Canker Sores

[Myrrh]

I have two canker sores on the inside of my cheek and they can be really painful and irritating. Are there herbs that I can apply or use as a mouth rinse that can help relieve the pain or facilitate the healing time?

 

[GreenBeany]

I'd like to know too. I've had them a few times and they are a pain, especially if you have some kind of food with salt. Ketchup is something that makes them sting. Generally, they don't bug me unless I have food though.

 

[wonder]

I don't know of any herbs but I do know that salt water helps relieve them. It stings when you gargle with salt water but it takes the sting out of them so much quicker.

 

[Novembre]

I have them almost on a regular basis, and that is really irritating. They feel so painful especially in the morning just after I wake up. Anyway, I learned that gargling with salt water would help much with it.

 

[SoftRain]

I agree that gargling with salt water is probably your best bet, even if it does hurt at first. You also may want to look into increasing your iron, folic acid, and B12 intakes to see if that helps reduce the incidence of canker sores.

 

[Asturian]

SoftRain, thanks for the info, that is new to me. I only knew that canker sores are signs of lacking vitamin C, so I took more oranges and tomatoes when I got them.

 

[Iben]

Asturian, that also is all what I knew about cancer sores. Anyway, I read a health article in a blog that betel leaves are often used to treat cancer sores. I don't know where to find the leaves though.

 

[Georgina]

I get canker sores all the time, like every few weeks. It's such a pain. I heard that the type of toothpaste you use can have an effect but I'm not positive on that.

 

[wonder]

I got them all the time when I ate too many tomatoes or acidic food. I think we all pretty much said gargle with salt water. It burns and stings like a son of a gun in the beginning but then it gets better.

 

[Georgina]

I've tried to gargle but it doesn't really work for me. Maybe I'm not doing it early enough in. Are there certain foods that people who get canker sores should avoid?

 

[Iben]

I think you should avoid spicy, hot and oily foods. My cancer sores would usually get worse when I took these kinds of food. About gargling with salt water, I think you should do it more often.

 

[MountainGirl]

You should also put a numbing gel on it if it gets too intense. I gargle with salt water and I put numbing gel on it so that I can eat without crying out in agony and annoying everybody around me.