Archive for the ‘Mouth Ulcer Stories’ Category

Introduction & background

Canker sores, also known as Apthous ulcers, are painful little ulcers with a red border that can form anywhere inside the mouth. These are shallow lesions that can appear singly or in small groups and are formed because of soft tissue injury or stress. They are usually white or yellow in color and are often very tender. Canker sores can affect anyone at any age. In most cases, home treatment for canker sores helps reduce the pain and the sore generally heals within several weeks.

Who gets them?

Canker sores are one of the most common oral conditions. Anyone can get a canker sore but they are more common in women, teenagers, and those in their twenties. If your parents have canker sores you are more likely to suffer from them. Similarly, female sex hormones apparently play a role in causing canker sores. Many women only have bouts of canker sores during certain phases of their menstrual cycles. The majority of women, in addition, experience improvement or remission of their canker sores during pregnancy.

Where do they form?

Canker sores can appear on the inside of the cheeks, on the inside of the lips, at the base of the gums, on the soft palate, or under the tongue.

What are the different types?

They have been broken down into 3 types: minor, major, and herpetiform.
1- Minor:These account for about 80% of canker sores. These are the sores that are commonly referred to as “cankers”. They are 3-10 mm in diameter and heal without scaring in 7 to 14 days.

2- Major:These account for about 10%. This condition is also referred as Sutton’s disease. They are 10-30 mm in diameter. They generally take 2 to 6 weeks to heal and at times may last for several months. These can heal with scaring. Major aphthous ulcers often begin at the onset of puberty.

3- Herpetiform: These account for the remaining 10%. These usually present as small pinhead ulcerations numbering from 10 to 150. These small ulcerations can coalesce into larger irregular ulcerations. These ulcerations last from 7 to 14 days. They are more common in women and are more commonly located in the posterior region of the mouth. They are commonly confused with the oral herpes virus lesions.

What causes them?

Though it’s not known exactly what causes them, they are thought to be triggered by stress, mouth injury, nutritional deficiencies, menstruation and genetic factors. In addition, dehydration, and viruses are also the culprits behind the breakouts.For most people, however, it seems to be caused by an irritation of some sort from something overly acidic, salty or minty (such as toothpaste).

Similarly, eating hard or crunchy food also increases the risk. Food allergies, allergies in general, dental work needing repair, end of menstrual cycle, taking antibiotics or too much acidity in your body, all are considered among the common risk factors associated with this particular tongue ailment.

According to some studies, lack of vitamin B12, zinc, magnesium, and folic acid also might lead tocankersoresin the mouth. A recent study suggests that a nightly dose of vitamin B12 could help prevent these painful oral sores.

How would you know if you have canker sores? (Signs & symptoms)

- Burning and tingling sensation in the mouth
- Painful, craterlike red sores in the mouth or tongue
- These mouth sores often affect the sufferers face in many annoying ways such as making the face swell and distorting the appearance.
- In some cases, they can also cause loss of appetite.

To find out more about how to treat your tongue ailment and to grab your free video, please go to http://www.healthy-tongue-secrets.com. This article can be reproduced, so long as the links are kept the same.

Author: John Hamlet
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

If you’ve had the unpleasant experience of getting a canker sore then you know the pain it can produce. So, what causes canker sores, and is there any help in prevention of canker sores? Let’s take a quick look at the basics and get your questions answered.

What Is A Canker Sore?

A canker sore, or aphthous ulcers as they are also known as, are small painful sores that form on the inside of your lips, cheeks, and even on your tongue. Don’t confuse a canker sore with a fever blister or a cold sore, which is a virus and forms on the outside of your mouth in most all cases. Unlike cold sores which is the herpes virus, a canker sore is a bacterial infection, and not contagious. Canker sores can occur with any age group, but most commonly affect people between the ages of 10-40. It seems to hit teenagers and women in their 20′s the most for whatever unknown reason. Medical science still has no idea what causes canker sores to form, but many times it is from stress and eating habits.

What Should You Do When One Forms?

If you do nothing to treat a canker sore that has formed, they will go away generally in 1-3 weeks on their own. During this time it can be painful if you happen to drink juices, or drinks that contain a lot of acid in them. The same with foods. Even brushing your teeth can give you a jolt. The pain can send you through the roof! The good news is that there are some canker sore medications that you can get over the counter and apply to reduce the pain and discomfort. Oragel, Anbesol, or a number of other brands all will provide some much needed relief. In addition, there are a number of very good all natural cures.

