Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Base on my dentist, mouth ulcers are like colds, some
    people get it, some don't.  And there is no cure, also
    no way to prevent.  However, the dentists can prescribe
    some medicine to apply on the ulcers, which will relieve
    the pain and help recovering.  
    
    I am one of the people that get the ulcers often.  It is
    very uncomfortable, sometimes painful.  I would consult your
    dentist immediately.
    
    Wendy       

    
    A mild mothwash of warm water and baking soda (the miracle product of
    all times) can cut down on pain. If applied early enough in powder
    formdirectly on the budding sore (mouth sore and not lip sore) it can
    help to cut down on the duration of the sore.
    
    	One of those old wives tales that really works for me.
    
    				Wendy

    The baking soda works for me.   I've also found a mild mouthwash
    of warm salt water helps.
    
    --bonnie

    Growing up our dentist recommended a commercial product called
    "Gly-Oxide", it is as its name implies a combination of glycerine and
    peroxide, (50-50 I think)  It seem to cure mouth sores (cankers) almost
    overnight.  I suspect you could make this yourself, almost everyone has
    hydrogin peroxide in their medicine cabinet, and you buy a small bottle
    of glycerine.  (use what's left to sooth a sore throat maybe?)  
    
    I'm pretty sure the stuff is still sold, I've been making my own the
    last couple times.
    
    Would something like Ambesol be a solution, it would numb the sore and
    promote healing.
    
    Lyn

    When I recently got a cold sore in my mouth, the pharmacist recomended
    "Gly-Oxide", too.  I asked if I could use regular hydrogen peroxide.
    The answer was, yes, diluted with water (a 50/50 solution).  The
    hydrogen peroxide solution is just as effective (just swish it
    around your mouth then get rid of it), and substantially less
    expensive.  Gly-Oxide tastes a lot better, though, and might be easier
    to convince a child to take.
    
    					Mair
    

    I get mouth ulcers and Gly-Oxide works real well.  I prefer the natural
    cure though and use buttermilk.  You rub a qtip full of buttermilk on
    the sore a few times a day and before you know it, it is gone.  You can
    also drink the buttermilk, but I don't like it so I use the Q-tip
    method.  The dentist told me about it years ago.  There is something in
    the buttermilk that nurteralizes the sore.  They are caused by having
    to much acid in your mouth.
    
    Kathy
    

    About 10 years ago a dermatologist perscribed something called "Topsyn"
    for that very problem.  It worked wonders!  The sores would disappear
    in a matter of days.  I'm not sure if it's still being perscribed, but
    it sure worked for me.

    Hi!
    
    I often get mouth sores we call them cancor sores.  I use to get them
    more when I had braces.  I found that too many acidy type foods (ie.
    tomato or pineapple even oranges or orange juice spagetti sauce) are
    the cause of my sores.  I also found a realitively new mouth rinse
    called perioxlyl.  Which is a minty tasting hydrogen perioxide works
    great on sore gums and my mouth sores.  I had a real problem in Hawaii
    I love pineapple and they serve it with everything, but I was afraid to
    eat to much of it.
    
    hope that this info helped
    
    roseann

    I've had similiar problems, I tend to get mine deep down in my throat.
    The secret according to my doctor is to change the PH of your mouth
    from an acidy environment to one that is more basic. (raise the PH)
    He suggested that I gargle with Maalox a few times a day and sure
    enough after a day or so the sores have quieted down.  
    
    What does the pedi recommend?

You might also find that a wet tea-bag helps.  I think it's the tannic
acid in it that does the trick.

Liz

    A doctor once told me to take L-Lysine, an amino acid that you can find
    at the health food store (it's sold with the vitamins).  As with any 
    medicine, however, consult your child's doctor for advice/dosage.
    
    I had approximately 3-5  bad mouth ulcers per month before starting the
    lysine.  I hadn't had a single ulcer for a year, so I stopped taking
    it. Lo and behold, the next week another appeared, so I've started
    taking it again.

    
    Folic acid also works....My husband tried the L-lysine but it did
    not work....he had them constantly, sometimes 5 at one time....
                                           
    You may want to check with your doctor...Folic Acid is in
    multi-vitamins and B-complex vitamins..my hubby takes 1 multi
    and 1 B-complex 100 timed release and hasn't had any in 6 months....
    he's getting approximately 800 mcg's...
    
    Kristen

    There's an old-fashioned remedy I haven't seen mentioned yet - alum.
    Sometimes I get cankers so bad that one side of my face will get puffy
    (thankfully the cankers seem to gather on one side or the other).  I've
    tried all the other home treatments, been to doctors and dentists, and
    the only thing that works for me is alum.
    
    You can mix it with water and use it to rinse your mouth.  Or if you're
    brave (I wouldn't do this to a child!) you can put the dry powder on
    the canker (that's the only way it works for me).  It doesn't hurt when
    it's mixed with water and used as a rinse, but it's no picnic when you
    use it dry.
        Conni

    Where do you get alum?
    
    Serv

    I got mine at a local pharmacy, which isn't a part of a big 
    chain (I don't think the chain stores have as much freedom
    in ordering stock).  Sometimes they have it behind the counter,
    so just ask when you go in.  One jar lasts a long time.
    
    Conni

    Honestly, I haven't seen alum in *years*, I wasn't even aware it still
    exists.  As for .15, I'd tend to disagree, I've gotten lots of unusual,
    or "old fashion" remedies at places like CVS or Brooks Drug.  I'd even
    wonder if you couldn't get it at a natural food store?
    
    Now refresh me if you will, What exactly IS Alum?
    
    Lyn

aluminum oxide

According to my DEC-issued dictionary, alum  is "any of several similar
double sulfates, esp. AlK(SO4)2�12H2O, used medicinally as topical
astringents and styptics."  [All numbers except the "12" should be subscripts.]