A First Hand Experience of Aphthous Stomatitis

The Case of a 25 Year Old Male

The following interview was conducted with a very close friend of mine who volunteered to share some of his personal experiences with reoccurring oral canker sores.

When did you begin experiencing mouth ulcers?

"I used to get them when I was younger, in about Jr. High but only 1 or 2 [sores], easy to ignore. When I got into senior year of high school I got my first major outbreak."

How often would outbreaks occur?

"Every four months or more frequent, every 1-3 months. I have had consecutive months, and have had 2 months in between."

Would you say outbreaks are more frequent the older you've become?

"Yes."

Are there any particular triggers?

"I find that spicy food, very acidic food, tomatoes, marinara sauce, acidic wines... well dryer wines more than sweet wines, citrus fruits, and pineapples. If I bite my tongue or my cheek it may result in a single/large outbreak. If I am already sick [experiencing an outbreak], it causes a more severe outbreak in the bitten area. Lack of sleep.  Over indulgence in alcohol. Seems to occur in the same places, previously closed sores seem to reopen or new ones open near old ones. It is like they never fully healed. I also avoid carbonated drinks as well."

Can you tell when an outbreak is about to happen? How?

"Yes, it always starts with the back of the tongue near the uvula. It [the uvula] becomes sore and sensitive to food and makes it difficult to swallow food. At that point it spreads to the tongue, my tongue gets sore. It is similar to when you workout, like a muscle soreness, there's a minor discomfort when talking. 

" ...it always starts with the back of the tongue near the uvula."

The first spot that forms bleeds and will be result in mucus with blood. Bloody phlegm forms near the first spots. Uvula gets covered [in sores], by that point, I won't be eating or talking. Even if food can be chewed, one or two big sores ones on the uvula, the sides of the mouth, and the back of tongue makes swallowing very difficult.

It takes about a week after the tongue starts becoming sore for an outbreak to occur. During that week, I will brush teeth more often, use more mouthwash, buy a case of Ensure or make sure that I am taking vitamins more frequently. Sometimes it does help to ward it [an outbreak] off, I might only get 5 ulcers and I can deal with them.  Sometimes it will stop at 5 or other times it doesn't matter what I do, a breakout will still occur.

Ensure is a source of complete, balanced nutrition.
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I changed toothpastes to ProNamel, it doesn't have sodium lauryl sulfate which is a harsh cleaner found in laundry detergeant. It can irritate the mucus lining of your mouth and/or weaken it. I also switched mouthwash from Listerine which contains alcohol because it can irritate the mucus lining as well, these changes have helped a little."

Did you ever receive a diagnosis?

"I have been told canker sores, B-2 deficiency, even herpes."

Really, Herpes!?

"That's what I said, it was silly because herpes forms outside the mouth but I took the test anyways, and the blood test was negative. What I hear most is aphthous ulcers. I have been to hospitals and ERs. Around when it first started in my senior year of HS/freshman year of college is when I went to the ER. They did a throat culture test to see if it was strep throat and it was also negative."

What types of doctors did you see?

"I have been to a pediatrician, to regular doctors, walk in clinics. A Chinese herbalists told me it was due to a B-2 deficiency. I have been taking super B complex supplements but I can't say its working or that it isn't working, it seems to be the same. Another factor may be that I seem to also suffer from fatigue a lot."

What treatment have you found to be most useful? if you have found any at all?

"Nothing ever seems to prevent or cause faster healing, the only treatment that helps to soothe the pain is a lot of Advil/Aleve/Tylenol due to fevers and headaches. Magic Wash (viscous lidocaine 1/3, 1/3 Mylanta, 1/3 Benadryll) numbs my mouth for about 30 minutes to eat, it is so numbing that I cannot even feel my tongue.

Herbal medicine/tea helped to soothe me long term. The ulcers didn't hurt as much as they would usually but it is not an immediate solution. The medicine contained mushrooms and other things.

DGL-Liquorice is a supposed natural remedy which seemed to work for a day or two but then things got really bad, I cannot say it made things better or if I just experienced a placebo effect."

What is your longest incidence?

"2 weeks is the longest, the average is 9-10 days."

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate the pain/discomfort?

"9, it varies actually, during fevers it is very bad, with 101-104 degree fevers. My body is achy as well, with headaches due to lack of nutrition, the outbreaks themselves are a steady pain, contact between food and an ulcer is like getting burned by fire."

How debilitating is it to your daily life? Why?

"I have trouble eating, fevers, hunger headaches, and cannot think clearly due to not eating. I wake up in pools of sweat, my shirts get drenched while trying to sleep.  I cannot talk, it is very uncomfortable, often I don't want to be around people, I gets irritated more easily, much more so than normal. I also lose a lot of weight. During my recent outbreak I lost 10 pounds in a week and a half."

What is your biggest issue regarding this ailment?

"Statistically is seems to be quite frequent among the population yet doctors dont really know much about it and are dismissive about it. I often gets responses like, "It will pass in a few days..." Only 2 doctors have offered something to help make it better for a few days. I have had had this problem for years and didn't learn about the Magic Wash until a year ago.  There are times when my spirit or will to get up and see a doctor does not exist, it seems to be a waste of time or money since nobody knows what's going on. 90% of them say, "It will pass, it happens to a lot of the population and you have to deal with it." It makes me reluctant to seek help."