Mouth sores

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

Mouth sores

Overview

Treatment

Mouth sores

Definition:

Various types of sores can appear anywhere within the mouth, including the inner cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, or palate.
Common Causes:

Most mouth sores are cold sores (also called fever blisters), canker sores, or a mechanical irritation caused by:

Biting your cheek, tongue, or lip
Chewing tobacco
Braces
A sharp or broken tooth or poorly fitting dentures
Burning your mouth from hot food or drinks

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Cold sores are caused by herpes simplex virus and are very contagious. Usually, you have tenderness, tingling, or burning before the actualsore appears. Herpes sores begin as blisters and then crust over.

The herpes virus can reside in your body for years, appearing as a mouth sore only when something provokes it. Such circumstances may include another illness, especially if there is a fever, stress, hormonal changes (like menstruation), and sun exposure.

Canker sores are NOT contagious and can appear as a single pale or yellow ulcer with a red outer ring, or as a cluster of such lesions. The cause of canker sores is not entirely clear, but may be related to:

A virus
A temporary weakness in your immune system (for example, from cold or flu)
Hormonal changes
Mechanical irritation
Stress
Low levels of vitamin B-12 or folate

For unknown reasons, women seem to get canker sores more often than men. This may be related to hormonal changes.

Less commonly, mouth sores can be a sign of an underlying illness, tumor, or reaction to a medication. Such potential illnesses can be grouped into several broad categories:

Infection (like hand-foot-mouth syndrome)
Autoimmune diseases (like lupus)
Bleeding disorders
Malignancy(cancer)
Immunosuppression (that is, when your immune system is compromised -- for example, if you have AIDS or are receiving medication after a transplant).

Drugs that might cause mouth sores include chemotherapeutic agents for cancer, aspirin, barbiturates (used for insomnia), gold (used for rheumatoid arthritis), penicillin, phenytoin (used for seizures), streptomycin, or sulfonamides.

References:

Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 5^th ed. London, UK: Churchill Livingstone, Inc.; 2000.

Yeung-Yue KA. Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2. Dermatol Clin. 2002; 20(2): 249-266.

MacDonald J. Canker sore remedies: baking soda. CMAJ. 2002; 166(7): 884.