I am a mouth ulcers
Although it's not my favorite thing to be in the world, I am a
mouth ulcer. My street name is most commonly: canker sore. I've
got a fancy name, and that involves painful open sores that will
exist in your mouth when the mucous membrane breaks. You might
also choose to call me one of these other names: aphthous
stomatitis or aphthous ulcer. Now that we have that out of the
way...
I will often being with a tingling or burning sensation in your
mouth. This 'tingling' or 'burning' will exist in the place
where the future mouth ulcer, canker sore, aphthous
stomatitis or aphthous ulcer will exist. It won't take me longer
than a few days to turn into the state of a red bump or spot
inside your mouth, which will then be followed by an open ulcer.
Once at the open ulcer state I will appear as a white or yellow
oval with an inflamed red border. Modestly I will be
approximately 3 mm wide, however, for quick bragging rights, I
can reach up to and beyond 1 cm wide in extreme cases. If I've
done my job really well, you will be able to see a white circle
or halo around the lesion.
My main body, the ulcer, is often times very painful when
agitated. This can also be accompanied by sore swelling of the
lymph node. If your unsure of where your lymph nodes are, they
exist below your jaw. For this locational reason I can often
times be mistaken for a toothache at first. Open your mouth,
look inside, I'm not!
Your lucky with me, that normally I will go away without any
treatment. The best start is to make sure you have good oral
hygiene and avoid spicy/acidic/salty foods and drinks. The best
and widely known 'home remedy' for dealing with me is to pour
salt directly onto my main ulcer. This works but note - can be
painful.