Canker sores are small, painful lesions that can form on the soft tissues in your mouth. They’re usually white or yellow and may have a red border. Canker sores can make eating and talking uncomfortable. There is no cure for canker sores, but there are several home remedies that may help relieve the pain and speed up healing. Here are some of the most effective home remedies for canker sores.
If you see a white or yellowish ulcer-like development inside your mouth, then it is most likely a canker sore that can be easily healed by home remedies. The area on its periphery turns red. Canker sores most commonly occur on the tongue but they can develop on lips and any other part of the mouth.
It usually is a single incident but at times a cluster of sores can develop. They are very painful and can cause difficulty in speaking in some cases. Mainly children and women between the ages of 10 to 40 years develop canker sores.
The exact causes of canker sores are not known, but any injury such as accidentally biting the inside of the cheek or lips or burn caused by hot food or drink can cause Canker sores.
Allergy to any toothpaste or mouthwash, Chewing tobacco or spicy food, hormonal changes, certain bacteria in the intestine, some diseases like IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Diseases), and certain misfit dentures and metallic denture incompatibilities with skin can cause canker sores.
Canker sores are different than cold sores and are not contagious. They have been found to run in families. It is hereditary.
There is no medicine to treat it. You should still visit a doctor to ensure that it is a canker sore and have peace of mind. You can easily get rid of canker sores with home remedies in most cases.
5 Home Remedies for Canker Sore Relief
Following are 5 home remedies for canker sores for pain relief and complete healing.
1. Stop Using Products that May be Causing Canker Sore
As a first step to removing all possible elements that may be causing canker sore. Avoid chewing tobacco and stop using that allergic toothpaste and mouthwashes, particularly those that contain sodium lauryl sulfate, and maintain good oral hygiene.
Avoid all hot, spicy, and fatty foods that may increase pain. Acidic foods in particular have been found to delay the healing of canker sores. Interestingly, on the other hand, vitamin C-containing citric fruits have been found useful in fast healing. Drinking a glass of lemon juice 3 times a day does a good job of both pain relief and fast healing.
2. Gargle with Warm Salt Water
Salt water gargle helps many conditions ranging from sore throat to canker sores. If your canker sore is puffed up and is hurting, then you must do salt water gargling. When the sore on the tongue rub on the lips or inner part of the mouth, it hurts really bad and the pain can be excruciating.
Saltwater from outside the body helps in pain relief by cell osmosis. Warm water soothes the area.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt to a glass of warm water.
- Take a small sip and gargle
- Continue gargling until the entire glass of water is over.
Make sure that the salt is completely mixed in water.
It is important to not fill up your mouth with water. You won’t be able to properly do the gargling action because there is not enough space in the mouth for water to move around.
3. Eat Yogurt to Ease Pain and Fast Healing
Eat yogurt 2-3 times a day. Since yogurt prevents bad bacteria to multiply, it is among the most effective healing agent for canker sores.
You need is plain yogurt with live culture. Flavored yogurt is not as effective. Eating raw yogurt may be a little difficult for some people, but you can develop a taste for yogurt on the first try.
4. Apply Honey
Some honey such as manuka and thyme honey has strong antibacterial qualities. They also have shown signs to promote the growth of tissues in wound healing.
Apply honey with a cotton swab on your canker sore 3 times a day. Depending on the quality of honey your canker sore can heal within 3-4 days against the usual healing time of 4 -6 weeks.
Commercial honey has chemicals that may destroy its healing power of honey. So make sure that you have fresh honey for the best impact on the canker sore.
5. Apply Alum Powder
Applying alum directly to the sore may give you a burning feeling initially but very soon your pain will subside will promote rapid healing.
The chemical composition of alum can be either potassium aluminum phosphate or ammonium aluminum sulfate.
You can even rub an alum crystal on the canker sore instead of the powder.
Don’t bear the pain and wait for the canker sore to heal on its own. These remedies will not only give you pain relief but also heal you're sore faster.
Bottomline
In conclusion, try one of these home remedies for canker sores the next time you have one. With a little bit of preventative care and home treatment, you can help keep canker sores at bay.