My son keeps getting canker sores -- any advice?

[Nestof3]

He used to get them all the time, and then stopped. He now has another one. Nothing has changed in his diet.

 

Has anyone experienced this with children? He is 11 years old.

 

Could it be a deficiency? We have not changed toothpaste.

[lailasmum]

A friend of mine is having the same problem at the moment. A naturopathic medecine book I have says It can be B vitamin deficiency.

[Nestof3]

A friend of mine is having the same problem at the moment. A naturopathic medecine book I have says It can be B vitamin deficiency.

 

Interesting. My brother had them growing up, and his dentist told him to take a multivitamin.

 

I do have some Vitamin B complex. Perhaps I'll cut it in half and start giving it to him. It tastes horrible, though. :tongue_smilie: He is, unfortunately, the worst eater in the house.

 

But looking, I see he eats lots of things with Vit. B. He scrambles his own eggs, makes grilled cheese for himself for lunch, loves cheese sticks, and eats oatmeal.

[Annie Laurie]

My teen gets them all the time. We had read that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate can contribute to them and switched his toothpaste, but it made no difference. My son definitely does not have a poor diet or immune problems- he rarely gets sick and we eat a lot of veggies and fresh fish and such. So we're at a loss.

[Hen]

I've had them my whole life, almost every month...we used the same toothpaste my whole life, crest. Last year or so, we were using the pro-health crest and they made it different somehow, and no more canker sores. I felt really stupid that it was my toothpaste all those years.

 

so, no I hadn't switched ever, until the formula changed. Now I use that specific formula (not the regular) or I get a natural brand.

 

they are horrible, I feel bad for your son. I hope you find something that helps.

[hsmamainva]

I agree about the toothpaste.

 

I suffered with them my entire life until I switched to Tom's of Maine Natural Toothpaste. Haven't had a canker sore in YEARS.

 

You can buy Toms of Maine just about everywhere. It's a fairly common brand (unlike some natural brands that you can only find at health food stores).

 

I highly recommend trying this. All you'll lose is around $3.00 for the toothpaste if it doesn't work.

[Jamie Z]

We stopped mint toothpaste. It really seemed to help. All the sudden my son started getting them. The Dr. here recommended stopping the mint toothpaste and it worked.

 

Blessings,

Jamie Z.

[FeFe]

I have a friend who gets them when she drinks orange juice.

[mytwomonkeys]

i get them too. it usually stems from when i accidentally bite my cheek inside my mouth....it then turns into a canker sore. i've never noticed any other "triggers". i hate them! the only thing that helps me is lysine & a warm salt water rinse.

[laundrycrisis]

A ped dentist told me they can result from being "rough" when brushing, or biting or bumping the inside of the mouth. He said to be very gentle when brushing. My DH gets them all the time - and he is very rough when he brushes his teeth. He switched to an SLS free toothpaste and it has helped some. Here is an article with a list:

 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1252389/how_not_to_irritate_canker_sores_when.html?cat=70

[emilia]

I got those as a kid and then this summer after canning 24 jars of homemade strawberry jam I started getting them again. OUCH! I used acidophilus as a child and again this summer. It's a probiotic and I have no idea why or how it works but it does and it's inexpensive. Seems to work as a preventative too.

[Holly in FL]

Just make sure to check the ingredients. Not all Tom's are SLS free.

 

~Holly

[unsinkable]

DS gets them from mouth injuries and stress. When he was a tween, he'd get them before playoffs or big games in hockey.

 

This year, when the bullying started again on the 2nd day of school, he got 4 huge ones, 2 on each side of his mouth.

 

He had to take tylenol for the pain and put medication on them just so he could eat. He couldn't talk without being in pain.

 

They are awful, big open sores. I can't stand them.

 

DH & I both got them as children and young adults.

[LuvToRead]

I love to eat high acid foods, and used to get cankers all the time. My dentist told me to eat yogurt every day. Now, I rarely get cankers. I guess the yogurt reduces the acid that causes cankers.

[Rhonda in TX]

DS and DH use Arm and Hammer toothpaste and it really helps control them.

[3byzaz]

Oh my gosh - I have been getting them since I was 4 years old. BAD - like 30 at a time when I was a teen. It seems vitamin related cuz if I miss one I get them. I never knew it could be related to toothpaste...hmmm...will have to pay attention to that. My son's get them too, but luckily not as bad as me!

 

Learn something new every day!!

[TheCoffeeChick]

My mom swears by L-Lysine - an amino acid sold at most places that sell vitamins. I don't know if there are any studies or anything, but she always takes it to prevent canker sores or if she's forgotten to take it for a bit to help them heal quicker.

[jcgonczi]

I second the L-Lysine. No idea why it works, but it does.

[EKS]

I get them when I start eating more fruit during the summer.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

He used to get them all the time, and then stopped. He now has another one. Nothing has changed in his diet.

 

Has anyone experienced this with children? He is 11 years old.

 

Could it be a deficiency? We have not changed toothpaste.

