Everybody hates canker sores. It’s pretty much impossible to find a single person who would say, “Oh no, I quite enjoy the sensation of a painful ulcer in my mouth.”
If you do find that person, run away. Very, very fast.
Canker sores start out as a red oval in your mouth, and quickly get inflamed with a white or yellow spot in the middle. Oh yeah, and they’re super painful.
Scientists and doctors aren’t sure what exactly causes canker sores. Some believe that stress, genetics, biting your cheek, immune response gone haywire, and even braces rubbing against the inside of your mouth could all play a role.
Fortunately, it’s not important at this point to know what causes canker sores. Today, we’re going to talk about how to get rid of them as quickly, easily, and naturally as possible.
Remember, when you have a canker sore, it always pays to get rid of acidic foods in your diet. First of all, they sting horribly, and second of all, it actually makes it take longer for your canker sore to heal.
Remember that everyone’s body is different, and home remedies that work for you might not work for someone else – and vice versa. Don’t get discouraged, and keep experimenting with different remedies until you find one that works for you.
more: The 25 Best Home Remedies For Acne And Pimples
Finally, try to keep track of the things that trigger your canker sores. The best remedy against canker sores is to not get them in the first place – so if you discover what’s causing your canker sores, you can get rid of them naturally without ever having to deal with them in the first place.
Enough introduction! Here are the best remedies for dealing with canker sores and helping get rid of them as quickly as possible.
The Best Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Canker Sores
1. Use Clove Oil For Quick Relief
Why clove oil? Good question!
Clove oil contains a compound called eugenol, which is a very effective natural painkiller.
Doctors still use eugenol today, although they extract it and purify it first. Still, if you’re looking for a home remedy to reduce your pain and help you feel better, you could do a lot worse than clove oil.
What you need:
½ teaspoon of olive oil
Cotton balls
Warm water
4 drops of clove oil
What to do:
First, combine your drops of clove oil with your olive oil in a small dish. Swish some warm water around in your mouth to clean it out, then soak a cotton ball in your oil mixture and apply it directly to your canker sore.
It should numb the pain of your canker sore extremely quickly, and last for up to 10 minutes.
more: 4 Ways To Naturally Whiten Your Teeth At Home
2. Spicy Cayenne To The Rescue
Cayenne pepper has been used as a pain reliever for centuries. That might be surprising to you considering how spicy it is and how painful spicy foods can be, but it’s for a very good reason.
That’s because it contains a compound called capsaicin. Capsaicin has been proven to block the pain response in your body by inhibiting a crucial part of your pain system called Substance P.
What does all that mean to you? It means that a great remedy for the pain of canker sores is right around the corner.
What you need:
Warm water
Some cotton swabs or q tips
Cayenne pepper
What to do:
Take your ground cayenne pepper and mix it with a little bit of water, so that you get a cayenne pepper paste. It should be thick enough to pick up on a cotton swab and apply directly to the canker sore – which is exactly what you should do for fast, effective pain relief.
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3. Use Good Bacteria In Yogurt To Fight The Bad
Yogurt is made by fermenting milk with specific strains of bacteria. It sounds disgusting, but that’s how the tasty treat is made!
Many people swear by the power of yogurt as a probiotic to help keep your stomach bacteria in balance and keep your digestion going strong.
There are other applications to the good, nourishing bacteria in yogurt. It can, in fact, help to prevent and get rid of canker sores from your mouth.
It’s thought that it helps keep the balance of bacteria in your mouth healthy, and helps to get rid of the bacteria that are thought to cause canker sores in the first place.
What you need:
Plain yogurt with live cultures
What to do:
Don’t forget to get yogurt with live cultures – otherwise you’re not getting any of the benefit!
Add yogurt to your diet – it’s healthy for you anyway. Make sure to eat plain yogurt instead of flavored or you could lose the benefit as well.
more: The 17 Quickest Natural Remedies For Heartburn And Acid Reflux
4. Choose Chamomile To Soothe Your Pain
Chamomile tea is an amazing way to get rid of the pain of canker sores. But why does it work so well?
First of all, it contains a compound called bisabolol, which is an anti-inflammatory and helps to get rid of the nasty bacteria that could be causing your canker sores.
Second, it’s an anti-spasmodic as well as a relaxant, which can help you if you’re having trouble sleeping because you just can’t help prodding your canker sores with your tongue.
