Dental Articles - Ajax
How Do You Get Rid of Cold Sores and Canker Sores?
Posted by Dr. Nahida Kazi on Thu, 1 Dec 2022
How Do You Get Rid of Cold Sores and Canker Sores?
Oral lesions resulting from canker and cold sores have a similar feeling and appearance but result from different causes. For example, the mouth’s soft tissues are where canker sores occur by various factors, including injuries to your mouth’s insides and vitamin deficiencies.
Your lips and the area around them are where cold sores occur, but in some cases, they can also appear inside your mouth. Cold sores are infections resulting from the herpes simplex virus.
Please learn how to identify the difference between canker sores and cold sores and how to get rid of them with the information in this article.
Identifying Cold Sores and Canker Sores
The insides of your mouth, such as your gums, the insides of the cheeks and lips, on and below your tongue, and the soft palate or the muscular area at the rear of the roof of your mouth are prime locations for canker sores to occur. You might notice a burning or tingling feeling before the appearance of canker sores. The size of canker sores varies from small to large, although they are generally oval. Large canker sores, alternatively called Major canker sores, are also relatively painful and require time to heal. A less common type of canker sore called herpetiform canker sore occurs in clusters the size of pinpricks occurring later in life.
The symptoms of cold sores depend on whether you have a new infection of the herpes simplex virus or are infected by it. If you have a new infection, you might experience burning or tingling accompanied by the development of painful sores on and around your lips, in the mouth, nose, or other areas of the face. In addition, you might experience throat pain when swallowing, fever, body aches and pain, headaches, swollen lymph nodes and nausea. Unfortunately, if the virus infected you some time ago, you might experience periodic outbreaks of cold sores providing warning signs besides the appearance of cold sores filled with fluids causing immense pain, crusting over cold sores because of the sores breaking open and forming scabs. However, cold sores heal without scars in approximately a couple of weeks.
When to Seek Medical Help Canker or Cold Sores
You must seek canker sore and cold sore treatment in Ajax, ON, if you notice unusually large sores that don’t heal within two weeks, recur frequently, cause challenges when eating and drinking, or are accompanied by high fever.
Diagnosing Canker and Cold Sores
The dentist near me can diagnose canker or cold sores after considering your medical history and conducting a physical exam. For example, the professional might take a sample from the sore to test for the herpes simplex virus to diagnose cold sores.
Unfortunately, if you have canker sores, the dentist might perform blood work checking for nutritional deficiencies, immune conditions, and food allergies.
Treatment for Canker Sores and Cold Sores
Canker sores generally do not need treatment and disappear by themselves within a couple of weeks. However, if you have large and painful canker sores, treatment options for them include over-the-counter creams and gels applied on the sores directly, prescription mouthwashes to ease pain and swelling, oral medications such as steroids that help with canker sores not responding to other therapies and cautery which requires the professional to use chemicals or instruments to destroy the canker sore.
If underlying health concerns like nutritional deficiencies result in canker sores, the dentist works with you to treat them with the canker sores.
Similar to canker sores, cold sores also disappear by themselves in a few weeks. However, some therapies help ease the symptoms and speed healing. The treatments include over-the-counter creams or gels with topical anesthetics to reduce pain, creams to shorten the outbreak by around 24 hours and prescription antiviral drugs.
Recovery from Cold Sores and Canker Sores
Recovery from cold or canker sores occurs within a week or two without treatment, and some medications help recover. However, if you have sores in the mouth that don’t heal after two weeks, you must seek medical attention.
The precise reasons for canker sores are still unknown. Therefore you can help prevent the development by protecting your mouth from injury, reducing stress and having a healthy diet.
The HSV infection causes cold sores, and the virus doesn’t leave your body after you are infected. However, cold sores also clear up by themselves in a few weeks, with antiviral medications helping speed recovery.
If you have painful sores around or in the mouth that don’t subside in about two weeks, you find it beneficial to seek treatment from the Ajax dentist, providing a suitable remedy to ease the problem.
Rossland Landing Dental Care provides treatment for cold sores and canker sores in Ajax. If you have these painful sores in and around your mouth, consulting the practice for a remedy helps ease the discomfort and speed healing.
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