Canker sores also known as mouth ulcer or aphthous ulcers, are small open and painful lesions that develop inside the mouth. They appear on the soft tissues in the mouth including the base of your gum, tongue, inside lining of cheeks, throat and lips.
Canker sores are usually white gray or yellow with a red border leaving a crater where pain sensors are more exposed. However, most canker sores are not contagious and heal by themselves within 10-14 days.
Causes of canker sores
Some of the major causes of canker sores are:
- Oral trauma
- Hormonal changes
- Iron deficiencies
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Genetic factors
- Emotional stress
- Smoking
- Autoimmune disorder
- Inflammatory bowel disease
Some of the factors that trigger canker sores are:
- Injury to the mouth from vigorous tooth brushing, sports injury, dental work and accidental cheek bite.
- Toothbrush and mouth rinses that contain sodium lauryl sulphate
- Allergy to certain bacteria in the mouth
- Sensitivity to certain foods like acidic food, coffee, chocolate, eggs and spicy foods.
Symptoms of canker sores
Some of the major symptoms of canker sores are:
- A burning tingling sensation in the mouth.
- Sores that are white gray or yellow with a red border.
- Difficulty in speaking, eating or swallowing
Home remedies for canker sores
- Honey
The integrity of intense anti-bacterial and mitigating properties of honey function admirably to recuperate canker sores. Honey, when applied on the influenced area, saturates the skin and keeps it from getting dry and diminishes the itching and bothering.
Apply a couple of drops of honey and permit it to remain for a couple of hours and wash off, nectar brings down scarring and fastens the mending cycle.
- Milk of magnesia
Milk of magnesia is an acid neutralizer and contains magnesium hydroxide. Utilized orally, it might change the pH in the mouth so the sore cannot flourish. It likewise covers the sore to help forestall irritation and relieve torment.
Apply a limited quantity of milk of magnesia to the influence area. Allow it to sit for a few seconds, after it wash off. Repeat this up to multiple times every day.
- Alum powder
Alum powder is produced using potassium aluminum sulfate. It’s frequently used to protect food and to pickle vegetables. Alum has astringent properties that may help contract tissues and dry out canker sores.
Make a paste by blending a minuscule measure of alum powder with a drop of water. Apply the paste onto canker sores. Leave it sometime and rinse your mouth altogether. Repeat this every day until your canker sores are no more.
- Coconut Oil
On account of the noteworthy anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties, coconut oil helps in diminishing the aggravation and decreasing the swelling caused because of canker sores. The pain relieving property assists with facilitating the agony.
Soak a small cotton ball with virgin coconut oil and apply it on the influenced area prior to hitting the bed and permit it to remain for overnight.
- Saltwater
Saltwater beat the rundown and utilized since days of yore for restoring canker sores. Saltwater rinsing helps in drying out blisters.
Take a half cup of warm water and mix 1 teaspoon of salt in it. Gargle this solution in the mouth for a couple of moments and repeat this multiple times in a day for rapidly recuperating canker sores.
- Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
Apple juice vinegar is a natural and tried home remedy that helps in recuperating canker sores. The acidic nature of apple cider vinegar battles the germs causing infection.
Take a half cup of water and add 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to it. Gargle with this solution in the mouth for 30 seconds and wash well. Repeat this twice every day for seven days to get instant alleviation from mouth canker sores.
- Garlic
Garlic is a demonstrated natural remedy that is important in restoring canker sores. The incredible compound allicin in garlic is effective in mitigating the torment and diminishing the size of the canker sores.
Delicately rub a little bit of garlic on the influenced area for 3-5 minutes and rinse off the mouth following 20 minutes.
- Chamomile
Chamomile is utilized as a natural remedy to recuperate wounds and ease torment. Azulene and levomenol are two compounds with anti-inflammatory and antiseptic abilities that chamomile contains. A chamomile tea bag can fill in as a compress to relieve canker sores.
To utilize, apply a wet chamomile tea bag to the canker sores and leave it on for a couple of moments. You can likewise flush your mouth with newly fermented chamomile tea. Repeat the treatment two to three times every day.
Preventions and tips for canker sores
Following are some preventions and tips for canker sores:
- Brush your teeth gently using a soft bristled toothbrush, aboud irritating toothpastes.
- Do not bite the inside of your cheeks and speak to your dentist about badly fitting braces, badly fitting dentures, rough fillings and sharp teeth
- Try to stress less if you can.
- Try to get more sleep about 7-8 hours per night
- Try salt water or baking soda mouth rinse.
- Avoid spicy or acidic foods.
- Apply ice to the canker sores.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What does it mean when you keep getting canker sores in your mouth?
Anybody can get canker sores. In any case, they happen all the more frequently in teenagers and young grown-ups, and they are more normal in females. Regularly individuals with repetitive canker sores have a family background of the disorder. This might be because of heredity or to a shared factor in the climate, for example, certain allergens or foods.
- Is it normal to have multiple canker sores?
There can be one or numerous canker sores simultaneously, and they are intermittent, which implies they continue returning. Various canker sores are dispersed across the covering of the mouth, not clustered. The vast majority get one to three of these lesions at every scene, except few individuals get in excess of a dozen canker sores all at once.
- How long do cankers sores last?
They might be swollen and excruciating. Having a canker sore can make it difficult to eat or talk. Canker sores may sting for 7 to 10 days. Minor canker sore mends totally in 1 to 3 weeks, yet significant canker sores can take as long as about a month and a half to recuperate.
- What do canker sores look like when healing?
Canker sores as a rule mend with no treatment inside a 2-week time span. The principal phase of mending is the prodromal, or early phase, which is the period before the canker sore structures. An individual may feel a prickling or burning sensation that goes before an agonizing, raised reddened zone on the mucous layer.
- Why is my canker sore not healing?
A few instances of complex canker sores are brought about by a basic ailment, for example, a hindered immune system or nourishing inadequacies including zinc, iron, vitamin B-12 and folic acid. Other ailments like gastrointestinal tract disease,Crohn’s disease or celiac infection could likewise be the culprit.
- Can low immune system cause mouth sores?
When there is a lack in the immune system, skin recuperating eases back down. Continually managing little, excruciating sores inside the mouth (called canker sores) just as seeing other skin diseases, for example, abscesses and cold sores could be indications of an insufficient immune system.
- Does brushing teeth prevent canker sores?
Canker sores are not an indication of poor dental wellbeing, but rather can be deteriorated by poor oral wellbeing. To forestall these canker sores, it is essential to keep on maintaining great oral cleanliness practices by brushing your teeth with a soft-bristled brush at least twice a day, flossing at any rate once every day, and drinking a lot of water.
Final words
Hope you find this article helpful. Try out given home remedies to treat canker sores at home and if it still does not heal, consult a doctor.
Keep the tips in mind and take precautions to avoid canker sores furthermore.
