What causes Canker Sores?

I remember when braces rubbing the inside of my mouth caused those small painful craterlike ulcers.  They usually can occur by themselves or in patches of up to 10 ulcers in the inside of your mouth.  They do not segregate as they can occur on your tongue, inside your cheeks or on your gumline. 

Usually yellow with red borders, they can sometimes look slightly pale gray.  They can appear without warning, but often sensations of burning preceed where ulcers eventually appear.

Increased stress, trauma, hereditary, and immune system compromise can all cause canker sores, also known as aphthous ulcers.  Although we don't know for certain what can cause them, they are thought to be caused by deficiencies in some vitamins like iron, folic acid, and B12.  The most common link we often blame is high levels of stress, although there is no scientific proof.  Recent studies point to food allergies as a possible cause, but the proof is limited.

Doctors can treat canker sores with a variety of medications.  Clobetasol gel, lidocaine gel, hydrogen peroxide or glycerin mouthwashes, diphenhydramine gels, or antibiotics can be used. 

Alternative therapy includes home remedies containing mouth rinsing with hydrogen peroxide (2oz) with water (2oz) and 1 tsp each of salt and baking soda.  Milk of magnesia mouthwashes help.  Chlorhexidine, a pain reliever, is sometimes in mouthwashes that help.  Using tea bags to cover the ulcer can relieve pain secondary to the tannins in the tea leaves.  Over the counter salves containing glycerin and peroxide also can help.

If you have severe pain that doesn't go away you can go see a doctor.  If they remain after 14 days, a serious medical condition may exist, or if persistent multiple ulcers remain, go to a doctor immediately.  Hope all this helps and Happy Holidays!

Question: What are Probiotics? And do they really work?

The normal flora in our colon and intestines are very important.  Breaking down food particles for the gut wall to absorb minerals, vitamins, and molecules are just a fraction of what they do.  So when we knock these buggers out with antibiotics to cure a certain infection, we need to replenish the gut.

Probiotics promote proper intestinal environment by aiding in digestion and absorption of food nutrients.  They also my reduce some of the enzymes that have been implicated in formations of carcinogens in the colon.

People who have chronic gastrointestinal problems, peptic ulcer disease, irritable bowel, and diarrhea would benefit from supplements.  Also if recurrent vaginal yeast infections or urinary tract infections are present, you can supplement for up to 2-3 doses.

The correct dosing depends on the amount of live organisms.  Usually 1-10 billion organisms divided into 3-4 doses is fine for most people. 

Also remember that alcohol and antibiotics have negative impact on probiotics.  The probiotics that are used the most include Lactobacillus spp, and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Until next time, be well and stay healthy!

Question: Every winter I get cold or flu like symptoms. Is there something I can do or take to minimize this?

Did you see the commercial on Psoriasis that has these little robots picking up little red specks from a conveyor belt and placing them up on a wall above them thereby making the psoriasis rash worse?

It is interesting to note that while some people think that those little bots are bad guys, they are actually chemicals our immune system releases in times of stress, and disease.  Some people probably think, “Kill the bots!”

The human body has a miraculous way of dealing with illness.  The Immune system stands ready 24 hours a day to fight anything and everything.  It has the power to unleash all these chemicals, but the side effects of the chemicals sometimes make us feel bad.  Fevers are caused by chemicals released from our immune system to “pasteurize” our blood and kill bad guys.  Symptoms some people experience include sinus drainage, congestion, ear pain and pressure, facial pain, and sore throat.

While these symptoms are annoying, they can be controlled.  There is an over the counter medication for nearly every symptom we have.  To prevent bad colds during the winter, I recommend 5 OTC products: Probiotics, Garlic, Vitamins A, C, and D, and Echinacea. 

Probiotics such as Lactinex, Acidophilus, Align, and Bifantis all have several million cells per tab and can be taken to prevent and treat diarrhea, gastroenteritis, irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, and flatulence (what some know as “gas.”)

Garlic comes in tab form OTC, or in natural cloves.  You can take the tab daily or mix it in sugar water with 1 part crushed root with 10 parts water.  Do not take with Coumadin or oral anticoagulants. 

Vitamin A comes in 5,000 IU for men and 4,000 IU for women.  Vitamin A increases resistance to infections.

Vitamin C RDA is 60mg for adults. 500mg to 1000mg are safe daily intake, even though no research over past 20 years shows that those doses do not prevent colds.  However, Vitamin C is essential for healthy neutrophils, a key infection fighter in our immune system.

Vitamin D is our super ubiquitous vitamin we talked about in an earlier article, and 2000 IU daily is recommended for healthy immune systems.  In addition to aiding our immune system to fight colds, it also can reverse certain cancers like myeloid leukemia.

Two tsp of Echinacea in a cup of water three times daily is recommended to reduce the duration of a cold.  You can take an Echinacea tab daily to try to prevent colds.

I recommend this strategy for the winter months.  Of course, if you have symptoms longer than 4 days, any worsening of your colds, or concerns, no improvement with OTCs, or fever greater than 100.4 degrees you must come in to the ER or see your doctor and get appropriate treatment.

Thanks for all your great questions, keep them coming at runsinthewynd@gmail.com