Mouth ulcers, though very common, can still incite fear and worry in anybody unlucky enough to receive them. Canker sores and cold sores, the most “mainstream” fare among mouth ulcers, can be both painful and embarrassing. Even if the pain is tolerable, you’d be hard pressed to find anybody who doesn’t at least find oral ulcers annoying. If you’ve experienced one or more of these flare-ups lately and asked “why am I getting mouth ulcers?” it likely has to do with something you’ve changed in your diet or daily habits recently.

Have you quit smoking? More than one out of five people who quit find that mouth ulcers (primarily canker sores) arise in various quantities. This is a good thing, however, and is evidence that your body is ridding itself of the poison you’ve been forcing on it for years. If, however, you are not a smoker or are not quitting, your mouth ulcer may be the result of some kind of damage to the tissue. Did you recently bite your cheek or tongue? Since the mucus membrane that lines your mouth is your only defense in there against bacteria and viruses, the mouth can become subject to infection extremely easy if that layer is breached. This can happen easily when you accidentally bite yourself but the truth is that anything, from a chipped tooth rubbing against your lip to your dentist poking you with his implements, can cause a mouth ulcer.

Many people will get either a cold sore or a canker sore before or during an illness. This again has to do with the mouth being particularly susceptible to infection. When your immune system is lowered, your mouth is often the starting point for bacteria and infections. That is why the cold sore, also known as herpes simplex, earned its name, appearing like clockwork during an illness. Unfortunately, a mouth ulcer that arises because of a lowered immune system can also be a sign that you are suffering from an autoimmune disease. Aids, cancer, and other deadly diseases that target your immune system will often rear their head in the form of mouth ulcers. Fortunately, the odds are much better that your mouth ulcer is symptomatic of something much less severe. If, however, three weeks have passed and your “oral ulcer” is still present, you should consult a physician to make sure that nothing more severe is to blame. After all, being safe and alive is a lot more fun than being sorry and dead!

© 2009, Mouth Ulcers Cause. Copyright All rights reserved.

Related posts:

1. What Are Mouth Ulcers? Mouth ulcers, or oral ulcers, cover a wide variety of...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

This entry was posted on at and is filed under Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.