Natural Remedies for Canker Sores | Home Treatments For Relie

Supplements

Posted by Connie (Slc, Utah, Usa) on 12/12/2011
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Hi All ; It's been a 45 yr. search for me. I hope to shorten your suffering. I'll just give you the answer first, or the one that worked for me. Folate/Folic Acid. I need extra, more than the RDA of 400 mcg. , I need 800 mcg. daily in a supplement.

Canker sores are a common sign of B12 deficiency, so that's another supplement to consider, especially when one takes Folate, because they are interdependent. Sublinguals are easier for the body to use than oral types. I take large quantities, but I believe most people may need less. Supplements work best when we find our own numbers. My guess is that most people will respond to 500-1000 mcg. daily.

Zinc is another supplement that is suggested for canker sores. The RDA is approx. 15 mg. Daily. When I look at the zinc content of foods, it seems difficult to consume that amount, so I supplement with it, 15mg. 2-3 times weekly. But I'm considering a test just to see if I'm in the range somewhere.

Folate may also help with other lesions/ulcerations along the GI tract, I've read.

I wish I could give this information to my 10 yr. old self, when I lay crumpled on the bathroom floor with a stick of silver nitrate that only made the pain worse....

Constipation Link to Canker Sores

Posted by Spiderhawk (Houston, Texas) on 10/31/2012
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Interesting! I was wondering why I had a painfull canker sore appear under my tounge and after reading your post, it dawned on me that as a result of taking pain medication, I have been constipated for about two weeks now. I am going to rinse with baking soda and drink some baking soda as well. I have always had success drinking baking soda to relieve constapation.

Constipation Link to Canker Sores

Posted by Cody (Fort Worth, Texas) on 11/27/2012
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Wow that's crazy, everytime I can ever think of the canker sores I got and currently have is all when I was not on a regular bathroom schedule. Vacation- canker sores appear, too busy... Canker sores appear. You're on to something, because the last 4 times would if this is true, all be for the lack of regular bowel movements!

Gluten-Free Diet

Posted by Shaun (York, Uk) on 11/01/2011
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My partner (female, 57) has suffered with mouth cankers for as long as she can remember. These are/were incredibly painful. They looked like mini volcano's! They came 'round on a regular basis on gums, tongue and inner lips. We tried just about everything, but with no joy. Then I thought maybe she is gluten sensitive (I had heavily researched gluten sensitivity for my own [now cured skin condition[s], see elsewhere on Earthclinic), and other other 'odd' and seemingly incurable autoimmune-like issues of various friends. The result? Bam! No more mouth cankers. What a joy! To those who do not suffer this issue you just cannot believe the sheer relief that this has brought her. 50 years of doctors efforts had come to nothing. It has now been 2/3 months with no sign of mouth ulcers.

As an aside I would suggest to ANYONE that if you have some sort of seemingly incurable issue (candida, cankers, anaemia, IBS, ear pain, brain fog, rheumatoid arthritis etc., etc. , or indeed... Whatever) that you very, very strongly consider some form of gluten sensitivity. Sadly my partners father also suffers from canker issue (and stomach problems), but as he is 85 and bread is something of a holy social and ethnic issue with him he will just not accept the fact that gluten is his problem. Nevertheless we will keep trying to convince him!

Baking Soda

Posted by Asw (Houston, Tx) on 10/07/2011
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Using baking soda worked for me. I had a canker sore that kept getting worst despite the fact I was applying hydrogen peroxide. So I looked online and saw that baking soda also worked as a treatment for some. I applied baking soda once or twice a day for three days and it completely healed the sore.

Alkalize

Posted by Cheese Head (Madison, Wisconsin) on 07/01/2011
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Alum etc are cures for an outbreak of canker sores. The underlying factor is an acid ph. Try your Apple Cider Vinegar with a half teaspoon of baking soda 3 times per day or use a highly alkalizing food such as green magma.... 2 tsp in water 3 times per day and you will get rid of the current outbreak and not get them any more. Stay off of acid foods like white flour, sugar and you'll be rid of them for good. Thanks to Ted and all at earth clinic, , , , The cheese head..

Oil Pulling

Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 03/20/2011
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after years of recurring canker sores, and trying many of the remedies on this site, the one that is finally working for me is oil pulling (15 minutes once or twice daily) with vco. Thank you!

Ibuprofen

Posted by Mary (Philadelphia, Pa) on 12/23/2010
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Thank you!!!! This afternoon a canker sore became incredibly painful. Tried salt water. Tried lisine. Came here and tried Apple Cider Vinegar. All either did nothing or made it hurt more. Kept reading here and saw all the good aspirin reports. Didn't have aspirin so I used ibuprofen instead. Oh my goodness, it's now numb. No pain at all. Even if it doesn't last, a bit of relief is a godsend!

