and hold it on the side that has the sore. Hurts like hell for the first 30 seconds but after that it loses feeling for a couple of hours. Also it seems to make it go away faster, but that could all be in my head.
I have suffered from these wretched things for years.
Where I live they are commonly known as canker sores - small ulcers inside the mouth/on the tounge/in the throat;
The best advice I can give you is this - if ignored they can grow quite large - up to 1/4 inch, and only get more painful as they progress.
Your best bet is to bite the bullet now - begin rinsing regularly (several times a day) with an anti-bacterial mouthwash such as listerine. It may hurt like hell but it will be worth it in the long run.
Brush your teeth as often as possible. The more clean your mouth is the faster the sores will heal.
Preventive care is your best bet in the future. I have been regularly using Listerine and have not had a bad outbreak in quite some time.
Sorry to hear of your trouble!
Also, neutralize the PH balance in your mouth with regular brushing.
Avoid citrus and other sour foods.
If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about (slightly raised white circles on your inner lip?) then I get them all the time. I think there’s some sort of cream or gel you can get to speed up the healing process. And I’ll have to try the listerine ideas next time I get an ulcer.
There’s only one way I am aware of to relieve the pain. I get these from biting the side of my mouth. Don’t know why, but it happens occasionally.
Get a bottle of Kanka™ or something like it. It’s made by the Blistex Company. Not Anbesol, it will say Mouth Sore Medication or something like that on the bottle.
It seals the sore (creates a white rubbery seal over it) and gives it a chance to heal, while numbing the whole area of the sore with benzocaine. It’s a little difficult to apply, and I have found the best results by keeping your mouth open and breathing in and out fast to speed the drying process that forms the seal. You also have to spit a lot. But, after applying, you don’t feel it for many hours, and usually it heals within a day or so. If I don’t put this stuff on the sore, I have the sore for 3 days or more.
This is going to hurt.
Put some lemon juice on a swab. Roll the swab in salt. Apply to the sore. Stings like a son-of-a-whore, but it works. A coworker swears by it. It’s worked for me. Another coworker tried it (dubiously), but she said it worked for her.
I jabbed my gum with a toothbrush (I guess I brush a little too aggressively) and caused a sore. I dumped some salt in it and it stung mightily. But it did make it feel better afterwards.
YMMV.
I want to second Johnny L.A.'s reccomendation. I have been trying like heck to find a thread about mouth sores from a month or so ago that had lots of good info on canker sores and how to take care of them. I can’t seem to locate it, but one of the ideas was the lemon-thing.
About a week after this thread, I got a canker sore. I suffered with it for days before I finally got the cajones to try the lemon treatment. YES, it hurts like a bitch. But it WORKS! I was really suprised at how well applying a lemon wedge (didn’t remember about the salt part) helped to both take away the pain and (seemed) to speed the healing time.
I definitely reccomend it.
[sub]Can anyone find the thread I’m talking about? I’ve searched and searched, but can’t seem to find it…[/sub]
I also love Listerine for canker sores. I’ve had them in some VERY painful places. It numbs and disinfects the sore, and the sore does seem to heal a little faster.
If this is a consistent problem, you might want to go to a dentist. If it is in fact viral, there are treatments s/he can use to help control the problem.
Robin
Anything acidic will hurt like hell and clean them up. My preference is wet asprin tablets, cause theyrare the right size. Just press on, scream, and wait.
My Mom always swore by powdered alum, in fact she had a large tin of alum near the bathroom sink. In desperation I tried a dab of alum and it did the trick. No lemon induced agony either.
She has forgotten her canker cure these days, in fact she doesn’t remember much of anything 'cause of the Alzheimers. Who says a lifetime of exposure to aluminum is unhealthy? Really, I forget… who said that?
Searching Google using “canker sore cures” provided these links:
My chemistry teacher once told me that they were unduly acidic, which seems to be supported by what everyone else is saying. To combat them, she said, apply some baking soda, and its alkalinity will help. I did, and it hurt like crazy, and started bleeding. I don’t seem to remember it helping, but I may be wrong, since I had already sworn that I’d never do that again.
My name is Hajario and I am a canker sore sufferer. Canker sores and mouth ulcers are the same thing.
I talked to my dentist about this and he told me to use a tooth paste that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). SLS is a foaming agent that is very common in tooth paste and shampoo. Studies have shown that using an SLS free tooth paste will drastically reduce the number of canker sores that you will get. It did work for me and it might for you.
Most of the SLS free tooth pastes taste really crappy. Biotene makes one but it has a really embarrasing picture of a gross set of teeth on the box. The best tasting one in my opinion is made by Rembrandt.
Once you have one you just have to deal with it, sad to say. Kanka, Ambesol and Rembrandt all make a gel that you can put on the sore that uses a mild type of something similar to novacaine but they don’t work all that well.
Haj
I use Ora gel Mouth Aid- not regular Ora gel. The Mouth Aid is meant for sores, and has something to heal them,along with a pain reliever (regular is just the pain reliever)
What I usd to do for them, was gargle/rinse with warm salt water… I s’pose the lemon juice and salt would prob’ly do the trick even quicker, though…
Glenoled
L-Lysine is the best thing I’ve ever used to get rid of canker sores in my mouth. I buy the 500 mg. kind at Wal Mart. [The 1,000 mg are just too doggone big to swallow]
I take two pills at night, and if the sore is still there, I’ll take two more in the morning. Only when I was shopping for a car [MAJOR stress] did I ever have to up the dosage to 2,000 mg a day.
Good luck.