3yr. old with canker sores

[3 Star Mom]

My ds1, 3yrs. has been getting canker sores since about 18mo. Sometimes 2 or three at a time. He gets them almost every month and it makes it hard for him to eat and sleep . They are so big the whole side of his mouth is swollen for a week. I can tell when one is coming on because he is up all night. My husband has also had a problem with them in the past.

Is it just hereditary or dietary? Ds also sleeps A LOT. 12 hours at night (when he doesn't have a sore) and a 3-4 hour nap during the day. Don't know if there is a connection.

We have had him tested for food allergies and found no obvious allergens. Iv'e tried multivitamins, extra protein and lysine, yogurt, acidopholus, breast milk, none have helped. I can not figure this one out, and in the mean time he has to go through all this pain .

If you have any ideas of what this might be about please tell.

[tanyalynn]

I think DD's canker sores were related to being low in zinc, but just supplementing zinc wasn't enough to stop the canker sores. Homeopathic natrum muriaticum was really good at making the canker sores go away fast, I dosed 3-4x/day, and once I started doing that, they started happening less frequently. It's probably been a year since she's had one now.

That's a lot of sleep. Have you tested for anemia? I'd want to look at both iron and ferritin in a blood test, ferritin sometimes goes low before iron.

[3 Star Mom]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

Homeopathic natrum muriaticum was really good at making the canker sores go away fast,.

What exactly is this? I have not herd of it before. Is it hard to find? Sounds like it's worth a try.

And yes I thought of the iron a long time ago. We get WIC so he gets his iron levels checked about every 6mo. So far they are always in the normal range.

[tanyalynn]

You may want to check ferritin separately--mine was low even though my iron was fine. Wasn't the cause of my fatigue, but based on my HCP's response, it could've been.

Any health food store that carries homeopathic remedies would have it. Boiron is the most common brand, apparently it's not extremely well-regarded but it worked for us. It's about $8 for a round glass tube. Homeopathic remedies are usually lactose based, Boiron is. We've been fine with that small amount of milk product.

My kids only have intolerances, traditional allergy testing wouldn't have shown any issues. If you suspect food issues, one way is to try eliminating common allergens if you think that's a possibility.

[talia rose]

i had canker sores my whole young life. when i had my son i found out we were gluten intolerant. all the "allergy tests" they did on me when i was young (and there were many!) never picked that up as it was an intolerance, not an allergy. since i have been gluten free canker sores are no longer an issue. how connected it is I don't know but when you are intolerant and eat gluten you do not get your nutrients so an imbalance is always happening.....

[mommabear]

[deditus]

Canker sores are often cited as a symptom of gluten intolerance or celiac disease. I have not had a single one since being off gluten and I used to get them not often, but maybe several times a year.