Please, please go away!!!!

Day 6 - canker sores still here inspite of my trying out several home remedies. If anything, my sores have gotten bigger and another one popped out next to the one on my upper lip! I couldn't eat, couldn't drink and couldn't talk because the one on my tongue hurts like hell. To top it all off, I now have a cold as well...
Yesterday Fred came home with an antiseptic mouthwash and medication recommended by the pharmacist. The medication acts as a protective barrier against my saliva and food and drinks, it forms a white film on the sore and is supposed to help heal the sore. It really hurts when I apply the film but in seconds the pain is gone and I found that I could eat and drink and even hold a conversation once again!

Having canker sores made me find out what is the root cause of getting it and how to prevent them.
Canker sores can develop anywhere in the mouth, but the most common and most painful types are those that appear on the tongue. Despite popular belief, they are neither contagious nor are they caused or spread by a virus. They usually occur as a result of a food allergy, medication reaction, or local trauma. This trauma can be caused by things like accidentally biting the inside of your cheek, toothbrushes or even abrasive foods like potato chips or pretzels. There are a number of possible canker sore causes, but nothing is certain. Stress could be causing your canker sores. Eating crunchy foods or foods with sharp edges, like chips, and spicy foods can be the cause of canker sores as well. Even nutritional deficiencies have been attributed to recurring canker sores.
For me, my canker sores are caused by the ginger tea that I consumed, I think my body was already starting to get heaty as I was eating a lot of mangoes as well, and drinking copious amounts of pineapple juice didn't help as it increased the acidity in my body.

Canker sores treatment and prevention:
1)Avoid toothpastes with sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS. SLS is a foaming agent in many brand name toothpastes, and studies done show that people who suffer from canker sores are up to 80% less likely to get those sores if they use toothpaste without SLS in them.

2)For canker sore relief, it is recommended that you try Benzocaine or Advil.
Benzocaine is a main ingredient of almost all anesthetic mouth gels. It does not have any anti septic properties but only numbs the pain for some time. It is to be applied topically upon the canker sores on the tongue. Although, its effects begin to wear off after half an hour, it is not advisable to apply it every half an hour. In Malaysia, the product is called Benadryl mouthwash.
If a canker sore is particularly painful, you should try using a product like Bonjela or an anti inflammatory medicine like Ponstan.

3)Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective antiseptic against all forms of infections. Its application on the wound kills the germs and helps to treat canker sores on tongue. It is readily available at the pharmacy shop, but it has to be diluted by 50% before applying it. Apply it 3-4 times a day on the sores until they heal completely.

4)Antibacterial agents have shown to help treat and get rid of canker sores. Mouthwashes like Listerine are perfect examples of antibacterial agents. You can also go with an iodine-based mouthwash as well. Iodine makes for a great canker sore cure if applied regularly, but don’t swallow it.

5)Salt and baking soda are natural antiseptic substances. Take an equal amount of salt and baking soda and dilute in water. Apply this mixture on the canker sores on tongue at least 3-4 times a day. You can also use the solution to swish, until the sores heal completely. Apparently if you dab baking soda directly onto the sore, it helps heal the sore faster.

6)My aunt emailed me to try gently rubbing garlic onto the sore as garlic is known to be a natural antiseptic - definitely NOT for the faint hearted! It was really really painful ; I had tears in my eyes, and the smell of garlic stayed in my mouth all day - not that it matters anyway cos I am in France... and the French are thought to rub garlic onto their armpits everyday LOLs... (actually since I've been here I hardly ever smelt a bad smelling french.... even the SDF do not smell bad, but I will wait til its Summer time and let you all know if they still smell OK...)

From what I have read on the many sites on the internet, canker sores can't really be cured--it just takes time for them to heal, sometimes up to 6 weeks! If the canker sore remedy you're looking at says it will help to dull the pain and protect the sore, then that's good enough for now.

What to eat with canker sores:
* Eat soft, bland foods that are easy to swallow, such as yogurt or cream soup. Cut your food into small pieces or mash or puree it. Avoid coffee, chocolate, spicy or salty foods, citrus fruits or juices, nuts, seeds, and tomatoes.
* Drink cold fluids, such as water or iced tea, or eat Popsicles. Sometimes fluid touching the canker sore can cause a stinging pain. Use a straw so the fluid doesn't touch the canker sore. Hold ice on the canker sore until it is numb.
* Rinse your mouth with salt water as an alternative to an antiseptic mouthwash. To make a salt water rinse, dissolve 1 tsp (5 g) of salt in 1 cup (250 mL) of warm water.
* Buy an over-the-counter medicine such as milk of magnesia to put on your canker sores. Use a cotton swab to apply the medicine. Put it on your sores 3 to 4 times a day.
* Take a pain reliever, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin (such as Bayer), ibuprofen (such as Advil), or naproxen sodium. In France, you can get Ponstyl but you need a doctor's prescription.
In general, it is important to get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet, like folic acid, vitamin B12, zinc, and iron.

Now all the "western" ideals aside, I believe the cause of my mouth ulcers is because I am "heaty".
When a Chinese uses the terms 'heaty' or 'heatiness' to describe the kinds of foods to have or avoid, most Westerners would probably have no idea what those concepts are or find them strange. The notion of heaty (yang)(as opposed to cooling or yin) is related to the balancing of ‘yin’ and ‘yang’. To most people, especially the chinese it is important to avoid heatiness which will cause mouth ulcers, hot flushes, acne, sore throat and constipation among other ailments.
My aunt in Seattle says she will send me "pat chi chou" since I cannot get in here, for me to boil with rock sugar and drink to cool my body down. Once my body cools, the mouth ulcers will disappear. If I had some "Hor Yan Ho" tea, I'd drink that every 4 hours to cool down my body.
To avoid heatiness, one should reduce fried, hot and spicy foods and drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.