Tongue Ulcers NVR
Posted by Anonymous on Jun 18, 2007 · Member since Dec 1969 · 11789 posts
I kept getting ulcers on the underside of my tongue. They are really annoying and often painful. Apparently lack of b12, iron and folic acid can cause them so I'm going back on the vitamins. Does anyone else have experience with ulcers? How can I relieve the pain and get them to heal quicker? And what caused yours?
Sounds terrible. Hope you get to feeling better!
Well, I know for cankers, it is great to gargle with salt water. My holistic vet told me years ago that salt is very helpful but for any of you who have put salt on a canker or sore anywhere, it stings. She told me sea salt doesn't and she was right! So, I would suggest gargling with sea salt and water a few times a day.
As well, on a sore for an animal, sea salt and a warm water compress truly helps. Because for some reason, sea salt just doesn't sting!
It always amazes me if I have an open wound or sore anywhere, swimming in the ocean helps. It is at least worth a try. Good luck!!!!!
Di
You might want to try looking at your lysine intake. If you are getting more arginine than lysine (two different amino acids), it can cause canker sore flare ups. Getting more lysine can help keep them at bay. It can be hard to get more lysine than arginine on a vegetarian diet.
Another thing to look into is using toothpaste without sodium lauryl sulfate. These can be a total pain to find, though. Rembrandt makes a toothpaste that is specifically for people with canker sores.
Both of the above have significantly helped me, but another thing that helps me is to not eat tortilla chips all the time! The combination of salt and rough texture tends to tear up my mouth, which can also cause canker sores. Good luck! I know how annoying and painful they are, so I hope you are able to find something that works.
I'll have to do some research into this lysine/arginine thing. I have a natural toothpaste so it shouldn't have sodium lauryl sulphate, but I'll check. I'll buy some sea salt too. I knew that salt would help, but I couldn't bare to do it. Oh, the childhood memories of gargling salt water. Thanks for all your help. These things have been driving me crazy. Any more suggestions are welcome. I plan to try it all.
I knew that salt would help, but I couldn't bare to do it. Oh, the childhood memories of gargling salt water.
Well, lucky for you, you needn't "gargle" if the are under your tounge (not in your throat) just hold the salt water in your mouth as long as you can and then spit. ;)
Another thing to look at is acid intake. When I eat too many tomatoes or citrus fruits I flare up.
If your toothpaste doesn't have SLS in it, please let me know what it is! You're not in the US, right (?) but maybe it's something I can find here. Even Tom's of Maine, a supposedly natural toothpaste, has SLS in it. It is very aggravating. And the Rembrandt I use is around $8 for a small tube, and who knows what else is in it and what kind of testing it's undergone :(
I found the following link on a raw food site that talks about canker sores and lysine.
http://goneraw.com/forums/3/topics/705
Midway through the page, someone has posted a list of foods and their lysine-to-arginine ratio. Look at the last number that comes after each food. That is the ratio. For instance, papaya, has a ratio of 2.533, which means it has more than twice as much lysine as arginine, so it's a good food to eat. Any ratio under 1 means the food has more arginine than lysine. You can see, unforunately, that a lot of excellent ratios are found in non-vegan foods.
Another resource I use frequently is http://www.nutritiondata.com/
You can look up a food, and way down at the bottom at the right, it will have a list of the amino acids in the food, and you can see exactly how much lysine and arginine is in it. I do try to keep in mind which foods are good and bad, but honestly, I take a 500mg supplement every morning, and that works great!
It seems that almost everything I eat is higher in arginine than lysine. Strangely the nutrition data site says quinoa has slightly more arginine than lysine. The toothpaste I use is SLS free. It's made by Red Seal and called Natural Herbal and Mineral Toothpaste http://www.redseal.co.nz/natural-herbal-and-mineral-toothpaste-110g-sls-free-no-added-fluoride-xidp587.html only the Mineral and Herbal one is SLS free.
It seems that almost everything I eat is higher in arginine than lysine.
Same here. Isn't it annoying?
Bummer. I can't find it in the US. Thanks for posting the brand though!
I get a lot of canker sores due to Crohn's Disease...for whatever reason they seem to go along with it. When my CD was really active I'd have 8 at one time. :'(
I always used Alum powder. It doesn't taste the greatest but works really well. It was something my mom told me to try.
I read somewhere that cutting open a raisin and rubbing it on the sore helps it heal quicker.
I never knew that they correlated with iron deficiency... maybe that's why raisins help, being high in iron? Just a thought.
Are you getting enough vitamin C? I know the canker sores are helped by taking vitamin C and a B complex. This could also be a food allergy, even to something you used to eat happily. Food allergies, like medication allergies, can pop up at any point during the lifespan.
Keep us posted and hope this heals up quickly for you.
Totally off topic, but i have the cutest little 1yr old boy asleep on my lap. Aw, so cute.
Awww!
If your toothpaste doesn't have SLS in it, please let me know what it is! You're not in the US, right (?) but maybe it's something I can find here. Even Tom's of Maine, a supposedly natural toothpaste, has SLS in it. It is very aggravating. And the Rembrandt I use is around $8 for a small tube, and who knows what else is in it and what kind of testing it's undergone :(
I use Jason Sea Fresh and it doesn't have SLS and it is very tasty. I don't think any of their toothpastes have SLS. I don't know if they are all vegan but they do have the cruelty-free bunny on them. I bought mine before transitioning, but from what I can read off mine (the tube is kind of crumpled) it looks vegan to me. I got mine at the local HFS.
Awesome! Thank you!!!