The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Activated Charcoal
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, Usa) on 11/12/2013
★★★★★
A few weeks ago my daugther bit her cheek when chewing. You know how that is...you end up biting the same spot over and over and it is uncomfortable. I know when that used to happen to me, I always ended up with a canker sore. I realized the reason it kept happening is because the mild trauma of having been bitten causes some swelling, so it is easy to keep on biting the same spot. I had my daugther place a charcoal tablet against the spot until the charcoal dissolved. (This actually can take 10 minutes or so.) By the time the charcoal had dissolved, her problem had resolved.
Yesterday, I did the same thing! I bit my cheek and it was irritated. I could feel a little bubble. I put a charcoal tablet on it and let it dissolve. By the time it dissolved, I no longer felt irritation and the bubble was smaller. Within an hour or two, I realized the little bubble was completely gone.
Charcoal is anti-inflammatory, so I think that is why this worked. Charcoal tablets are also good for canker sores, the earlier caught, the better. I suspect this treatment would keep a canker sore from forming where the mouth has had trauma. Too bad I didn't know this long ago, but better late than never!
Have a great day!
~Mama to Many~
Replied by Sandy
(IL)
07/15/2022
Mama to Many
(TN)
07/16/2022
Alkalize
Posted by Cheese Head (Madison, Wisconsin) on 07/01/2011
★★★★★
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..
Aloe Vera
Posted by jen (corning, NY and Italy ) on 02/27/2009
★★★★★
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.
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.
Alum, H2O2, Aspirin
1 User Review
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100% |
Posted by BC Boy (Smithers, Canada) on 05/17/2008
Remedy Side Effects for Canker Sores: I found Earth Clinic while googling for a canker sore remedy. I was relieved to find so many positive responses to these remedies. So I went and picked up several of the remedies hoping at least one would work as good as stated. I started with Alum. I dabbed a wet finger into the powder and applied it to the 4cm canker sore inside my bottom left gum. At first it stung like salt on an open wound. Then it subsided to the feeling of a butcher knife cutting into my gum. After a half an hour of this I rinsed my mouth out with water and spend 15min in front of the bathroom mirror applying H202 with a q-tip. The pain of applying the H202 eventually subsided to a pounding throb. My mouth was watering so bad I had to stuff kleenex inside my gums to dam the flood. The H202 eventually stopped sizzling so I rinsed and tolerated the dull throbbing ache for 1/2 hr. Finally I applied crushed aspirin to the sore. the aspirin burned but not as much as the alum. My mouth was now feeling like I'd been punched in the face.... twice. My bottom lip was puffy and my gums were numb everywhere except for the sore. I tolerated that for another 15min and finally rinsed the aspirin out with a cold budweiser. It's now been 2hrs later and I'm on my 7th beer and the pain has almost completedly subsided in the past 10min. So far the side affects of the treatment has been tolerable. Hopefully my head won't hurt as bad as my mouth in the morning....
Replied by Lorik
(Blacksburg, Va, USA)
11/22/2008
Replied by Juanita
(N.O. , La. USA)
11/28/2008
Replied by CC
(Las Cruces, NM)
07/01/2009
Replied by Tricia
(Ireland)
07/02/2009
Replied by Susan
(Mcloud, Oklahoma, US)
12/08/2009
Replied by Jessica
(Jefferson City, Mo, Usa)
08/07/2010
Tacy
(Washington State)
08/08/2024
Replied by Kay
(In The Valley, Ca)
09/04/2010
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!
Avoid Gluten
Posted by Gs In Va (Richmond, Va) on 06/16/2011
★★★★★
I read Steve's post about the canker sores and totally thought about Gluten. I learned I was Gluten Intolerant in Oct 2009. I had read on Celiac dot com that canker sores will go away after going gluten free and I was like " yeah right" because I have had them ALL MY LIFE. If I eat anything that nicks my cheek or gum, a huge painful canker sore would appear and take 2 weeks or more to go away. I was buying Kanka all the time to help ease the pain. If I bit my cheek, same thing would happen.
After going Gluten Free I have not had a single canker sore, since 2009. I've nicked my cheek, bit my cheek, all by accident and a little cut would be there from it and be gone over night... Never ever turns into a canker sore. I am proof and I've told my entire family and friends. Amazing!
Avoid Hot Dogs
Posted by Jesse (Wasilla, Alaska) on 03/27/2007
★★★★★
I am currently trying ACV remedy for my canker sore. I only have one small canker sore right now. However, over a year ago I had a bad outbreak with one canker sore the size of a dime was literally eating through my cheek. I tried everything and it took over a months to heal. My glands were swollen and I considered seeing a physician.
