Mouth Ulcer Attack

I am prone to developing mouth ulcers, known colloquially in the US as canker sores.  Unlike cold sores or fever blisters, which are caused by a virus, we don't really know what causes canker sores.  Some are caused by trauma (like accidentally jabbing the side of your mouth with your toothbrush), but others just seem to show up without cause.  Luckily, canker sores pose no harm beyond discomfort and are easy to treat.

The two most common ways to treat canker sores are the potato method and the salt method.  For the potato method, simply cut out a piece of a raw potato and place it next to the sore.  This works because there are some enzymes in the potato that kill the infection and promote healing.  If I use this method, I'll usually do it while I sleep.  This usually only takes one treatment to see a significant difference.  For the salt method, you rub common table salt into your sores.  This works because the salt dries out the sore and the infused iodine helps to kill the infection.  This is usually my preferred method only because I don't usually keep potatoes in my kitchen.  If you rub salt in your sores, be prepared for it to hurt -- after all, you're literally rubbing salt in a wound.  If you rub the canker sore long enough, one treatment will be enough.  Since "long enough" varies from sore to sore, it can sometimes take several treatments before true healing begins.

There's also a third treatment: hydrogen peroxide rinse.  I'm not suggesting that you actually gargle with straight hydrogen peroxide, but using a rinse with hydrogen peroxide as the active ingredient can work well.  I discovered this third method while shopping this last week.  After unsuccessfully treating three canker sores multiple times, I was getting rather frustrated.  I happened to walk down the oral hygiene aisle for something else, when I saw a bottle of Peroxyl, which boasted that it "promotes [the] healing of minor oral wounds," so I picked up a small bottle.  In the two days that I've used it, it's made a noticeable difference.  It stings a little while in the mouth, but it's nothing compared to using salt.

While I still don't know exactly what causes me to develop canker sores, I now have a new way to treat them.