Jack (Boston, Ma) on 09/13/2010:

Rinse & topical: For morning before work routine rinse with 1 cup water 3 tblsp white vinegar 1 tsp salt, then take cue tip wetted with hydrogen peroxide and dab infected area & then spread antibiotic ointment that is in a petroleum base over lips and affected area.

For night do same rinse, dab with peroxide and then pat infected area with baking soda and allow to dry - leaving it on over night. The baking soda more than anything I believe to help keep area dry. Don't go picking at the area or rubbing it with the cue tip or your fingers. Actually, just try to leave it alone.

By morning 2 you will be on road to recovery. Now along with this take a multi vitamin, a b-complex, folic acid, b-12, iron, vitamin C and acidophilus supplements. Take one acidophilus with each meal.

Now the cause: sucralose (artificial sweetener). A Duke U study whose results were disqualified (squashed) found that in tests with rats that Sucrlose taken in acceptable quantities proportional to their size decreased good intestinal bacteria by 50% by day 10. So, so much for the immune system; let the canker sores and angular chelitis begin! Let the Candida run wild! I was having 2 glasses of wine a day that kept the bad bacteria at bay but I stopped drinking and within two weeks things went out of control. For the 3 months prior to that I had been religiously eating Activia Lite which contains sucralose. The cracks in the corners of my mouth on a few occasion during that time tried to get a foothold but the wine stopped that from happening. I have now switched over to that Greek yogurt (plain). I take my vitamins. I still do not drink but I will soon now that the cankers & angular chelitis are behind me. Oh, and I should point out that the sucralose had other effects on me. I was having bad insomnia and couldn't figure what the heck was going on. I would say within 48 hours of stopping the Activia my sleep returned and the Chilitis started to improved. I guarantee also the sleep had a big effect on helping me get cured of the chelitis. I also had an odd rash on my torso. All this crazy stuff. I really thought it was from alcohol dependence though I really hadn't been drinking enough or for that long to have any problems.

In the end I think in an odd way the alcohol was keeping this thing at bay. It was crazy, I hadn't had a canker in a couple of years and I had never had angular chelitis before - and who knows what that rash on my torso was all about. I thought it was from my tried & true laundry detergent that suddenly decided to turn on me. I have vowed never to consume any artificial sweeteners again. I have almost cut sweets of any kind out of my diet. I have switched to whole grains, lightly steamed vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, and healthy protein sources. No more simple carbs. I was always kind of healthy but now I'm a little over-the-top but why not.