Hi all,
Hoping someone might have some suggestions about coping with canker sores? I've gotten them my whole life, either with no cause or in response to mouth trauma (biting the inside of my lip, by accident, I'll usually get a canker sore on that site). Since going gluten-free, I've had more sores, and I now have a real doozy of a set on the upper left.

I'm also curious if anyone's been dx'd w/ aphthous stomatitis. I've read a little bit, but it's unclear to me whether all of these mouth ulcer are AS or only some, and how you tell.

So, if someone has an over- the-counter gluten-free remedy, or a way to get rid/less of them, or just has experience with them, I'd love to hear about it.

Hi Grey,
I had a major problem with biting myself and developing painful ulcers that would actually eat away and become worse before getting better. They would last 2-4 weeks and usually I bit myself again during healing. As soon as I bit myself I would get so depressed because I knew how painful the next few weeks would be and nothing seemed to help.

It took 2 years of gluten free diet and lots of B12 and vitamin D3 and finally if I do bite myself, (which is rare these days) amazingly it heals within a couple of days...it is like a miracle....and to think I have been complaining to doctors and dentists for 20 years about this problem!!!

I did find I CAN NOT eat any food processed in a gluten environment so if you have been gluten free for awhile and are still having problems try eliminating processed foods and eat totally natural....your body will thank you for this and so will your mouth!

Ozz

My wife has celiac disease and pernicious anemia, so she has to get the B12 injections. She says that helped a lot with the problem. She believe hers had something to do with yeast overgrowth (also had some female troubles too that went away with the B12 shots).

I also get them, but I think mine come from stomach acid overproduction. I try to change my diet to help. I also got myself a product called Ora5. It helps get rid of them pretty fast.

What is ora5? Is it a topical thing? I'd like to have some on hand. It took the last batch a really long time to heal and they were excruciating. Is it over the counter?

Yeast overgrowth is interesting and I need to look in to that. I'm already on B12 injections and a low-acid diet - which improves other things, but not this, sadly.

thanks

Yes, Ora5 is a a topical solution and they have a website at www.ora5.com Really helped me a lot. I also remembered that I switched to a natural toothpaste that doesnt contain sodium lauryl sulfate as I have read that it can influence mouth sores. Between those two things I noticed a dramatic improvement.

If you go to dentist.net they have a section for canker sores and also a selection of sls free toothpaste. Dr. Katz also sells oral products that dont contain sls or other irritating ingredients and topical treatments. He's got a site at www.drkatz.com. Hope this helps!!!

Hi Grey,

I, too, had canker sores for years. Mine were also in response to biting my mouth or sometimes with no known cause. Thought it was normal, or at least a normal response to stress. 1-2 per month. I've only had one since I went gluten free and it was right after being accidentally glutened. Funny that you have more.

However, before diagnosis, my baby brother (an MD and MPH) said to eat garlic, preferably raw. So every time I get a sore, I make home-made hummus or Greek salad or ceasar salad. Cooked garlic is less potent but helps too. It clears them up within a day and seems to help with the pain right away. Anyway, it can't hurt, unless you're allergic to garlic.

I'm also very careful with toothpaste and haven't changed mine in 10 years. Whenever I try a new one, I get mouth sores. So, you could try a new one.

And I'd try the B-12 too. I just started taking the sub-lingual version.

~Laura

Chronic canker sores was what lead to my diagnosis---Ive neve had a GI problem. I have tried nearly every remedy under the sun and have found tht over the counter pain releivers such as advil are the best choice untill the sores run their course. Seems to take 5-7 days no matter what you do!!!!

Thanks for the comments! I too always thought they were normal -but I'm learning a lot of quirky things I thought were normal were celiac disease.

I ran out of my old toothpaste (Crest) not long after being dx'd, and used a some small travel ones, then switched again to a full-size Crest (which I thought gave me a rxn), and then to Tom's of Maine. Maybe that's why I had more after dx - all the changing.

I know all of these have sodium laurel sulfate - I might try switching to one without.

I'm fascinated by the garlic; I haven't eaten much since dx, but maybe I'll try it with the next outbreak!

thanks

I mentioned to my daughter's dentist that she was diagnosed with Celiac and asked about the ramifications of it dental-wise. I was expecting a conversation about enamel defects, but she said she is most likely to suffer from canker sores (at least more than the average Joe). She recommended just coating them as needed with a little milk of magnesia (sp?). We haven't had to try it so I don't know if it works, but it would be easy to try since we have it in the house.

In hind sight, the amazing thing is that she new what Celiac was and didn't bat an eye.