Anyone who has ever had canker sores will tell you how painful they are. They may only be small white lesions in the mouth, but they can be extremely sore and painful. Cankers sores are very common on the tongue, but they can also erupt on the lips or inside the cheeks. Because they’re so painful, even simple activities like drinking water, eating and talking can be difficult.
For that reason, those suffering from canker sores will want to do all they can to heal faster. The pain can last 7 to 10 days, but the sore will completely heal in around three weeks. It often goes away on its own. Home remedies, on the other hand, can help ease the sensations of discomfort and pain.
Whether you have canker sores or not, it’s still a prudent measure to feed the brain with a few insights on how to deal with it. Should you one day have it, you’re not left at a loss as to what you should be doing. Those strategies you’ll learn in this informative post.
- Familiarize Yourself With Canker Sores Triggers
The first step to actually learning how to deal with canker sores is getting to know what its triggers are. By doing so, you can be more cautious about avoiding those triggers, especially when the onset of your canker sores has become more frequent.
With that, here’s a list of the top canker sore triggers:
- Toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulfate;
- Food hypersensitivity;
- Deficiency in iron, zinc, Vitamin B-12, and folic acid;
- Stress and anxiety;
- Withdrawal from smoking.
- Rinse Your Mouth
Brushing your teeth isn’t enough if you have canker sores. You have to add that next step of rinsing your mouth. A mouthwash will do, but if that’s too strong, you can always make your own solution out of salt and water. This latter choice can be more effective, given how salt is known for its good antibacterial properties.
Here’s a sample recipe you may try out. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt or baking soda in half a cup of water. Gargle and rinse your mouth with this solution after each time you brush, ideally three times a day.
- Take Over The Counter Medication
Lucky for you, most medications for mild and moderate canker sores can be easily bought over-the-counter. In fact, you may already have a few of those medicines in your home kit.
Here are some OTC medications you may take:
- Apply topical OTC gels or patches so that you can create that protective barrier around each ulcer;
- Take folate vitamins, especially once your doctor has determined that your canker sores may frequently be happening because of Vitamin B-12 and folate deficiency;
- Apply an OTC benzocaine pain liquid;
- Take ibuprofen to ease the pain and reduce inflammation.
- Apply Aloe Gel
Do you have an aloe vera plant in your home as one of your backyard herbs and plants? Apart from its decorative purpose, the gel from the aloe vera plant can actually be used as a natural medicine for burns, skin irritations, and ulcers like canker sores.
Take a leaf, and extract the aloe gel. Place it on the canker sore. Repeat as frequently as you can during the day, especially if you’re just at home.
Aloe is well-known for its natural soothing properties. Also, if you don’t have a plant, you can drink aloe juice instead and use that to rinse your mouth.
- Avoid Spicy Food
For those who love spicy food, you may want to avoid it for the time being. Spicy food is considered an abrasive or irritant to mouth ulcers. Not only may it worsen your condition. But the heat coming from the spicy food may cause further irritation and pain.
- Consider Follow-Up Care
Say, despite doing everything that you can at home, your canker sores still continue to persist. This situation now calls for a doctor.
Moreover, observe how your canker sores are healing. If it’s getting worse or looking infected, the canker sore may only be a symptom of another underlying medical condition. It’s only through a thorough check by your doctor that a proper determination can be made as to the treatment and course of action to take.
Don’t neglect this follow-up medical care. Be sure to listen and to follow whatever advice is given.
Conclusion
Canker sores are quite common and can happen to anyone. So, when the early signs of redness and tingling sensations first appear, you should be proactive now with applying the home remedies that you can. Canker sores can heal on their own, but you can always speed up recovery.
If all else fails and the symptoms persist, that should signal you to go ahead and see a doctor. Avoid self-medicating even further; else, you may only worsen it even more.