 

 

 

My dh gets them when he drinks too much Diet Coke. I'm not sure which chemical in the formula causes them. But, when he lays off the Coke, his sores go away.

[Heather in AL]

No advice, just :grouphug: for your son. I *hate* those things!!

 

I used to get them once in a while as a kid and *all* the time while in college and I just figured they were stress related. I've only had a few since then, and they were always after a stressful time. A 50/50 water & hydrogen peroxide rinse a few times a day was all I used. I never thought about prevention. I'm making notes on what others have said. Interesting!!

 

I hope you find something that helps your ds.

[min]

I stopped getting them when I drastically reduced the amount of orange juice I was having. In my case, I think it was a food intolerance. I'm not sure precisely what - maybe salicylates or glutamates - but reducing the OJ seems to have dropped me back below my tolerance threshold.

 

Min

[lauranc]

Ouch. They are really painful. I used to get them as a child, and the dr. told my mom it was from stress (we had a lot of 'stuff' going on at home). I still get them when I'm under stress. My oldest son also suffers from them when under stress or when he hasn't had proper sleep (when his body is just run down).

 

I haven't found any food/toothpaste that seems to bring them on... just stress.

 

You might check to see if he's feeling stressed out-- and if so, maybe some relaxation techniques would help him.

[AnotherLinda]

I don't have any advice about avoiding them. I got a lot of canker sores when I had my braces. My orthodontist recommended Peroxyl mouthwash to help them heal faster. It was kind of pricey, but it helped them go away.

[OrganicAnn]

I used to get them fairly often from age 12 to 24 (approx). I always thought it was from eating acidic food like tomatoes (I <3 Tomatoes). I still eat a lot of tomatoes, but don't get them so often. I've also heard that stress can cause them.

 

I've heard that there is some chemical in tea that helps heal them. Also I think rinsing out your mouth with warm salt water helps.

[CoastalGal]

Dianne Craft suggests that cankers can be a sign of yeast overgrowth. Has he been on antibiotics that could have disturbed the natural flora??

[Nestof3]

I second the L-Lysine. No idea why it works, but it does.

 

Thanks. I actually have some I bought for myself (I have no idea why, LOL), and I have started giving it to him.

[Nestof3]

Dianne Craft suggests that cankers can be a sign of yeast overgrowth. Has he been on antibiotics that could have disturbed the natural flora??

 

No. He hasn't been sick in ages.

[Nestof3]

Ouch. They are really painful. I used to get them as a child, and the dr. told my mom it was from stress (we had a lot of 'stuff' going on at home). I still get them when I'm under stress. My oldest son also suffers from them when under stress or when he hasn't had proper sleep (when his body is just run down).

 

I haven't found any food/toothpaste that seems to bring them on... just stress.

 

You might check to see if he's feeling stressed out-- and if so, maybe some relaxation techniques would help him.

 

I can attest that it has been stressful around here. He came out last night saying he couldn't sleep and if I could hold him. Part of it was from the pain of the canker sore. The other part, I think, is concern over his brother leaving the house.

[redmom3]

No doubt at all that my son gets them after drinking straight juice too much--apple or cranberry is usually what we have.

[Julie in AZ]

My mom and dd get them from tomatoes (just another food to check).

[Guest lubash10]

i realize this thread is a little old but i'm hoping it still receives hits.

a sure cure for canker sores is plain old fashioned CABBAGE.

you can fix it any way you want as long as you eat it a couple of days in a row. it sounds crazy i know, but it's an old home remedy given and used by me for many years.

 

my son's like corn beef and cabbage. if you can't get them to eat that then use lots of broth and just have them drink the juice. you can try steamed, coleslaw, stir fry. any form as long as they eat it.

 

it's amazing, but it absolutely works!!

 

my son's use to get canker sores when they were little and this is what i have always used. now as adults, they use cabbage the same way.

 

i have had a few friends who have gone thru cancer treatment that had terrible canker sores and they tried it and couldn't believe how it worked.

 

it's cheap, easy and always on hand.

 

i wish you all luck

[tmulcahy]

My teen gets them all the time. We had read that Sodium Lauryl Sulfate can contribute to them and switched his toothpaste, but it made no difference. My son definitely does not have a poor diet or immune problems- he rarely gets sick and we eat a lot of veggies and fresh fish and such. So we're at a loss.

 

Changing toothpaste has helped my daughter a great deal. She does still get them but not nearly as often.

 

She ate Skittles the other day and told me her mouth felt funny. The next day she had a canker. I do think that some foods trigger them.

[tmulcahy]

Oh wow. I just realized how old this thread was. But thanks for the cabbage tip.

[Stratford]

My mom swears by L-Lysine - an amino acid sold at most places that sell vitamins. I don't know if there are any studies or anything, but she always takes it to prevent canker sores or if she's forgotten to take it for a bit to help them heal quicker.

 

Ditto this. My dentist told me to try it when I was having trouble with canker sores, I rarely get them anymore.