What you need:
Water
1 chamomile tea bag
What to do:
Soak the teabag in warm water for about a minute or so, then press it directly onto the canker sore for about 10 minutes. It should help you to feel better and get rid of the canker sore faster.
more: 9 Simple And Natural Cough Remedies For Dry Persistent Coughs
5. Cover It Up With Wax
If you’ve got one of those horrible canker sores that’s in a specific spot in your mouth that you can’t help but rub against (particularly if you’ve got braces), this is the remedy for you.
Try to put some wax over your canker sore to form a protective covering over it against whatever keeps irritating it. Just make sure to make it thick enough if you have braces so that it doesn’t just get caught on them.
What you need:
1 tablespoon of beeswax
1.5-2 tablespoons of coconut oil
What to do:
Melt your beeswax and coconut oil together and let it cool so that it starts to solidify. When it’s cool to the touch, take a little bit with your finger and press it over your canker sore to let it heal faster and without being irritated by anything else in your mouth.
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6. Sage To The Rescue
Sage, in addition to being a delicious herb for seasoning food, is also an amazing ingredient in many home remedies.
It’s been used for centuries, and can help to clean your mouth of unwanted bacteria and painful canker sores.
What you need:
2 teaspoons dried sage, or a sage tea bag
Water
What to do:
Boil your water, and then drop in your sage and let it infuse and steep for about 10 minutes. Let the infusion cool, then swish it around in your mouth for at least a minute. Don’t strain the mixture – having the dried sage in your mouth works well.
After you’re done, rinse out your mouth with cold water and enjoy the relief from your canker sores.
more: 15 Effective Home Remedies for Nausea And Morning Sickness
7. Try Salt Water To Cut Canker Sores Down
I know it sounds like it would sting, but using salt water to reduce canker sores is a great way to stop them from bothering you.
That’s because the salt in salt water acts to draw out excess water from the cells in your mouth. If you have an especially puffy canker sore that’s bothering you a lot, gargling salt water can help bring the puffiness down and help the canker sore to heal faster.
This is especially effective with canker sores that are so puffy that you can’t stop biting them – since everyone knows if you keep biting a canker sore it won’t go away.
What you need:
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ cup of warm water
What to do:
Mix in your half teaspoon of salt into your warm water, then swish it around in your mouth and gargle to produce the most soothing effects. You can do it up to 3 times in a day, but be sure to wash out your mouth with cool clean water afterwards.
8. Baking Soda Blasts Away Canker Sores
Baking soda is an excellent home remedy to get rid of canker sores and help your mouth feel better faster.
First of all, it’s an alkaline, which means that it helps to neutralize the acids that might irritate your canker sore and make it worse.
Second, it’s anti-bacterial, which means that it helps to fight the bacteria in your mouth that could be causing the canker sore in the first place.
What you need:
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ cup of warm water
What to do:
Mix your baking soda into your water, and then swish it around in your mouth and rinse out your mouth with the mixture. Make sure to rinse your mouth with cool clean water afterwards.
9. Numb The Pain Away With Peppermint And Eucalyptus
Seems weird – but this actually works!
Both peppermint and eucalyptus oils are naturally anti-inflammatory, which means that they’ll reduce the painful swelling around a canker sore.
In addition, they’re astringents, which means they’ll naturally tighten the tissue around your canker sore and stop it from swelling up even more and making you accidentally bite it.
In addition to that, they both provide a cooling sensation that can numb you to the stinging painful sensation of your canker sore.
Finally, they’re both anti-bacterial, which means they’ll get rid of the bad bacteria in your mouth.
What you need:
8 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
8 drops of peppermint essential oil
2 tablespoons of olive oil
What to do:
Combine your olive oil and your peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils, and then add them to a bottle that lets you shoot a misting spray out of it. Shake to ensure they’re evenly mixed, then mist your canker sore and feel sweet relief.
more: How To Get Rid Of A Canker Sore Fast
10. Aloe Can Soothe The Pain
Aloe is used as a soothing agent for everything from burns to… well… canker sores!
That’s because it has natural soothing and healing properties that help you feel better faster, and it works on a wide variety of different burns and sores.
What you need:
1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon of natural aloe vera gel
What to do:
Mix your gel and your water together and then swish it around in your mouth. It will soothe the pain of your canker sore and help it to heal as quickly as possible.
more: Great Canker Sore Remedies
11. Coconut Oil To Treat Your Sores
It’s almost easier to come up with a list of things that coconut oil doesn’t do to benefit your body than to list everything it does do.
It’s an anti-inflammatory, which means that it’ll cut down on the painful swelling around your canker sore. In addition, it’s an antimicrobial, which means it’ll kill off the nasty bacteria in your mouth.
Use it if you want to get rid of your canker sore and get rid of it fast!
