Home Remedies For Canker Sores

Canker Sores

Canker sores, in medical terms is referred to as aphthous stomatitis or ulcerative stomatitis that are shallow, painful ulcerative sores occurring inside the lips, the base of gums and even under the tongue. These open sores in mouth are unique and differ invariably from fever blisters. The sores are either white or yellow in color with a red border. Being quite painful, these canker sores will give difficulty in eating and swallowing. They can also occur at any age, but is more common in women and teens and its frequency of occurrence decreases as one gets older. These sores are not contagious and may be a result of some reaction of the body immune system.

Causes for Canker Sores:

Some of the common causes include bacterial infection, stress, anxiety, and hormone imbalance. Sometimes they are also a result of drug-induced reaction. These can also be formed due to food allergies or sensitivity to certain types of foods. Several studies have indicated that deficiency of iron, vitamin B-12 or folic acid might also lead to canker sores. It has also been found that recurrent canker sores are a manifestation of ulcerative colitis or inflammatory bowel diseases. Additionally, poor nutrition or irregular menstrual periods can also trigger canker sores.

Symptoms of Canker Sores:

They begin as small reddish, oval-shaped swellings inside the mouth with a tingling burning sensation. In a day or two, the swelling gets ruptured and the affected area is seen as white-yellowish colored pustule. The sores usually are small in size, but can sometimes become large too. Pain remains for a couple of days and sometimes associated with fever, swollen lymph nodes and often generalized discomfort.

Types of Canker Sores

There are several types of canker sores with recuperation period different for each of these

• Minor Canker Sores: Commonest type and seen as small (one-third of inch or smaller) oval lesions but the sore gets cured in about 2 weeks.
• Major Canker Sores: These kind of canker sores have large lesions with irregular margins and often requires more than a month to recover.
• Herpetic Canker Sores: This type of canker sore is very painful, as a large number of tiny lesions clump together to form a big sore. It takes more than few months to recuperate.

Treatment Options:

There is no specified treatment and the sores go away in their own way. However, in case of severe mouth sores, antibiotics are what the doctors generally recommend. And, large lesions need immediate medical attention though whose treatment options range from mouth rinses to taking corticosteroids.

If the canker sores are far too many, mouth rinses are quite effective. An oral rinse solution with dexamethasone reduces inflammation. Application of certain topical pastes, such as orabase, amlexanox and fluocinonide can help relieve pain, inflammation as well as speed up recovery. If the severe canker sores do not respond to these kinds of treatment, oral medications should be administered. Since the oral medications are mostly steroid based, they are considered as last alternative.

An otherwise therapy for canker sores is by supplementing diet with minerals including zinc, calcium, vitamin B-12 and folate acid.

Home Remedies For Canker Sores

•  Rinsing mouth with salt water
• Lesions can be smeared with baking soda paste
• Dabbing a small amount of milk of magnesia on the sores

Prevention Of Canker Sores

• Get regular dental check-up
• Ensure timely and proper brushing and flossing of teeth
• Avoid food that one is allergic to
• Avoid hard toothbrush and avoid talking while chewing food
• Supplement your diet with vitamin B-12, iron and folic acid

These simple, easy-to-follow measures will help you avoid irritating and painful canker sores.