Canker Sores
Canker Sores
Wipe Out Pinpoints of Pain
Perhaps second only to unidentified vaginal discharges, canker sores are truly among the most vexing maladies known to women. Tiny as they may be to the eye, the crater-shaped sores inside your cheeks or along your gums or tongue can send you reeling with pain and make eating and talking difficult. Kissing, of course, is out of the question.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL TACTICS
Women doctors offer some surprising but effective tactics against vexing canker sores.
Apply an antihistamine. When canker sore pain gets too much to bear, duck into your local drugstore and buy a bottle of Benadryl liquid, an antihistamine commonly taken for allergies or colds, suggests Lenore S. Kakita, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and an adviser to the American Academy of Dermatology. Pull apart a clean cotton ball and soak a canker sore-size wad in one-half to one teaspoon of Benadryl. Place the drenched cotton directly on your sore for five to ten minutes. "Apply the Benadryl three or four times a day, making sure that you don't swallow more than the precautions on the bottle advise. It tends to numb the area, so you can eat."
When To See A Doctor
If your canker sores are severe, if you get them often or if they last for more than two weeks, women doctors say that you should call your doctor, dermatologist or dentist. Also, alert your doctor if you also develop a high fever or swollen glands, signaling an infection. For canker sores that are beyond self-help, prescription corticosteroids recommended by your doctor or triamcinolone dental paste (Kenalog in Orabase) can help.
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What Women Doctors Do
Saltwater Rinse Helps Mahvash Navazesh, D.M.D. Scientists aren't convinced that chocolate causes canker sores. But Mahvash Navazesh, D.M.D., associate professor and vice-chair in the Department of Dental Medicine and Public Health at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles, thinks that it's more than a coincidence that when she indulges in the joys of chocolate, she pays a hefty price. Before long, a fiery, red-rimmed canker sore shows up inside her mouth. Here's what she does to relieve the pain. "When I get a canker sore, I rinse my mouth often with salt and water," says Dr. Navazesh. "Or I make a mixture of half hydrogen peroxide and half water and rinse with that. "If the sore really burns a lot, anything cool like ice has a soothing effect."
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One caution: If you've applied a numbing agent, eat carefully, says Mahvash Navazesh, D.M.D., associate professor and vice-chair in the Department of Dental Medicine and Public Health at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles. If you inadvertently bite your numbed mouth while chewing, the resulting injury can make your canker sore worse.
Apply canker sore salve. Over-the-counter products such as Zilactin or Orabase-B coat the canker sore with a sticky substance that acts as a protective shield, to help you talk and eat. Both are recommended by women doctors. Geraldine Morrow, D.M.D., past president of the American Dental Association, a member of a American Association of Women Dentists and a dentist in Anchorage, Alaska, also gives a thumbs-up to Kank-A, an over-the-counter medicine made by Blistex.
Eliminate acidic foods. Cutting down on acid fruits and vegetables and certain nuts, like walnuts, can help prevent canker sores, says Dr. Morrow.
(For practical ways to manage cold sores, which are caused by a virus and affect the lips only, see page 131.)