Tea Tree Oil

Posted by Heidi (Van Nuys, Ca, Usa) on 09/09/2010
★★★★☆

Yay - My second painful canker sore just showed up yesterday, and last night it woke me up from my sleep. I tried dobbing some tea tree oil on it with a q-tip, and the pain was immediately eased enough to get back to sleep. I don't know if it will help speed the healing, but it does certainly help a great deal with the pain!

Wasabi

Posted by Stargene (Ben Lomond, Ca) on 01/30/2010
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For decades I'd suffered from canker sores (aka: aphthous ulcers) inside my mouth. A dental study of Japanese communities revealed that their low dental plaque was due to compounds called isothiocyanates in wasabi, the green radish paste. Since that time, 12 years ago, I have not had a SINGLE canker sore, even though I still abrade my mouth, gum and inner lips as much as ever, because every day I brush my teeth using ~1 part wasabi to ~3-4 parts toothpaste, ANY toothpaste.

The wasabi actually inhibits bacteria from attaching to mouth surfaces using their plaque! This is an actual preventive which works.

Avoid Mouthwash

Posted by Kevin (Seattle, Wa) on 11/24/2009
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Found out that I kept getting canker sores and versions of thrush from using mouthwashes. If you have c- sores and gargle with off the shelf mouth washes, try stopping for a few days. worked for me.

Ginger

Posted by Casper3047 (Surfers Paradise, Queensland) on 10/25/2009
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Having been a long time sufferer of mouth ulcers in which they lasted for 3-5wks and often so bad, eating and talking were almost impossible I seem to have found "my" cure, and I hope it can help someone else. Simply chew and "let soak" with crystalline ginger 3-4 times a day. If you catch them early enough, they just seem to fade away. I haven't tried any other variations such as ginger tea because I like the eating the ginger.

Probiotics

Posted by Adam (Chicago, Il) on 05/20/2009
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I use probiotics 2 capsules a day to control canker sores. I used to get them from eating any kind of nuts or bread/pastry with nuts. For 2 months now I have been eating the nuts without the canker sores.

Toothpaste Without Sls

Posted by Kristin (Salt Lake City, UT) on 05/20/2009
★★★★★

SLS-free toothpaste eliminated my canker sores. I was getting numerous canker sores each month, sometimes several at a time.

I tried canker sore gels. They eliminate the pain temporarily but not the sore itself.
I tried baking soda. That seemed to help shorten the duration a bit was very painful for about 5 minutes. Similarly, apple cider vinegar was painful and seemed to cause a slight improvement in symptoms but didn't eliminate the sores.

I tried a pinch of alum, which also stung to apply and really pickled my lips. I coudln't determine whether that helped much either.

Finally, I bought SLS-free toothpaste 6 months ago. I haven't had a full-blown canker sore since! I think 1 or 2 may have thought about starting during that time, but each time they went away without forming or causing pain.

Aloe Vera

Posted by jen (corning, NY and Italy ) on 02/27/2009
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aloe is what did it for me. i have some ingestible pure aloe gel, and put it on there probably 10 times yesterday when I had a nasty canker sore on the underside of my tongue that had been developing already for a few days. I was desperate cuz it was SO painful I could hardly talk. maybe Im a wimp. Anyway, that's all I did and had a good night sleep. Today I hardly feel it at all.

Salt

Posted by Sherry (Saginaw, Mich.) on 02/11/2009
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I'm subject to ulcers on the roof of my mouth. I try to avoid prescription meds. I recently discovered that swishing warm salt water in my mouth after brushing was very effective. Bananas are quite effective too. Recently, my gums and roof of my mouth both hurt horribly! Out came the salt water. I'd also read in "You, the owner's manual,"that taking 81mg. baby aspirin is extremely helpful. The problem is nearly gone, and I'm sleeping better, too! I can't ask for more!

Mustard

Posted by Rodney (Fort Wayne, IN) on 01/04/2009
★★★★★

For whatever reason if you put Mustard directly on your canker sores it burn then the pain is gone. Instant relief. I don't know if it heals anything but it sure feels better for a while and you don't have to run out and buy anything special.

Baking Soda

Posted by Jennifer (Gilbert, AZ) on 11/17/2008
★★★★★

I have these last couple of months been getting canker sores. I have never had them in my life, but have just started getting them out of the blue. I found this website and i have tried everything on here, all but the baking soda i tried that last. Let me say NONE of the other things worked for me, but oh my gosh the baking soda works wonders!!!!

The pain was very VERY bad and i didn't know what else to do, i even tried over the counter things and they didn't work in anyway, but the baking soda did.I also found the baking soda helps if you have a toothache too, in short baking soda is amazing and i would try it before anything else.