Canker Sores – Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Canker sores are referred as aphthous stomatitis. They indicate to the sores which cause pain in the mouth. A large number of people face this problem at some point of their life. Canker sores are more common in people who are younger. They rarely trouble people in an older age. Most of the people who are troubled frequently by them are adolescents or young adults. On should not confuse Canker sores with cold sores as cold sores appear on outer lips. Canker sores are observed inside the mouth.

The actual and exact causes of canker sores are not clear yet. Experts suspect that they are caused as a result of some kind of reaction from the immunity system. Hormone disorders and infection caused by bacteria may also be the cause of this problem. Stress and heredity might also contribute to the occurrence of Canker sores. Consuming drugs like betablockers, atenolol and iBuprofen may also lead to canker sores.

Following are some of the symptoms of canker sores. You may find them anywhere in the mouth except on gums, hard palate and lips. Small canker sores usually clear up in 12 to 14 days. They are not more than 10mm in size. Large canker sores may be as big as 1 cm. They take a long time to heal. They may take 3 to 6 weeks to disappear. In many people, canker sores keep occurring again and again. While some people suffer from them only a few times in a year.

In order to treat canker sores, one can try following methods. First, one should rinse his mouth with warm water (8 ounces) having one and a half teaspoon salt. Over the counter medications like Calamine lotion may be applied over the canker sores. It helps in curing them. Some doctors also prescribe ointments which have a numbing component like Benzocaine. When it is applied over the canker sores, people get relief from the pain caused by them. Tetracycline suspensions are also used for healing the canker sores in a quick way.