Should I Seek Medical Attention?

In most all cases there is no need to seek medical attention for a canker sore, but with that said, if you have a very large sore, or it lasts for more than two weeks, you may want to see your health care professional. Also, if you begin feeling sick, or can’t eat or drink, absolutely get in touch with your doctor.

Are There Prescription Medications Available As A Canker Sore Cure?

Yes, there are quite a few prescription medications that your health care professional can prescribe to help as a canker sore treatment. Prescription medications like Peridex, Aphthasol, and Tetracycline can provide the help you’re looking for.

Is There Any Way To Prevent Canker Sores From Forming?

Unfortunately, there is no known prevention of canker sores. There are some things you can do in order to reduce your chances of getting them. Try to avoid using toothpaste with SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate). Be sure to floss your teeth daily. Drink plenty of water and keep spicy foods out of your diet. This is especially true if you are prone to recurring canker sores.

You can find out more on Canker Sore Basics as well as much more information about canker sores at http://www.AllAboutCankerSores.com.

Author: Terry Edwards
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

If you have been researching mouth ulcers you may have heard of Aftazen.

Aftazen is a new product that keeps mouth-ulcers away by providing the nutrients your body maybe lacking. It the result of 3 years of research and testing by Bertrand Girin.

Who is Bertrand Girin?

Bertrand Girin, born in 1970, was an engineer from the Ecole Centrale in France, he suffered since his early years from frequent crises of mouth ulcers , without ever having been successful in treating himself, other than through local drugs which, though they often relieved his pain, diminished neither the regularity, nor soreness of the crises.

No doctor could explain to him what was the cause of his mouth ulcers, and he had the impression that pharmaceutical companies were not interested in mouth ulcers. But this problem was seriously affecting his life.

How did he discover Aftazen?

Once, while he was under observation for another medical issue over several months, he realised with amazement that his mouth ulcers had diminished. He is curious, so he decided to investigate, and broke down the various extracts of the natural treatment which he had ingested. He read more than a 100 scientific papers on mouth ulcers, worked with a doctor and an expert in pharmacology, had tablets manufactured for each of the components and to the pinnacle of discovering a perfect combination, then enriching it, until his mouth ulcers finally entirely disappeared. His life has changed ever since.…

Now he has set up a company, based in France and exporting worldwide, call Previzen that provides sufferers around the world with a proper solution to mouth ulcers – a prevention instead of a cure. The product is called Aftazen.

Does it work?

It is a very new product and people are still trying it to see if it will work for them. Here is a video of someone who tried it:

Paul has been a regular supporter of the Mouth Ulcers Home Page. He has constantly suffered with chronic mouth ulcers since childhood. The following page summarises his experience over the last two years of specialist treatment (or being put through the mangle).

I must have tried just about everything to be free of mouth ulcers over the years, but all really to no avail. I am currently seeing a professor of Oral Medicine at Guys Hospital, London as the ulcers I get are beyond a joke. Thing is when I get them I feel really run down, tired and drained with them.

I have suffered with them since I was a kid. They have done blood tests (all normal apart from a little low in iron I think). For ages I have suspected all sorts of foods, such as salt & vinegar crisps (these seem to bring ulcers on definitely!) err.chocolate, coke, tomatoes…you name it really, but I have no real idea. Apparently they (NHS) don’t test for food allergies etc..I daresay if I waved a few £20 notes about it would be a different matter!!

I’ve been visiting Guy’s since pestering a local ENT/dental specialist at my local hospital to do more. It took me quite a struggle to actually get referred to Guy’s actually, for (as you probably know) GP’s don’t seem to be very keen in advancing you to a specialist for mouth ulcers. Guy’s have told me that treatment of mouth ulcers is “bread and butter” to them and they see many, many people suffering from ulcers. Perhaps I could enlighten you a little further to the basic information that Guy’s use and the ‘standard’ treatment plan that they start to administer. The treatment plan, is, I understand, the same for anyone suffering from ulcers and this is how they go about it:

