Natural Remedies for Canker Sores | Home Treatments For Relie

Unlit Match

Posted by Dee (Chicago, IL) on 04/28/2008
★★★★★

Holding an unlit matchhead directly onto the white center of the canker sore always helps to take the pain out and heal the sore more quickly. The white material is actually absorbed by the matchhead. It stings very badly, but I hold it on as long as I can stand it, then repeat 3 or 4 times. This has something to do with the sulfur in the matches, so make sure not to get the new kind that are sulfur-free.

L-Lysine

Posted by Carol (Hamburg, NY) on 03/14/2007
★★★★★

For years, my teenage grandchildren suffered through excruciatingly painful episodes of canker sores. After trying & failing with many remedies suggested by their mother & others, including their M.D., they finally tried the old-fashioned home-remedy that their great-grandmother used! L-lysine, a simple, low cost cure. They now are tried & true users of L-lysine, and have almost become heroes with their college friends. The treatment is: Immediately upon the beginning of an out-break, take two 500 mg. tablets. Continue taking one 500 mg. tablet each day until 2 or 3 days past the day the canker sore appears to be healed. "L-lysine is an essential amino acid needed in our diet. It is found in animal protein, such as milk protein. It is recommended that young adults need approximately 23 mg of L-lysine per day per kilogram (10 mg per lb) of body weight. The proteins of cereals; wheat gluten, for example, do not provide enough L-lysine (Columbia University Press Encyclopedia)". Little do the young believe that Grandmother's could be so smart - until they try the "old- fashioned home remedies!

Avoid All Products With Citric Acid

Posted by Jon (Defiance, OH) on 03/03/2007
★★★★★

I don't see how Apple Cider would help canker sores, because it is acidic. What I do is I watch how much citric acid I take in. Soda is terrible! It has a very high concentration of citric acid! Milk Chocolate contains it, from what I hear, though they are not required to list it in the ingredients. I have noticed that I get them after eating chocolate, but I have to eat quite a bit of chocolate to get a sore. I have dealt with the pain of canker sores since I was a kid, often times having one right after another. I used to carry around medicines such as Kanka, only to find the stuff made them worse or made them last longer. Come to find out, I was putting citric acid directly on the sore, as many of these medications contain it! So I started with eliminating soda (I was hooked on diet pepsi at work). Bingo! I drastically reduced the number of canker sores I was getting. Next, I started watching what I was eating. I noticed that anything with citric acid in it would give me the beginnings of a canker sore within an HOUR after eating or drinking it. Then I applied some common sense to the situation, and remembered that an old cure for stomach indigestion and acid reflux was baking soda. So, whenever I eat something or drink something with citric acid in it, I immediately rinse my mouth with a mixture of baking soda and water (look on the box or on the arm and hammer website for their recommendation for using it as a mouth wash). I think the answer to canker sores is prevention, not curing it once it's in your mouth. Once it's there, you basically have to wait it out. I still get them, but only once in awhile now instead of all the time...However, when I do get one, it's my own fault now!

Aloe Vera

Posted by Jordan (Binghamton) on 08/19/2005
★★★★★

Aloe Vera is very helpful in the healing process for canker sores, as is sodium lauryl sulfate elimination.

L-Lysine

Posted by Donnie (Spartanburg, SC)
★★★★★

A supplement called LYSINE helps to heal mouth sores faster, just take a 1-gram capsule 2 or 3 times a day.

Baking Soda

Posted by Fabio (Brazil) on 05/24/2024
★★★★★

Brush With Baking Soda for Canker Sores

There is an actual phisical layer of pathogens in the canker sore. If you just put the products like baking soda there, you will not be able to penetrate through this layer. Hence the best approach would be to brush your canker sore with your baking soda, or whatever product you want to use to kill the pathogens. Using this technique will kill your canker sore instantly.

Cloves

Posted by sylvain (Quebec) on 10/13/2023
★★★★★

For canker sore pain,

try a Qtip with clove oil, I can vouch that it will numb the pain for about an hour, that is the only thing I have found that helps at least temporarily.

