Does anybody have a simple and effective home-remedy for a painful mouth ulcer?

I would suggest hot salt water.

Epsom salts (carefully)
Table salt in warm water.
Hydrogen peroxide.

Is it a canker sore? The only thing that I found that would help even a little was alum powder on the end of a Qtip. Hurts like hell.

I had canker sores throughout my teenage years and then my immune system finally woke up and I never got any again. The worst one was on the end of my tongue. Talking brought tears to my eyes.

I hope it heals soon!

It isn’t unheard of to use little dabs of clear nail poilish, and it’s a hell of alot cheaper, too. Have you ever smelled a bottle of herpes cold sore medicine? It’s essentially the same damn thing as nail polish, but with 3 times the price tag. Part of the pain comes from raw skin exposed to elements, so seal it up, buttercup :)

I use tea tree oil on a q-tip, or a drop or two in water which I gargle (without swallowing.) It’s also good (again, via q-tip) for pimples and cold sores. If I can do it a couple of times when I just feel a cold sore starting, it will often going away without forming a blister.

I just buy BioTene mouthwash. Lasts foreever unless you’re drinking it.

@tranquilsea what is the difference between a mouth ulcer and a canker sore?

To everyone else, I see that this is not an uncommon malady. Thank you all for the suggestions, watch out mouth ulcer!

@netgrrl I normally use tea tree oil for everything, well, you know what I mean, but this time I have none in the cupboard and cannot get to a supplier for a couple of days. What I have is definitely a mouth ulcer, not a cold sore. Do you think essential oil of lavender would have a similar effect?

(A little off-topic, but do you guys mind telling me about tree oil? It sounds interesting.)

@Adagio I’ve heard of cold sore remedies with lavender oil, so I don’t see why not, applied topically the same way.

@dpworkin Tea tree essential oil has so many uses I can’t name them all. It’s a natural antiseptic, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal. It can be used for anything from pimples to athlete’s foot. When I had major dental work, I swished water with a few drops in it then spit it out, and it healed very fast.

For the canker sore…break up a Milk of Magnesia pill and rub it onto the canker.

Probably the same as @tranquilsea‘s alum powder on the end of a Qtip.

I used to get them all the time. Swishing with hydrogen peroxide will help get rid of them, and regular usage of Listerine prevents them.

Gargle with salted water and the water as hot as you can take it.

if you do decide to go for over the counter stuff buy liquid benadryl, and liquid malox (or mylanta) and mix both parts equally. Rinse your mouth out with it, make sure not to swallow. I had my tontils a month ago and i had a lot of pain on the back of my tongue plus i got a lot of those little tiny taste buds that stick out and hurt like no other. It numbs it out really nicely!

@Adagio Mouth ulcer = canker sore.

I feel for you because they hurt !

@netgrrl Thanks! I need some!

table salt directly on the ulcer, it will hurt a lot, but it makes it heal so fast!

The only really thing that works and is simple and inexpensive is to get extra, ample sleep. Getting a lot more sleep usually heals the ulcer faster than any “homemade remedy”.

swish strong black tea in your mouth.

<———(dentist) old fashioned but tried and true: salt water rinse . chancre sore = apthous ulcer. really common in young people, @MRSHINYSHOES is right on, so , salt water rinse and rest, healthy diet.

Warm salt water rinse may help.

Warm salt water helps, even to the point of alleviating pain. The drug store will have tubes of benzocaine that you can dab on the thing. You can gargle with peroxide if you like; my grandfather swears by the stuff, and though I cannot confirm its effectiveness (I do not approach my own mouth sores very scientifically), it does hurt a bunch, which you can certainly think of as being effective.
You’re five days in, right? Congrats! You only have a week and change to go!

On the odd occasion Ive had one I found dabbing it with salt kills it really quickly…. not the least painful option but it works.

like everyone else has said, swish salt water around in your mouth for as long as you can tolerate it as many times as you can tolerate it until it goes away. i put a lot of salt in my mixture and it’s usually gone by that night.

Yesterday and I was speaking with my neighbour who said she uses Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda) on mouth ulcers and so I am starting off with that… dabbing a little on using a cotton bud… hurts like hell but only briefly… I shall report back in a couple of days… fingers crossed…

(I noticed a lot of people have suggested salt, I actually rinse my mouth every morning with very warm salty water on a regular basis but that has had no impact on my ulcer. I do find hot salt water really effective for sore throats though, its magic.)

PostScript: My ulcer has completely disappeared, not sure if the Baking Soda was responsible but who cares, it has gone and that is all that matters. Thank you for all your suggestions.

I’m glad to hear that :) FLUTHER WORKS!!! (or the baking soda)

Listerine on a cotton ball left on the ulcer also helps it to go away faster and brushing more frequently.