Home Care for Mouth Sores

Even though mouth sores can be painful, uncomfortable and unsightly, there are some easy home remedies which are effective ways to treat them.

One of the most tried and tested is simple salt water. By adding a teaspoon of salt to a small glass of cold water and gargling it in the mouth for thirty seconds, you can possibly get rid of the infection.

The salt water mix can be used at the early stages of a mouth sore. If the mouth sore is more aggressive it might need a stronger treatment. Add sodium bicarbonate to the mix of salt water to create a paste. This paste can then be dabbed with a cotton swab onto the infected area.

A similar treatment is a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water which can also be dabbed to the infected area. If the mouth sore is causing a lot of pain, it is possible to take any standard pain killer.

In cases where the mouth sore is more severe, antiseptic mouthwashes and anti-inflammatory gel may be necessary. There are also some non-prescription creams, gels and mouthwashes available from the pharmacy that are particularly useful at the early stages of mouth sores.

Once the mouth sore has appeared there are certain things that the sufferer will do best to avoid. They include hot beverage drinks such as tea and coffee, spicy foods, salty foods and citrus like grapefruit and orange. If mouth burn occurs, sucking on popsicles or gargling cool water can offer some relief.

Another good home remedy is milk of magnesia. Again this can be applied with a cotton swab to the affected area. It was aid faster healing. To increase the strength of the milk of magnesia, add liquid antihistamine to the milk and use this as a rinse. It is important not to swallow any of the mixture.

Cold sores are another type of mouth sore that is quite common. Cold sores can be dealt with at home by keeping a tube of Zovirax or similar product in the bathroom medicine cabinet. The minute the sufferer feels that tell-tale tingle, apply the cream and if caught in time, this should keep the cold sore at bay.

Home care for mouth sores is not always possible. This relates to incidence where the pain of the mouth sores is so severe or they are too frequent or persistent to be dealt with by simple home remedies. In this case, it is vital to go to the doctor for prescription remedies for mouth sores.