Lavender Oil

Posted by Jean (Wheeling, iL) on 02/29/2020
★★★★★

Lavender essential oil will heal both canker and cold sores. I put some on my finger and apply 3 or 4 times a day. Works in no time.

Baking Soda

Posted by David (Hong Kong ) on 04/01/2018
★★★★☆

Thanks for those sharing about the baking soda remedy, I have been bothered with several canker sore in my mouth and cheeks in the last few days and they were very painful and have lost my appetite in eating. After trying a few solutions, they didn't really work for me and out of desperation, I applied some baking soda paste over the sores last night, while they haven't gone away, it did reduce the level of pain and hopefully they wil go away soon. Big thanks for sharing!

Oil Pulling

Posted by Arnezi (Spokane, Wa ) on 05/27/2016
★★★★★

I get huge canker sores that are extremely painful sometimes, and this last one I swished coconut oil 1 tablespoon with 1 drop of oregano essential oil for 10 minutes in my mouth and then spit it in the trash. The pain was gone. I did this 2x a day for 2 days and it was gone. I was so happy I found something that worked.

Salt

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 10/11/2015
★★★★★

Just tried the salt-on-canker-sores. I had read that it is to be put on every 15 minutes.

So I dabbed a bit of Celtic Salt on it every 15 minutes, for as long as I could stand (about 10 seconds) before rinsing my mouth . At the hour and a quarter point, meaning 5 applications, the skin there started feeling a bit rough, so I stopped, and now it feels much better!

Camphor Spirit

Posted by Jan (Ft Lauderdale, Fl) on 04/08/2015
★★★★★

For canker sores, I use spirit of camphor dabbed on a q-tip and placed on the sore. It heals within a few days and takes away the pain. Also organic raw honey placed on the sore, and it is gone the next day or two.

Sage

Posted by Tim (Georgia (Republic of)) on 03/30/2014 21 posts
★★★★★

Hi, from Georgia (Rep. of).

Here is the best and only remedy for canker sores in your mouth - dry Sage leaves. Chew just a few of them each time and all day long if you like and all year long if you like with no side effects. Don't use a dried stem of Sage to avoid scratches that can worsen situation and prolonged healing. You WILL get rid of canker sores from a few hours to several days in severe cases. Repeat treatment if any. Good luck!

Baking Soda

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 06/02/2013

Jj, to immediately reduce/eliminate pain from a canker sore, coating it with Coconut Oil, helps for me. I don't know if it cures it, but it's calming action is instant for me!

Oil Pulling

Posted by Eileen (Exton, Pa, Usa) on 05/03/2012
★★★★★

Yesterday I awoke to a painful bump on the inside of my right cheek. It felt like a pimple/ulcer and I knew this could get worse. So, I remember when I had a small white painful bump on my tongue a while back I tried oil pulling which healed it overnight. Why not for the inside of my mouth?! I used olive oil, swished for 20 minutes, rinsed w/ the warm salt water solution and I kid you not, when I went to feel the bump with my tongue, it was gone--and so was the pain--that instantly! (I actually could feel the pain subsiding as I was swishing. ) Oil pulling is now my go-to for ANYTHING concerning the mouth!! :)

Cayenne

Posted by Gavin (Manganui, Northland, New Zealand) on 01/17/2012
★★★★★

I think cayenne must be a good antibiotic.. I had these sores at the side of my mouth and thought that I'd try a bit of creative thinking.. I mixed a third cayenne a third tumeric and a third coconut oil (ev. ) gave it a good stir. Then rubbed a bit either side of my mouth before bed.. It stung at first.. When I checked in the morning I noticed a blanched ulcer.. Which is a good sign as it means the infection or whatever it was, was nailed... After three dabs over a twenty four hour period, the stinging stopped and the ulcer was shrunk to half the size it started out at. And looks healthy. Its healing so well I thought I'd post.