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Q. I've always been susceptible to getting canker sores in my mouth so when I heard that kiwi fruit could make them go away quickly, I had to try. Wow! It was gone in 2 days.I had another one about a week later and ate a kiwi. Again, my canker sore was gone in 2 days. Now I don't wait for the canker sore to show up. I just eat a kiwi every few days. I'm 58 and had suffered with canker sores since college.
A. Although we could find no scientific evidence that kiwi fruit helps heal canker sores, you are not the first to report this effect. Eight years ago a reader wrote, “I have suffered with mouth ulcers all my life. I have tried many home remedies, over-the-counter cures, and a few prescriptions. Eating one kiwi cures my canker sores as fast as the prescription steroid cream, and the kiwi doesn't come with warnings about the danger of putting it in your mouth. It has helped a few of my friends also.”
Other canker sore remedies include sauerkraut juice, powdered instant tea (or a wet tea bag), L-lysine, acidophilus and goldenseal.
I would suggest moderation. One kiwi sounds good...how about a whole bunch? Not too good. I peeled a large bowl full, about 4, and ate it while watching tv. My tongue got a prickly sensation and I couldn't eat them for a long time. I did get over it... eventually. I imagine it was an acid burn of some sort... That's what I get...
Canker sores plagued me for years. Check out the first ingredient of almost every toothpaste on the market: sodium laurel sulfate. Now go look at the first ingredient in your hair shampoo: sodium laurel sulfate. Yes, the very same detergent. Using a compound that kills lots of bacteria gives others a chance to gain a foothold that might have been kept in check.
Bottomline, try using a toothpaste without SLS. Weleda and Jason both make SLS-free toothpaste. It worked miracles for me.
Before age 18, I had several canker sores in my mouth most of the time, many times a total of 1 sq. in. of them, constant severe pain. Also a few cold sores ea winter. Incidence decreased 60% when Adelle Davis convinced me to take vit C. All incidence stopped dead when I began taking 500 mg/day of L-lysine and learned about arginine/lysine balance (think legume/nut & seed balance). Ceased Lysine several yrs later & ate more beans. Age 64 now and have had none of these oral herpes simplex infections since. (An occasional minor exception when I feast on nuts (think arginine).)
I was forever getting canker sores and neither my doctor or my dentist could offer any solutions. I had read that sodium laurenth (not sure of spelling) was in toothpaste, and I started looking for a toothpaste that did not contain that ingredient. I started using Biotene toothpaste and I have not had any more canker sores. I was also noticing that my tongue was always sore and that too has gone away. I recommend it to everyone who has canker sores as they are very painful.
Read this article last Sunday. My husband got a canker sore on Thursday and we bought a few kiwis to try this cure. He ate one kiwi in the morning, and by the mid-afternoon the sore was dried up. A second kiwi wasn't needed. Amazing.
I have had canker sores for years. I always have a canker sore going. I have tried almost everything -- no results.
I read your piece on kiwis and have been eating a couple a week for the last two weeks -- no canker sores. Going two weeks without a sore is very rare for me. I am cautiously keeping my fingers crossed.
When I took nettle, I was allergic to it and broke out in hives which had to be treated medically.
Listerine will also dry up canker sores in one to two days.
I had to stop eating dried fruit. For some reason, it made me susceptible to canker sores. Now, if I could only figure out how to avoid biting the inside of my cheek....
I had suffered with canker sores since I was a teenager and tried several home remedies and topical medications with no results. I'm 58 now.
I tried to drink half a gallon of pineapple juice and it cleared my canker sores in a day or two.
I get canker sores whenever I eat anything that has Worcestershire sauce in it. Seriously. Has anyone ever had that problem and do you know what the contents of Worcestershire sauce are? I try to avoid it like the plague but restaurant chefs sneak it (or the ingredient I am allergic to) into food all the time.
I gotta tell you - I'm anxious to try out this kiwi "therapy" and no SLS toothpaste right now. It's kinda late to go shopping, though. I'll do that first thing tomorrow :)
Anyway, I get canker sores irregularly (on the average I'd say once per 2wks, I got one going on now) and I'm never sure what's causing them. My observations are as follows:
- accidental biting on the inside of the cheek/lip
- drinking beer/poor diet?
- no breakfast
- eating junk food like barbecue potato chips
I really hate them, I hate the pain, and the weird feeling when you touch the canker sore... It's almost as if you were connecting + and - terminals on the 9V battery with your tongue.
I'll try kiwi and the new toothpaste and let u know the results.
One time I bit my lip and it became a huge canker sore the next day. It was so painful, I tried everything to get rid of it.
-poured lysterine on it which helped it get smaller
-gargled with salt water, three times a day
-tried over-the-counter anbesol and oragel which really help to numb the pain. I'm still dealing with this canker sore and its been more than a week, but its much less painful. Only thing I haven't tried is kiwi, hopefully that will work! I'll keep you posted!
I need a remedy for canker sores, they are so annoying.
I've read remedies on the internet and I have not found much. I hope kiwi works!
I'm 25 and i just got my First canker sore and it was after i bit the inside of my lip really hard and made it bleed while taking a huge bite of food. i tried the salt water and nothing. Ill try the Kiwi today! wish me luck :)
This is so sad that eating kiwi is supposed to help... because I think eating too many kiwis, pineapples, and strawberries are what caused my (extremely painful and large!) canker sores :( I'm far too afraid to eat another kiwi... I don't want to make it worse!
Has anyone tried putting a wet black tea bag on the canker sore? I shoved one on the side of my mouth with the sores, left it there while playing cards with my family and it felt amazing...it didn't heal it though, it just felt good (it has the chemical tannin which eases pain). My family still makes fun of me for how dumb I looked, but oh well, they don't know my pain!
Oh my god.. I have a canker sore right now and its so annoying. Everything I eat kills me. I have tried the salt water and nothing. I think I'm pretty scared to try the kiwis because I'm pretty sure I got this from pineapples and biting the inside of my cheeks. I need help fast!
I understand the pain of canker sores and am annoyed that there is so little information available about them. It seems when I get them my whole mouth gets really sensitive to acid.. my tongue hurts from acid, my teeth even hurt (I haven't worn my retainer in a few years after I've had braces) which is curious and the sore hurts very badly.
Sometimes using a mouthwash would help, but other times it reactivates the canker sore (irritates it). Also lately I wake up with bad breath (something I usually don't wake up with). Not sure why all these things are happening at once, but oh well.. I, too, would be afraid of eating a kiwi.