Mouth Sores

What are Mouth Sores?
Mouth sores, also called mouth ulcer, oral ulcer, canker sores or fever blisters, are little cuts or ulcers in the mouth and may are red on the circumference and have small white patches in the middle. The sores may be seen on the tongue and inside of the cheeks. In most cases, there is only one sore, but there may be chances of more than one sore appearing in the mouth. When one is affected with canker sores, the person will find it difficult to eat or talk. They may bleed when seriously infected. The sores or ulcers can affect the lining in side of your mouth or mucous membranes or on your lips. The sores appear burn-like and can be painful, making it difficult to eat, talk, swallow and breathe. Sores can appear on any of the soft tissues of your lips or your mouth, including your gums, your tongue, or the roof and floor of your mouth. There are certain kind of mouth sores that can lead to cancer of mouth.

Causes of Mouth Sores
The common causes of mouth sore are varied. They can be caused, due to a weak immune system, as much as they can be causes due to poor oral hygiene. Let's find out the causes of this condition.

Infection Dehydration Poor mouth care Oxygen therapy Stress Deficiency of protein

Allergy Eating hot food Deficiency of vitamins Fatigue Poor immune system Injury inside the mouth

Hereditary Medicinal drugs Deficiency of iron Deficiency of folic acid Deficiency of Vitamin B12 Celiac disease

Inflammatory bowel disease Bacteria causing peptic ulcer Consumption alcohol or tobacco Toothpaste and mouthwash with sodium lauryl sulfate Radiation treatments to the head and neck area Hormonal changes before menstrual cycle

Signs and Symptoms of Mouth Sores
The general symptoms of mouth sores shows redness, shiny and swollen part inside of the mouth. It may also bleed inside the mouth while eating or while brushing. It may cause soreness or pain in mouth or even in throat. At times you may feel dry, mild burning sensation or pain while eating hot and cold food. You may observe a white or yellow, thin-film in mouth or on the tongue. Sometimes you see soft white patches or pus in the mouth with increased mucus in the mouth. Some people may also suffer from fever and listlessness. In rare cases, the lymph nodes may also be swollen. You may observe small ulcers or sores in mouth, on gums or even on the tongue.

Treatment for Mouth Sores
Primary treatment of mouth sore includes minimizing pain till the cells of mouth heal and begin regenerating after cancer treatment ends. Your treatment may follow as:

1. Check your mouth twice a day with the help of flashlight or padded Popsicle stick.
2. Use soft nylon bristle toothbrush while brushing your teeth. For softening of bristle you can even try keeping the brush in hot water before brushing.
3. Rinse the brush with hot water after brushing and keep it in cool and dry place. Make it a practice to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth thoroughly after every meal of the day.
4. Gently rinse your mouth with mouthwashes possibly after every meal. Please do check that the mouthwashes do not contain any alcoholic or toxic element with it.
5. Flossing with brushing is always good practice as flossing helps in removing the plaque where brush are enable to reach. Practice flossing at least once in a day.
6. Try keeping your lips moist with petroleum jelly and drink enough quantity of liquids or fluids without alcohol or irritants in it.
7. If the pain in the mouth continues and is severe then you can take pain medicines after recommendation of your doctor.
8. Be careful with your eating habits. Avoid eating too hot and too cold food. Eat soft, non-spicy and well cooked food. Avoid eating raw vegetables, very salty or high sugar foods.
9. Avoid drinks that contain alcohol and toxic elements. Also avoid tobacco by any means.
10. If you still suffer form sores then tell your doctor who may advice you for coating agent treatment. These medications coat the entire lining of mouth forming a film to protect the sores. It helps in minimizing the pain that you get while eating or drinking.
11. Depending upon the seriousness of the sore you may also be recommended topical painkillers which can be directly applied to your mouth sores.
12. Antihistamines, antacids, corticosteroids may be given to the patient for treating the condition.
13. While the pain continues as eating you should take care of your food. Do not eat sharp, crunchy food.
14. Practice having small meals more frequently and food should be cut into small pieces.
15. Use straw for drinking liquids that can help you in keeping the liquids away from sore areas in your mouth.

When to seek Doctor's Appointment?
Mouth sores when serious makes eating and drinking difficult. If this condition persists and eating or drinking becomes a problem, medical advice should be sort for. You must consult doctor if you have bleeding gums. If redness, shininess or swelling continues for more than 48 hours you must ask for medical help. Also check if there is any sort of cut or sore in the mouth with whitish or yellowish patches inside the mouth or even on tongue.

Preventive Measures and Conduct
Even though there is no assuring way to prevent mouth sores you can always reduce the risks of developing serious sores in mouth. Preventive measures always start with regular dental checkup. If you are being treated for cancer then consult your doctor for any unsolved gum disease, cavities or removing any of your teeth, etc. A good preventive measure is to take care of your teeth by brushing your teeth and flossing it at regular intervals, at least twice a day. Smoking is injurious to health and especially to oral health. Eat a balanced diet that contains proper proportion of vitamins and nutrients and drink plenty of water.

If a person is suffering from cancer, then depending on the stage of cancer and the treatment given, the doctor may recommend a different line of treatment to reduce the risk of mouth sores, like cryotherapy or cold therapy, medications to repair mouth cells (destroyed by radiation), low-energy laser therapy, etc.

There are certain home remedies, which prove to be helpful in treating mouth sores. One of the simplest remedy is to mix baking soda with water and apply it to the affected part in the mouth. Glycerin also proves to be of great help in treating cuts in mouth.