Toddler Canker Sore Relief

We had a wild weekend a week ago.  DS didn’t have an appetite to eat starting wednesday.  We thought it was just him being all active, preferring to play rather than eat.  Then it happened, Thursday he started complaining of an “Owee”. His canker sores appeared.  Our weekend was about to get pretty long.

He couldn’t eat anything because his mouth hurted so much.  It was unbearable to watch him to start crying because he was in so much pain. All he did was cry and sleep the whole time. We prayed and tried everything to relieve him using everything from Tylenol to popsicles to icecream.  After a while though, he refused to eat the icecream and popsicle, poor baby.

Then, I remembered something my parents said a couple of days prior, “Listerine cures canker sores!” I hurriedly told DH.  Then, my mother in law said the same thing, “Try Smart Rinse!” It’s a mouthwash for kids. Well, that makes sense, mouthwash contains antiseptics.  

DH did a run to CVS and looked for some options. He found Orajel for canker sores, so we tried it.  DS didn’t like it really.  I’m sure it stung when he rinsed with it.  But kept trying it anyway.  On Saturday, DH made another run to the drugstore and came home with Kanka. It’s a product from Blistex that’s like a pen with a brush tip.  You twist the container and the medication comes out of the tip.  You then apply the brush to the sores in the mouth (except the tongue). DS wasn’t too thrilled about another medication, but you know what? It worked.  He stopped complaining as much about his sores. I guess Kanka numbed the pain.  You can use it up to 4 times a day. By the end of the following day, we saw his sores get better and he was able to start eating again.  

On Monday, he was back to his old self. Once again, he was active, happy and hungry…just how I like it!