Canker sores have afflicted us westernised folks for generations and you can see this in the sheer range and variety of old fashioned home remedies available to treat them. We've listed some of the popular ones below - try them. For the most part they're still around for one good reason .... they work!
Keep in mind too however that there are medical tests you can have that check for immune problems or vitamin deficiency. Your doctor can also give you prescription only medications like colchicine that are often very effective.
Home remedies for canker sores:
Cream of Tartar:
You can take a small dab of cream of tartar on the end of a Q Tip (Cotton Bud) and just touch it on the canker sore area. This seems to work for many people.
Raw Green Pepper:
Many sufferers swear that munching on a strip of raw green pepper (the capsicum type - not a chilli type) will get rid of canker sores very quickly. Some bite into the pepper strip and then rub the bitten edge gently over the sore. Not to everyone's taste perhaps but very effective.
Lime and Salt
A mixture of lime and salt (but no tequila :-) ) is said to be effective to relieve the pain from a mouth sore and to shrink it quickly. This one is not for the faint hearted however - it's likely to cause burning pain and maybe even some bleeding for a few minutes.
Salt on a Q Tip for Canker Sores
Just dabbing salt on the mouth sore area is another option. Moisten a Q tip - dip it in salt - then apply to the sore. Again, this will be nippy but is often effective.
Buttermilk or Natural Probiotic Yoghurt
Lots of recent research has linked vitamin deficiency and other gut disorders to canker sores - particularly in those people who get lots of them on a recurrent basis. There are many who think that improving the gut by taking probiotics or by using buttermilk and natural live yogurt is an effective and natural way of helping things.