Unexplained Mouth Sores

[Joanne Larsen]

Bruce,
Your friend probably has canker sores which are caused by a herpes virus.
She can get immediate relief by mixing equal parts of maalox and liquid
benedryl.  She should swish this mixture in her mouth and then spit out.
Don't rinse mouth afterwards.  The benedryl will numb her mouth and the
maalox helps coat it.  Unfortunately, this combo won't "cure" herpes caused
canker sores.

I am very surprised that doctors and dentists don't know what a canker sore
looks like let alone that they are caused by the herpes virus which remains
dormant in a person's body until some "stress" causes a flare up.

Joanne Larsen MS RD LD
Ask the Dietitian
http://www.dieititian.com


At 03:44 AM 9/14/98 -0500, Bruce J. Ketchum wrote:

>Unexplained Mouth Sores

>

>I have a friend that has suffered her whole life with strange, painful 

>mouth sores. They are shallow, canker-like sores that appear weekly. They 

>present themselves in the typical areas like inside the cheek and lips, 

>but also, strangely, on the gums and roof of her mouth. Not a day goes by 

>that she does not have at least one in her mouth, and it has been as bad 

>as 15 at one time. The pain can be so severe that she can¹t speak.

>

>-The mouth ulcers are single or clustered shallow painful ulcers found 

>anywhere in the oral cavity.

>- The lesions are from 1 to 5 mm in diameter, have fairly even borders, 

>are surrounded by a reddened area and are often covered by a white 

>membrane.

>- Lesions usually resolve themselves in 3 to 10 days, but are recurrent.

>

>She has seen both medical and dental specialists about this problem and 

>nothing has been found. Cultures have revealed nothing. Poor sleeping 

>habits cause these sores to flare up. When she is sick with a cold these 

>sores also will flare up. Any changes in her life, be it sleep, nutrition 

>or stress, are guaranteed to bring a heavy onslaught of the sores. Still, 

>when her life is ³normal² she still has one to three in her mouth.

>

>Her diet is fairly normal. The only thing that stands out is that she 

>drinks a lot of milk and eats a lot of grapes. Other than that, it is 

>normal, mixed, North American diet.

>

>Under the guidance of a doctor, she previously attempted a food 

>elimination process for a short period of time with no positive results.

>

>Her oral hygiene is very good. She brushes two to three times a day and 

>flosses once a day. She changes her tooth brush frequently.

>

>Any suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

>

>Sincerely yours,

>

>Bruce Ketchum

>bketchum at endureplus.com

>

>