CANKER SORES
A virus can cause canker sores, as with fever blisters. Unlike fever blisters, canker sores usually affect adults rather than children.
One or more sores can appear at any time. These sores hurt, especially when pieces of food touch them.
SIGNS:
- A sore can appear on the tongue, roof of the mouth, or below the gums on the smooth skin.
- The sore is white or yellow with the skin around it bright red.
- The person may have had a similar kind of sore before. It tends to come back.
Note: a sharp edge of a denture rubbing against the gums can make a similar kind of sore.
TREATMENT:
A canker sore goes away by itself in about 10 days. Medicine does not make that happen any faster. (However, smoothing a denture does help.) The treatment is simple. Tell the person how to feel more comfortable while waiting for the 10 days to pass:
Eat foods that are soft and not likely to hurt the sore. Do not eat food with a lot of pepper. Drink lots of water. Chew food on the other side of the mouth, away from the sore.
A denture which does not fit should be remade.
In the meantime, leave the denture out of the mouth for 2-3 days.
Ask the person to rinse with warm salt water, 4 cups each day until the sore is better.
If the sore continues after 10 days, it may be infected. Give penicillin.
A sore that does not heal after antibiotic treatment may be cancer. See a doctor immediately.
