Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Corporal]

Does anyone get cankers/cold sores a LOT when they're in Korea, and if so, how do you treat them? My doctor just keeps telling me that I get them because I'm overtired and I need to rest more. Mine always get really big, and they HURT.

Advice? Yes, rest more, I know, but other than that?

[Guest]

Do you really mean needing advice for both ? Technically cold sores and canker soers are different things entirely. Though, of course, people use them interchangably (layman wise). A canker sore is more a chemical or other irritant irritation - much like dermatitis, whereas a cold sore "generally" is the layman term for an oral-herpes infection. Quite different. Lots of vitamin C as well as the standard rest and tired issues. If they are external (not in the mouth i.e., not on the mucosa) and you feel it coming on you need to keep it clean as well as dabbing it with standard rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) many times a day will help supress virus growth, but of course the area will burn, dry, etc. but in my view, much more tolerable than the whole sore, blister, bleeding, scab that develops later. And if you mean less less serious canker sores then keep your mouth clean, don't irritate it such as with potato chips, careful brushing, and rinsing with H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) will help - especially after brushing and meals ...

Then again what do I know ......... you'd be surprised

[Corporal]

I'm aware that they're not the same thing; I get them both. Cankers more often than cold sores. Thanks for the rather disjointed advice anyway, though.

[phaedrus]

I put salt directly on them. It hurts like nothing else, but ultimately feels pleasurable. I don't know if this is a proper or good cure, but it seems to work for me. None that I have had got big or unsightly, just small and go away after salting.

[dogbert]

I've found Lidex to be helpful. I've heard that liquid Benadryl helps too.

[Guest]

[schwa]

[t bear]

Once the cold sore has come out, theres not a lot you can do. If you have some cream, zivirax, put it on when you first get the tingle. Once its out, I found tea tree helps it to heal faster. People get cold sores for different reasons, run down, the sun, stress.

[schwa]

2 distinct disease threads going on here.

Oral herpes folks, please decline the soju cup! On the other hand, probably kills anything.

[Mr. Pink]

Corporal,

I get them when I eat fruit.

This is what I do:

put some water into a glass. then add some salt. 1-2 spoon fuls should be enough. then i swoosh my mouth with that water.

AFTER that, i use mouth wash and again swoosh my mouth.

Usually works well.

Now if you have SERIOUS pain, I would suggest you get that stuff people with dentures use. Can't remember the name, but I bought it once (since used it all up) and it numbs your mouth/gums for like an hour.

[Eunoia]

A bit of folksy wisdom, perhaps... my grandma swore up and down that canker sores are the result of a poor, unbalanced diet. I've found that I get them too, after a period of eating too much junk food and not enough getting enough fruits/vegebatables or fibre. Take it or leave it as you will, but she forgot more folksy wisdom in her years than I will ever learn in the first place...

...but I will back up what others have said about rinsing/gargling with WARM salt water, 2x per day. That seems to clear them up pretty quickly.

[OiGirl]

I am blessed to have not had to deal with cold sores for many years.

But I have had canker sores all my life, since I was a child. Which is kind of scary...just how much stress did I have in elementary school in the states inthe 70s and 80s?

At home I would use Anbesol or Orajel. They make adult formulas, but do you have any baby teething preparations, Corporal? I also have a big old tube of Xylocain gel from Mexico. You could go to the pharmacy and ask for lidocain gel. It may be you can still get that without a prescription.

When I was in elementary school long ago and the nurse could give students something more than a Band-Aid and ice, she would put oil of cloves on my canker sores. I don't know if other oils, like tea tree oil, would work for you, but I know you can get tea tree oil and a few other essential oils at the Body Shop.

[Homer]

Corporal,

It might be fruit indeed, my sister gets them when she eats certain fruits.
Maybe try acupuncture, it worked for her (weird I know)

Finally, arguably the first dude to respond to your OP was a bit offensive and aggressive but why does that equate to:

[Corporal]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. My mom used to put salt on them when I was little, but I thought she did it just because she liked listening to me scream. Salt is a purifier, so it can't make it worse, I would think. I haven't been eating much fruit, but they honestly don't seem related to what I eat and don't eat as far as I can tell.

Homer,
no, being Korean does not necessarily equal persecution complex--I guess that poster just irked me with his continuous "what do I know"s and acting as if I was a four-year-old that only understood "layman" terms ...it reminded me of cpa and some of the other gyopos that have posted on here in the past. Maybe it was a perfectly normal foreigner (or Korean for that matter) just having a bad day? One can hope he/she doesn't always start out making friends that way.

[Homer]

Thats what I thought Corporal...

I didn't quite see the relevance of asking the user if he was Korean as that has absolutely no bearing on this thread...

Btw...good luck with the sores and all that.
I would suggest hitting the spa once a week and just relaxing.