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.
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..
Oil Pulling
Posted by Mmsg (Somewhere, Europe) on 03/20/2011
★★★★★
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!
Yogurt
Posted by Whitney (Livonia, Mi) on 01/01/2011
★★★★★
Years ago a friend of mine had a mouth full of canker sores. Everything the dr gave her never worked includin lanicaine, she couldn't talk or function. After months of going through this we tried natural home remidies and found out it was great. Yogurt, the kind that has fruit on the bottom, the kind you stir to mix up, this activates the live cultures in it to soothe the pain and get to the real problem. Which is a intestinal flura upset. Yogurt balances all this out and within eating 1 to 2 or three a day all canker sores will be gone within 24 to 48 hours. I have recomdend this to other friends and even did this with my girls when they were little, worked everytime. The best thing about this is anyone from babies to adults can eat this, and is so much cheaper than a dr appointment and perscriptions that aren't always going to work. Good luck to everyone. And I hope you find this helpful.
Ibuprofen
Posted by Mary (Philadelphia, Pa) on 12/23/2010
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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
★★★★★
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!
Coconut Oil
Posted by Candy (Hobe Sound, FL) on 01/24/2009
★★★★★
I have been using Organic Coconut Oil for 2 years now as a "skin lotion". When I started using it I was 43 and already using a top product for anti-aging. The product had worked some to reduce wrinkles but in just a couple of days the CO worked so much better. now at almost 45 I have very little wrinkles. I use just a little bit on my fingers and spread so thin that no one can tell that I use an oil on my face. My 17 year old daughter uses it also.
I started using the CO for other things and one of the best is on a canker sores. It does not hurt unless you rub it too hard. I had no pain all day and did not have to put more on until bed time. I put a dab of CO on a Q-tip and applied it to the sore.
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.
Salt
Posted by Morgan (Dekalb, Illinois USA) on 11/02/2008
★★★★★
Yes, salt does work....but it hurts like crazy!!!! I get canker sours DAILY.. i try numming it but that doesnt make it go away....salt does...i would not put on a small childs canker though......as i said before..it hurts! i have not tryed baking soda..i will and then i will see if it works! :):)