What you need:
Coconut oil
Cotton swabs
What to do:
Gather up some coconut oil onto a cotton swab and swab some directly onto your canker sore. You want to create a thick layer of coconut oil directly on top of the sore so that it doesn’t melt or slide off.
more: Home Remedies For Canker Sores
12. Try Honey For A Sweet Treat That Gives You Relief
Honey is an amazing substance – just like coconut oil.
It’s both anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial – giving it a strong 1-2 punch to knock out canker sores and stop them from messing up the inside of your mouth.
What you need:
Raw honey (organic is best)
Warm water
What to do:
Rinse out your mouth with some warm water, then take a thick dollop of your honey and apply it directly to the canker sore.
You can use this remedy 3 times a day, but make sure to do it right before bed so that it has all night to work its healing magic.
In summary…
The Best Canker Sore Remedies
- Use clove oil for quick relief
- Spicy cayenne to the rescue
- Use good bacteria in yogurt to fight the bad
- Choose chamomile to soothe your pain
- Cover it up with wax
- Sage to the rescue
- Try salt water to cut canker sores down
- Baking soda blasts away canker sores
- Numb the pain away with peppermint and eucalyptus
- Aloe can soothe the pain
- Coconut oil to treat your sores
- Try honey for a sweet treat that gives you relief
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no one likes canker sores! i read that they heal on their own and doesn’t require medication but it is good to know that there are home remedies we could try to give us relief.
Baking soda has always done the trick for us. My husband frequently gets mouth sores and treating them with baking soda has been effective.
i’ve tried salt water to cure my canker sore and yeah, it is an effective remedy. it stung a bit but it was also tolerable rather than bearing the pain of having canker sores.
thanks for this list, i will try some of the few i haven’t yet. i hope they really are effective.
having canker sore is very irritating. i am particularly careful about my dental hygiene and oral health but i can’t avoid to having canker sore. i will make sure to use some of the effective home remedies listed in this article in case i deal with canker sores again.
sage sounds new but good to me too. i will try this if it ever happens to me or anyone in my household.
wow! now i know what to do for quick relief whenever i get canker sores again. thanks for sharing. appreciate it!
wow, these look really good. i’m sure they’re all as effective and i will try them out.
i suffer from repeated canker sores and they are very painful! i just hate it because it is very difficult for me to talk, eat and swallow. i will definitely try these home remedies today.
this canker sore is killing me and i want to get rid of it asap. i will try some of these home remedies today.
yes, clove oil is an effective remedy but you should know how to use it properly because it can cause some serious effects like burning sensation and tissue damage.
i had my braces put on last week and now, i suffer from canker sores. my dentist advised to cover it up with wax. i hope my canker sores will heal quickly with this remedy.
your website is really a must-read health blog. thank you so very much for all the detailed and helpful articles like this one. they mean a lot to us.
if you want your annoying and painful canker sores to disappear fast, try some of these remedies. i did and they really work like magic!
i always use chamomile to get rid of the pain. works all the time!
baking soda is the best! aside from getting rid of canker sores, i also use it to whiten my teeth.
i hate canker sores! they are really painful and makes it very difficult to eat or talk! wish these home remedies can heal canker sores overnight but i know that they are no magic bullet. but i am still glad they can speed up the healing process.
i read that women are more likely to get a canker sore that men. it is good to know that i can make my own canker sore remedy in case i get one.
Coconut oil treats canker sore fast. tried it many times and it really works.
dealing with canker sore is not a joke! I had one last week and it was so hard to talk and eat! Never want to deal with it again!
these are expert advice on easing the pain of canker sore. i’m getting more canker sores than I used to and i could use what i’ve learned from your article.
appreciate this helpful article but just wondering, are canker sores contagious?
honey? wow! that is the sweetest canker sore remedy yet!
my friend frequently get canker sores and i told her that isn’t normal. i advised her to go see a doctor so that she could be tested for possible underlying conditions.
No one likes getting a canker sore. if you follow the right course of treatment, you will absolutely find relief before you know it.
a malfunctioning immune response is one possible contributor to canker sores. it is nice knowing about these home remedies and it is also best to keep your immune system strong to avoid having painful canker sores.
canker sores are terribly painful! sometimes, they would last weeks! i used clove oil and it was such a relief to finally get rid of them.
now i understand more about this disease and how to get rid of it quickly. i will share this article to my friends and i will remind them to never skip any important information!
wow! so nice to know they’re natural and healthy home remedies! thank you for all of your advice!
i really thought there is nothing i could do about these canker sores until i saw this post. i never knew i could find remedies in my kitchen. i will find which one best suits me and i will do it every day till my sore heals.