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You've got a stinging sensation on the side of your mouth. It's been irritating you for a couple of hours now, but you didn't realise until you looked in the mirror that it was amouth ulcer. Having mouth ulcers often means that you will have to forego eating your favourite spicy chilli, salty pretzels, or hot soup for awhile. What a bummer. Well bad enough that it's there, now you have to decide how you are going to go about treating it. I'm sure most of us have found ourselves in this particularly uncomfortable situation. It can be particularly unnerving if you have mouth ulcers and are not sure how to go about treating them, but even more so if your child has it. How do you recognise a mouth ulcer? Mouth Ulcers are painful sores that usually affect the tongue, lips, gums, or inside of the cheeks. They closely resemble a mosquito bite or pin prick, but are slightly swollen and reddish all around with a white or yellow coloured spot at the centre. A person who has mouth ulcers will find it difficult to talk and eat because of the stinging pain. Mouth ulcers are not a childhood disease. They are a common case that 1 in 5 adults and 5% to 10% of children in the UK are afflicted with at least once in their lifetime. (However, if you start to see signs of rapid weight loss, tummy pain, fever, ulceration around the anus, or blood or mucus in stool then consult a doctor immediately. These ulcer symptoms, especially in children, are usually the tell-tale signs of coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease. Seek urgent medical advice from your family doctor.) There are 3 basic types of mouth ulcers: 1 Minor Ulcers 2 Large Ulcers 3 Herpetiform Ulcers The difference between Minor Ulcers, Large Ulcers, and Herpetiform Ulcers is based on the varying rates of occurrences and appearances. Of all the mouth ulcer cases Minor Ulcers account for 80%, Major Ulcers for 10%, and Herpetiform Ulcers for another 10%. Minor ulcers are by far the most common and in appearance are usually 2 to 8 mm in diameter. If it's a minor ulcer it will not go beyond 10 mm in diameter. Minor ulcers generally heal on their own after 7 to 14 days without scarring. Major ulcers are not as common as minor ulcers. They appear most often in teams of two and are slightly bigger in diameter than minor ulcers. They are more painful and will take longer—around 10 to 30 days—to heal, and may even scar. Herpetiform ulcers are also not as common, but when they do occur there is not just one or two. The numbers are more, ranging from 5 to even 100 sores that often fuse together and form irregular larger sores. Herpetiform ulcers are very painful and will require medical attention for treating them. (The good news, however, is that Herpetiform is in no way related to herpes or the herpes virus.) How do you treat a mouth ulcer? Most of the time, if the ulcer is a minor one, it will quickly heal on its own. Yet there are times when the stinging feeling of the ulcer irritates your normal routines of talking and eating. In these times over the counter mouth ulcers treatments are not too hard to come by through purchasing them online or from the local pharmacy. Folks all over the world have gotten pretty creative with their personalised ways of treating mouth ulcers. Some drink a beer and swish it around for a cleansing and calming effect, others do the same with dry wine. The method of rinsing your mouth with warm salt water is still a global winner that cleanses out the ulcer and quickens the healing process. While the mouth ulcer is healing, avoid spicy, tangy, salty, and hot foods. These will cause the ulcer to sting more. Instead, drink plenty of water to help keep your mouth clean and free of germs or bacteria that may cause a secondary infection. Rinse your mouth several times in the day with warm salt water, and do all that you can to keep your mouth clean. Medicated mouthwashes like CB12 are also helpful for keeping your mouth clean and free of germs. Mouth ulcers often occur from something as simple as accidentally biting the inside of your cheek and then letting it get infected by germs in your mouth. Maintain good oral hygiene on a daily basis and don't neglect your toothbrush, floss, or mouthwash.
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mouth ulcers, CB12 mouthwash, oral health,
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