nwr: canker sores

I forgot to add: i got one last month inside my bottom lip, but sort of to the side and it lasted for 3 weeks. i tried everything, and nothing made it go away. it kept getting bigger and bigger. it was this HUGE white sore. it got to where i couldn't even talk right, and i even lost about 5 lbs because i ate less because it hurt so bad. now i have 2 and if they get that bad i don't know what i'll do! my mom is a nurse and mentioned all this to my dr, and all she said was to keep using the magic mouthwash.. but like i said, it hasn't helped at all.

Dude, I got TONS of them the 2-3 months before the wedding; they don't know that much about them but most people think stress is a major precipitating factor, and I certainly found it to be. They stopped right after the wedding.

Unfortunately, I really don't know what to do about them. :-/ I've heard people say that getting lots of vitamin C should help them from recurring, but people tend to attribute all kinds of powers to vitamin C so I don't know if I believe it.

Well at least I know I'm not alone.. I definitely think that hormones and stress are a huge factor. Can't really control either of them at the moment Its worth giving vitamin C a try.. Thanks Cabell!

My FH gets them really bad when he's stressed. He uses an OTC gel that he says helps with the pain. I'll ask what it is when he gets home because I can't find it.

I don't know why we get them either, but until January I got them ALL the time. Esp around my period time. I asked my dentist and she said SOMETIMES SLS causes this since it irritates the skin. It is the chemical used in degreasers and other cleaning products that causes them to foam. They use it in milder concentrations for hygeine products like toothpaste. So I started using toothpaste without SLS and I have not had a since canker sore since! Seriously, I had them at least twice a month and sometimes more than one at a time. And now NOTHING!

Here is some info about SLS:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_lauryl_sulfate

I started using Sensodyne:

http://us.sensodyne.com/Sensitivity_IsoActiveWhitening.aspx

I hope this makes a difference for you because it has REALLY helped me!!

This toothpaste is more expensive, but SOOOO worth it. About $5 a can. I can't vouch for any of the other SLS free brands of toothpaste because Sensodyne is the only one I've used.

I got them a lot as a child. The doc said one of the things that can contribute to it is acidic foods. I ate tomatoes and oranges like they were candy when I was younger. I had to watch a little more of what I ate. I was prescribed the mouthwash that wasn't helpful to me either. Try yogurt. Doc told me to eat it, but I hate yogurt, so I don't know if it works.

I tried the mouthwash too that was prescibed by a different dentist... waste of money

I get them when i'm really stressed. it's gross and burns but i've always rinsed with salt water and it helps.

I think stress and hormone changes can make them appear. Try using over the counter canker sore liquid you can get at a pharmacy, at least it makes it more bearable.

I found that swishing with salt water definitely numbed the pain afterwards for awhile, but I didn't really think it helped them heal faster, although DS insisted it works for him.

*shudder* Canker sores and I go way back. When I was around 10-12 I would get it a lot and the only thing they, the military doctors, had for me back then (and to this day, I wish I had it) was a bottle of this clear topical gel liquid stuff that I'd swab on the canker sore to numb it so I could eat and talk. I think nowadays, you can get a specific Orajel that helps with the pain but I'm not entirely sure it "cures" the sore. It's just something you'll have to ride out. On another note, are you using mouth wash? If so, you should check the ingredients because some mouth wash have a chemical (alcohol) that causes that too. This past year, I haven't gotten any and I think it's because I have a better diet and that includes getting enough vitamic C!

I got them alot when I had braces..I sued alot of anbesol numbing stuff, but also swished with warm salt water and used dry oatmeal (it pulls the 'infection' out, hurts, but I would do anything to get rid of them, including putting pure salt on them...)

SLS free toothpaste has helped me get rid of them all together! Maybe I've have one since January, because I had to use regular toothpaste for a couple days. I KNOW how painful they are.. makes it difficult to eat, drink, concentrate on work, talk, laugh, smile... It has REALLY increased my quality of life!

They are in the same family as cold sores and things of that nature. They are brought on by extreme changes in tempurature/weather, infections/colds, STRESS, and homornal changes. They can be managed by using an antiviral med - if they are much of a problem it's something you could talk to yoru doctor about and he/she should be able to give you something. Also, as some of the girls said rinsing with warm salt water is a great way to treat them quick. They suck and they hurt!

I get them too KK! My gramma taught me this old wives trick that hurts like h*ll but works, if you moisten your finger and then shake some salt on it and then stick the salt directly on the wound it helps heal it faster. It causes it to coat itself somehow. Hurts hurts hurts though. I don't know what the cause is, or a definate treatment (other than time) but I get them at least once a month, and I usually make mine worse because I grind my teeth at night and have a tendancy to bite the inside of my lips and cheek. Ugh.

Yikes, i read thru the info on Wikipedia. i hate hearing what products that i use on my face or in my mouth are also used for haha....

i noticed that i used to get canker sores when i would eat a mix of sweet/sour/salty foods. the combo would irritate my mouth. but stress does seem to bring them on a lot too. i get them in the inside of my lip too and it does suck to talk or eat!!!

I get them too.. and my mom always used to say it was heriditary (not sure if that's even true..)

The thing I do is basically just wait it out.. The more I mess with it the worse it gets, so I usually try to just leave it alone. Also, I believe it's called "kanka"--it's a nasty tasting medication sold OTC that numbs the area and looks yellow. It works really well.

I'm pretty sure they're a strain of the herpes virus. Vera's right about stress, etc, and antivirals.

Oh, and I DON'T mean that at all in a negative or judgemental way. I get them too, and they suck!!