Canker sores are painful sores which occur in your mouth and they are shallow. Canker sores are usually red in color. Some canker sores may have a white coating over them. You could also get this inside your lips and even inside your cheeks. Canker sores could also happen at the base of your gums or even under your tongue.
Anyone can get canker sores. However, it is more prominent in women who are in their teens and 20s. They tend to get canker sores more often. Some of them may also run in families. If you are thinking that canker sores are contagious, you are definitely mistaken. Doctors say that this may be triggered by stress, poor nutrition and food allergies and also due to menstrual periods.
Canker sores usually fade away even without any treatment. For any pain relief from canker sores, you can try taking medicines such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Some other medicines like Anbesol, Oragel, Orabase and Zilactin-B can help you to keep your canker sores from getting irritated. You can also mix Milk of Magnesia and Benadryl Allergy liquid in equal amounts to treat this. After you mix this combination, you can add a teaspoonful in your mouth for about a minute. Then, you can then spit it out. If you do continue to do this every 4 to 6 hours, the canker sores may hurt you less. There are some people who think that sucking zinc lozenges or taking vitamin C or vitamin B complex can help in healing canker sores faster. Some people also believe that using a sage-and-chamomile mouthwash or taking a lysine supplement can help them heal canker sores.
If the canker sores are large, they could last longer than two weeks. During that time you can't eat or drink anything. You should meet the doctor if you have a fever or feel sick. You must also inform your doctor if you have canker sores more than three times a year.
There are various medicines available for canker sores. But if your canker sore is large, painful or have less chances of healing, you can ask your doctor to prescribe an anti-inflammatory or collagenase inhibitor medicine. You can discuss with the doctor and decide what the best is for you. When you are undergoing treatment, you may be required to "swish and swallow" or "swish and spit" the medicine. This should be done especially around your canker sore and should be done for a few minutes before swallowing or spitting it out.
If your doctor has asked you to use a medicine to put on the canker sore, you should first dry the sore with a tissue. After that, you should put a small amount of medicine on cotton. After that, you should put the medicine on your canker sore using the cotton. This will help you in curing the canker sore.