Canker Sore Question

Many years ago my grandma told me a story about her nephew when they were kids. My grandma was raised by her sister, their Mom passed when grandma was an infant.

Anyway, her nephew was always getting canker sores and had to go to the phaymacy over and over to get a medicine for them. One day the pharmicist asked him if he ate a lot of pickles. He said yes he loved pickles, the pharmicist said stop eating so many pickles and you won't get so many canker sores. ---- Well it worked.

Probably something to do with the vinegar brine and all that acid.

Just thought I'd pass on that little bit of grandma wisdom.

I just have to correct Ann C.'s post. Herpes virus is in NO WAY related to canker sores. Cold sores are a product of the herpes virus and appear on the outside of the mouth. Canker sores are inside the mouth and their cause is unknown. Using lysine for canker sores has shown to perhaps be effective, but is more commonly used for cold sores.

Drives me crazy when people confuse the two! Canker sores are not contagious and are not herpes!!!

I used to get canker sores all the time and they were usually gone within 1-2 weeks. Because it's on your tongue you may be causing trauma to the sore each time you eat, which would prolong the healing process. At least it doesn't hurt anymore! I always found that an aspirin applied to the sore (until it melted) really helped it heal quickly. Good luck!

I've not had one take so long to heal. DD used to get them a lot. Then I read somewhere that there is an ingredient in most toothpastes that some people are sensitive to, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), causing them to get a lot of canker sores. So I spent an hour reading all the labels on toothpaste at Target and found that Sensodyne does not contain the (SLS). Switched her a year ago and she's not had a sore since.

Could be that your healing is being delayed by a sensitivity to SLS. Try switching to Sensodyne for a while.

Try Peroxyl. It's made by Colgate and it's near mouthwashes at the store. Great stuff! It's meant for dental injuries, like canker sores. I've had really bad sores heal overnight after doing just a few treatments with the Peroxyl. I swear by it now.

For the future, if you get another canker sore, by FAR the best thing I've found for a canker sore (because those tiny things can really hurt) is a canker cover!!!!! You can find them at Walgreens... You put this little tiny tablet over your canker sore at night before bed... It protects it and puts medicine into the canker sore. Heals so much faster!!!!!!

I had one recently that took a month to heal. Just depends on the sore.

Even pregnant you can take the supplement L-Lysine. I like Solaray L-Lysine. You can get it in 500mg and 1000mg. If you take it every day it will suppress the herpes virus that causes cold sores and canker sores. It will also help speed up the healing time when you get one.

You can also buy L-Lysine gel at Whole Foods and other health food stores. I've used it inside my mouth/ on the insides of my cheeks. It doesn't taste too hot, but it did help the sores go away faster.

Buy some powder alum from the supermarket spice area. If you can't find powder take the crystal form and put it in a blender. Just place a bit on your finger and apply to the sore. This will cause some discomfort (ok the kids say it burns) but we found that after using it canker sores are gone in about 3-5 days. We use it twice a day. The pain goes away as soon as you remove the powder. Then it feels numb like.

When I feel one coming on I take vitamins to boost my immune system. Usually knocks them in out in a couple of days.