Why does it seem as if the smallest, slightest injuries are the ones that are most painful? Or at least, cause pain that is disproportionate to the severity of the injury? Papercuts sting to no end. And canker sores! If they are *just* in the right location of your mouth where they receive a lot of "traffic", you're gonna be talking funny for a while.
I usually only get them if I'm careless with my toothbrushing-- if the toothbrush slips and slams into my gum. The gum canker sores aren't quite so bad as the inner mouth ones, because at least gums don't rub against your teeth. So they really only hurt when food collides with them. But hey-- I'm not eating 24/7, right?
More perplexing are the ones that develop on the inside of your mouth, where constant rubbing against your teeth causes steady, endless irritation. Sometimes they appear when I accidentally bite my cheek. But often times, they seem to materialize out of nowhere. Really strange!
Regardless of where they are, upon the onset of symptoms, I usually sigh and resign myself to about 2 weeks of discomfort. It's a long two weeks! I've tried rinsing with salt water, which alleviates the pain momentarily (for about 5 minutes), but does nothing to speed up healing. I've tried mouthwash, which stings but then numbs, as well. Still takes 2 weeks to heal. Then one time, while brushing my teeth, I accidentally raked my toothbrush right across the canker sore. Hard. My mouth exploded in pain, and it actually bled! But surprisingly, THIS, of all things, seemed to speed up healing. Unfortunately, it's too painful an endeavor for me to ever do it again to myself, at least on purpose. Believe me, I've tried. But I just can't bring myself to do it.
So, all I can do is wait. And do a saltwater rinse for temporary pain relief if need be.
What are your remedies, home or store-bought, for canker sores? Do you do anything that helps ease the pain for longer periods of time? Any secrets to shortening those wretched couple weeks of pain? ;-P
When we all went to Vegas, I had TWO canker sores, one on my bottom lip (toward the right side) from biting my lip while eating, and the other on my upper lip (on the left side) from a too-sharp plastic spoon I had used while eating yogurt! Both of them had already been there for a good week, and I thought they'd NEVER go away. The only thing I could do for the pain was swish ice cold water around, or use Orajel for temporary numbness. And I had to eat REALLY carefully to avoid biting the same spots again (which, yeah, I did several times). Those things are pesky!
ReplyDeleteOw! When I posted this, I had two as well-- a small one right next to a bigger one that slowly merged into one giant one. They started going away just in time for Thanksgiving dinner and post-Thanksgiving karaoke, whew! I don't know what I would have done if I'd had to worry about them during a fun trip like Vegas!
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