I got two annoying mouth ulcers three days ago and I don't feel like going to the pharmacist. My mom handed me a jar of cane honey, but it seems weird to just smear honey in my mouth like that.
Don't get honey all sticky and clay-like stuck on your canker sores, that's gonna be worse 😅 but yeah, put on a thin layer and leave it there for a few minutes, it works pretty well because it kills bacteria and speeds up healing. What nobody mentions is that if the honey is too sweet or too thick, it might irritate you more at first, so try pure honey that's more liquid if you can. I'd say it works, same as any home remedy, but if it hasn't improved at all in a week then yeah go to the pharmacy.
Honey has antimicrobial properties that work pretty well for canker sores, so your mom's not off base. There are studies showing that honey speeds up healing by about 20-30% compared to doing nothing, so even though it sounds weird to apply it directly, the truth is it's worth trying. The only thing is you have to apply it several times a day, especially after eating, for it to be effective. If it doesn't improve in a week or gets worse, then you should head to the pharmacy to get something stronger.
I've been selling houses for 28 years and in all that time I've seen everything, but home remedies for canker sores are something my family has always used 😅 Your mom is right on the basics, but there's an important nuance that nobody's really mentioning.
Real honey actually works, that's true. The thing is, it's not magic and it's not gonna cure your canker sores in a day. What it does is help keep the area from getting infected and feel less inflamed, but you gotta be consistent about it. The trick is applying a really thin layer (not like you're doing a spa mask, haha), leaving it for 15-20 minutes and then rinsing with warm water. Do it three or four times a day and you'll notice they disappear in like five or six days. I do it myself when I get canker sores, especially at camp when I don't have access to pharmacies 🏕️
What I don't get is why you don't wanna go to the pharmacy being honest, because if you've got two annoying canker sores already, an oral patch or something like that works way faster and plus they're cheap. But anyway, if you'd rather do it with honey, do it right: real honey (not that fake syrup stuff), regular application and patience. But yeah, if they don't get better in a week or they get worse, you gotta stop with the home remedy experiments.
But what nobody mentions is that before you apply it you gotta dry the canker sore really well with a tissue or something, because if it's wet the honey just dissolves right away and loses its effect. I do it like this: I dry it, put on a thin layer, and I can handle not eating or drinking for like ten minutes minimum. Also if you've got baking soda at home, doing a quick rinse before helps a ton because it kills bacteria and prepares the area. The two times I've had canker sores in the last few years I got rid of them like that in about four or five days.
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