What is the best home remedies for canker sores?
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no sugar & nothing acidic + swish with salt water. toothpaste is also irritating. drink lots of H2O & take lots of vitamins as it is usually a sign of a weakened immune system or vitamin deficiency.
some salt on it it hurts but it helps alot
inside the mouth i have found from personal experience that swishing and gargling with heavily salted water, though not for the faint of heart, works wonders for canker sores. i've never had a sore outside the mouth before so i don't know if it works the same.
Abreva, Releev, and a few other OTC products work. You can save a lot of money and put some alcohol on a Q-tip and rub the surface as hard as you can stand it for a few seconds. HURTS LIKE HECK, but this is pretty much the same as the $10-20 products mentioned above. You might also want to get some OraJel or other benzocaine 20% product. Rub that one the sore first and after a couple of minutes, do the alcohol rub. You can also apply some benzocaine before a meal if it really hurts to eat.
You can also rinse with Maalox before a meal. (yuck) You can spit it out, though, instead of swallowing it. It coats them and helps relieve some of the pain.
The best thing to do is to change toothpastes. Most toothpastes that you buy at the local grocery store contain a soap-like chemical called Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, which dissolves a protective film in your mouth.
It takes a long time - usually a couple of months - for the balance to be restored in your mouth but the sores will gradually disappear as long as you don't go back to your regular toothpaste.
There are some foods that seem to add to the problem as well, such as oranges, pineapple and tomatoes, so I would stay away from those foods or don't eat them very often.
For immediate relief, I've used salt or baking soda directly on the sores and let it sit there for a few minutes. It will sting like crazy, but it does help. Do it a few times a day.
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