Have you ever experienced taking up a gulp of juice or even just water and feel some pain in your mouth? I you ever had those open, shallow sores in your mouth, you could relate to that. Canker sores could be a lot painful and it is common to all especially this summer when the heat is always up.
Canker sores could happen anywhere inside your mouth. It could develop on or under your tongue and on the side of the chicks and lips.
After couple of days, canker sores can heal without treatment. While some of the time, the sore come out alone there are instances that small clusters also go along with.
How it develops:
Before the canker sore could appear, you mouth might tingle or burn then a small red bump rises. After days, the bump bursts leaving an open, shallow or yellowish wound with a red border. It is pretty normal feeling the pain although the sores are much smaller. Whenever you eat or drink, the pain you get from the canker sore could be annoying.
Isn’t it contagious?
Unlike some other mouth sores, canker sores are not contagious. You don’t get this type of sore by just sharing your food or even kissing someone. While the canker sores typically develop inside the mouth, some mouth sores including the cold sores appear around the lips, chin or nostrils.
What causes Canker Sores?
Canker sores can appear any time in a person’s life. While there are no exact causes of canker sores, doctors have noticed that they can run in families. Although they are not contagious, the shared genes could have something to do with it.
They also connected stress to the rise of canker sores. So if you are going on through something and the canker sores showed up, then that must be something you could agree to.
While so, there are researches that suggest the using of products containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) could cause to canker sores. SLS could be present in most toothpastes and mouthwashes as it is a foaming agent.
Other health experts also noted that the lack or not getting enough of iron or vitamin B12 may also add to some cases of canker sores.
How do you deal with it?
While most canker sores heal on their own after few days or a week, there are pain relievers which are available over the counter for the pain. But the most important thing is watching over what you eat.
Foods could poke or even rub the sore which could be painful. Even the spicy foods and the acidic foods such as lemons or tomatoes can be painful on these open wounds—so try to stay away from it especially those foods which are hard, scratchy and crunchy.
In brushing your teeth, be careful not to strike the sore as it may make it worse. Brush and rinse using toothpastes or mouthwashes which don’t have SLS.
If the Alum powder is available, you could apply it directly to the sore and allow it to settle for few minutes before washing.
If the canker sores that you have stayed longer than you have expected, you may have a different condition that needed to be addressed by a doctor. This time, you need to see the expert for medical attention.
Source: http://kidshealth.org/