Firstly you are assessed with your condition. They do this by asking you to say the following:-
1)     How many ulcers at any one time do you get?
For me it’s about 3-5 mostly on or under the tongue.
2)     Using a pain score of 1-10, where 1 is mild and 10 is severe how would you rate the average pain?
I usually say about 7-8, which is a high enough score for them to take seriously
3)     Describe the approximate size in mm (they show you pictures) of how big your ulcers get?
Again, with me, they vary, but I guess anything up to 1cm occasionally
4)     They then ask you if you feel it’s affecting your life badly.
I always say yes, really, as I feel so bloody awful with them (not just the obvious pain, but also the immense tiredness and drained feelings I always get with them)

The treatment plan is as follows… the duration of these medications can vary, but they do follow this pattern for most people: 1 x tablet called Betnesol 3 x per day (this is a little pink steroid tablet that you dissolve in a little warm water. You then rinse this around the mouth (generally only when you have the ulcers) and spit out. It’s supposed to act a little like Adcortyl in Orabase – namely that it doesn’t particularly help with the pain, but as it’s a steroid, it’s supposed to help with the healing process. To be honest, I didn’t notice an awful lot of difference. I had to try this for 3 months.

As this didn’t work , next time I went to Guys (after asking me again all the standard questions as above to see if you give any different answers) they put me on a tablet called Colchicine and still told me to take the Betnesol mouthwash as well. Colchine is an odd tablet, that my GP found hard to understand why it was prescribed. It’s most usual application is to help suffers of arthritis. Personally again, I found no real positive effect. This was tried for a further 3 months.

Next time I went they put me on Azathrioprine. As you may have read from my posts on the message board, this is an immune suppressant. There is current research which apparently suggests that your immune system could be acting too hard and destroying healthy cells in your mouth, hence this drug. They calculate how much you should take via your weight. They started me off on 1 x 50mg tablet per day (this did nothing) and then, 3 months later, upped it to 3 x 50mg per day. I weigh about 12 stone and this is really the maximum safe dose. You have to have regular blood tests whilst on this drug as it can affect the liver. I was fine though – mind you, a common side effect is, it makes you feel very sick, so you have to try and stick with it. It takes about 2 months to kick in to you system, but after 6 months again, I found no positive improvements.

The final ‘rung of the ladder’ is to treat the ulcers using Thalidomide. (Apparently it’s used frequently in AID’s suffers who get mouth ulcers to due some medication or something, and it’s supposed to be very successful). You have to have a muscle test first as it can affect the muscles, especially in your finger tips for some reason! If this doesn’t work, then Guy’s tend to say there is nothing further they can do, apart from go backwards and try the other drugs again. I said I wasn’t over keen on Thalidomide as I have recently started a family, and for obvious reasons was told to stay clear of it, if thinking of having more children.

I personally still think it could be food intolerance/allergy related. I have suggested this to Guy’s many times, but each time, they poo poo the idea and say that there is nothing they can do to help in this area (other than you keep a food diary etc.. which I tried but gave up as not getting any positive results from this).

I was suprised therefore when I was referred within Guy’s to the Dietician’s who have told me that people with recurrent mouth ulcers can be helped, hopefully, via a Cinnamon and Benzoate diet. I have never heard of this before and was amazed that they said 50% of suffers they put on this diet improve vastly.
Personally, as I said on the message board, I find this hard to believe, and wonder why…

a)   it isn’t more common knowledge
b)   I wasn’t told about this before, in the past two years?

Anyway, I mustn’t poo poo it just yet, as I am willing to give anything else a try. It’s interesting as it kind of ties in with some ‘suspect’ foods that I have always wondered about – namely the salad cream, pickled onions, flavoured crisps etc..

Got a reply back from the dieticians about posting the diet on the web-site – “The dietary advice is specific for your condition and only appropriate for you. Unfortunately therefore we cannot let it be placed on a website as there is a risk it could be used inappropriately. Anyone requiring specific dietary advice like this needs to be referred to an appropriate centre such as the Oral medicine clinic at Guy’s hospital.” …So very sorry, looks like we can’t put it up on the site – goodness knows why not as it’s only a basic list of foods to try and avoid !!

Many thanks for sharing this story Paul, lets hope the Cinnamon & Benzoate diet works. The progress of which will obviously be most welcome on the message board. Thanks again. October 2002.

Accreditation of original source: http://www.mouthulcers.org/paulsstory.html