painful mouth sore, getting worse...

[seemfrog]

Occassionally I get a sore on the inside of my mouth, red area with white center.  I can usually get it to go away with a mouthwash concoction (tto, gfse, csilver, salt), but this one (on my lower lip, sort of rubs up against my teeth) seems to be getting worse and worse.  Right now my whole lower mouth feels tender and the sore is crazy painful, and seems to be getting larger.

any ideas?

[seemfrog]

well, after reading some other posts, I went out and bought some L-lysine, zinc, and have been taking those (and garlic) along with my mouthwash.  I also tried the wet black tea bag for pain and that seemed very helpful.

the sore (I guess a canker sore) seems to have improved, no more white spot, but a pretty large red area, and my whole lower lip is extremely sore, tight (difficult to talk/eat/smile), and feels thick.

I'm wondering if this means there is/was a secondary bacterial infection? should I be concerned to the point of needing medical attention or just keep doing what I'm doing?

thanks for any thoughts.