Have you ever had to deal with that lip blister at work or maybe during a social event?
What do you usually wear to cover it? Should you cancel your social gathering or call in sick for work?
Cold sores can be uncomfortable, unaesthetic, and inconvenient. Don’t panic… there is hope. In most cases this condition is just temporary and it will go away if we let the cycle of healing finish its course, but once you experience the tell-tale tingling sensation, it’s only a matter of time before a full-blown sore in your mouth or around your lips appears.
I would differentiate most canker sores in three groups:
Minor Canker Sores: These sores are the most common ones… usually small with an oval shape which may take a week or two to heal
Major Canker Sores: These are not too common; needless to say, a great part of population get affected by it. They are larger and deeper and not always oval shaped. These can take a month or two to heal and in some cases may leave a scar.
Herpes Sores: I see quite a few of these cases in my office. Usually they don’t develop until you are a settled adult. They are usually large, they come in different shapes, sometimes there are new ones that are developing while the older ones are not even fully healed. They can take four weeks to heal sometimes more. they come with pain… and you will have some hard time trying to eat or drink, Also fever might be present.
Possible causes for a canker sore might be:
- Minor injury
- Some tooth paste or oral rinse somewhat uncommon
- Food sensitivities
- Lack of some vitamins like B12
- One of the big ones… Stress!
How to get rid of them?
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill for it but many over the counter treatments may alleviate the problem. Here in the office, we zap it… what I mean is that we use Laser Technology to apply to the affected area and this will reduce the recovery time by half.
We treat herpetic lesions, minor lesions and major ones, but it is critical to begin laser treatment before the sore has had a chance to develop, if we want to see best and quick results. Catch it in time with laser treatment, and the cold sore will not break out. If it is full blown blister, then have it zapped asap for better results.
Most insurances don’t cover this type of procedure… I think they should. Regardless, we offer this treatment to all our patients with sores of any kind. It is very affordable and safe. Since most canker sores go away on their own in a week or two, you need to check with your doctor or dentist if you have unusually large, for a long time or painful canker sores or canker sores that don’t seem to heal.
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