One thing I have noticed however, is that my outbreaks usually accurr after eating too many hot dogs(2 a day or more for a 2-4 day period). This outbreak is no different, I ate a few hot dogs a few days in a row and here comes a canker sore. However, When I had my horrible outbreak over a year ago, I was living in North Carolina and didn't have much food to eat. My diet consisted of 5 hot dogs a day and I had my worse outbreak then. Perhaps there is something contained in hot dogs that could cause this. I'm going to research hot dogs and check it out. I've also noticed that eating brocoli can sometimes cure a canker sore in just days.
Replied by Susan
(Portage, Pa)
05/30/2012
★★★★★
Avoid Milk
Posted by Sharon (Naples, Fl) on 12/08/2014
★★★★★
hi, my son is 17 and has been suffering with cankersores since he's been 3yrs old.
He gets them weekly up to 10 in his mouth. Went to every singal doctor/department known to man. Ended up in Rheumatology department only to be put on drugs that were for cancer!!! I was so done with this. Finally I took him to a holistic doctor who did a food intolerance panel. (not allergy) and it came up that he was intolerant to milk, cheese, and eggs. As soon as we eliminated those foods, he is cankersore free-----except of course when he wants pizza with cheese and ends up with sores 2 days later:)
Avoid Milk
Posted by Chris (Clifton Park, Ny, 12065) on 12/06/2007
★★★★★
For most of my life I was a regular (and during my younger years) heavy drinker of cow's milk. I suffered from horrible canker sores (3-4 at a time, each a half inch or longer) my whole life, right up until approximately 6 years ago when I eliminated milk from my diet. For me, it seems to only be related to the liquid form: I don't seem to have problems with cheese or even ice cream. However, a couple of times I've tried introducing milk again by having it on my cereal in the morning -- after about three days, I got a canker sore. Upon again stopping ingestion of milk -- no more canker sores. I was diagnosed when younger with an allergy to milk, and I wonder if this is related. I'm convinced science will catch up with this theory eventually and it will be shown that canker sores are closely related to allergies. Anyways, if you suffer from canker sores, try eliminating milk from your diet for 30 days and see what happens; I bet you'll be glad you did!
Avoid Milk
Posted by Win (Gainesville, FL) on 01/31/2007
★★★★★
Avoiding milk and milk products cured my canker sores. Both my mother and I suffered from sores in our mouths and we had tried many different remedies hoping to prevent them. Mom discovered that if she reduced her milk intake, she got fewer sores. Now, we both drink only soy milk and have been canker-free for years. Soy ice creams are getting better and better, too. I occasionally have some regular cheese and this doesn't seem to cause any problems. Cheese made from soy is still pretty awful.
Avoid Mouthwash
Posted by Kevin (Seattle, Wa) on 11/24/2009
★★★★★
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.
Avoid Nuts
Posted by Charlie (Mason, New Hampshire) on 11/25/2008
★★★★★
I have had episodes of canker sore since I was a child. After suffering for about 35 years I figured out that my canker sores were triggered by certain tree nuts. I am not otherwise allergic to tree nuts. If I eat walnuts or hazelnuts, or products containing them or their oil, canker sores will develop in 24-48 hours. I also think that seasonal pollen allergies may trigger them, and found that a prescription antihistamine (I know, not a folk remedy) completely prevents them in pollen season. As for "cures" I have never found one, but am intrigued by the alum testimonials and will try that.
Avoid SLS Toothpaste
Posted by Mar (New Zealand) on 07/29/2019
★★★★★
Avoid Sodium Laurel Sulphate in foaming toothpaste, cleansers etc. I am a 58 year old female and have suffered on and off with canker sores (aka mouth ulcers) since my teens, although sometimes going for long periods with none. However I have recently had two cankers on the gums of my lower front teeth which just will not go away. Normally a canker sore would last about a week, but I have had these for approximately six weeks. I have been doing extensive research and believe I have discovered the cause : sodium laurel sulphate (SLS). I was using hydrogen peroxide on the sores for healing and also using a purchased baking soda toothpaste,, but did not realise the toothpaste contained SLS. I have also been using a foaming cleanser with SLS on my face which may or may not contribute to the issue. I believe I have developed a sensitivity to SLS and will now need to avoid it. Just thought that might help someone.
Avoid SLS Toothpaste
Posted by Homero (New York) on 04/25/2016
★★★★★
I had suffered for more than 20 years with moth sores or canker sores. I talked to so many doctors. Some of them talked to me about drinking more water or taking some vitamins. I tried everything. Nothing worked until one day I read somewhere about SLS (sodium laureth sulphate) which is a chemical that makes the toothpaste more foamy. I switched to sls free toothpaste, and guess what? I have never got them again.
Replied by Jhawaii
(Hawaii)
10/16/2016
Replied by Salomon
(New York)
10/20/2016
