You wake up one morning and without any notice, you find a small sore hankering along the inside of your mouth or lip. Most likely this is just a canker sore on the lip, which is common, not contagious and rarely requires any treatment. However, it can provide some discomfort and is a big inconvenience to your appearance and to the foods that you eat, since some foods can irritate the lip canker sore even more.

What is a canker sore?

A canker sore is an aphthous ulcer that is a small, open sore and white or yellow with red along the edges. Normally these ulcers appear inside the mouth, along the tongue and on the inside of the lip. They do not normally occur outside of the mouth like a cold sore does. A cold sore is a fever blister that is associated with herpes simplex virus and is highly contagious.

Finding pictures of a canker sore on a lip

Canker sores do not normally appear outside of the mouth, but instead they can be very painful in the mouth and on the inner side of the lip. A cold sore is normally the sore that appears on the outside of the lip. To determine which type of sore you have it is a good idea to know what you are looking for. The easiest way is to find photos of what a canker sore on a lip looks like. When you search online for this, you will find that most photos show the whitish sore inside the mouth, normally on the lower lip. Google images is a great place to start when looking for pictures of a canker sore on the lip.

While searching online is a great and easy option, you have to make sure that what you are searching for is in fact a canker sore and not a cold sore. Go to a reliable source including any medial websites, online encyclopedias, or treatment websites. All of these sites will provide you with knowledgeable information and photos that can help you see what a canker sore on the lip looks like, and how you can go about treating it if necessary.

Why they occur

Canker sores can come about for many different reasons. Stress, food allergies, and poor dental hygiene can all be leading factors of why you might be experiencing a canker sore. Genetics can also play a huge part of why you get canker sores - like your mother or father used to, and braces, retainers, or mouth guards can also help bring out a canker sore or two. Any hardware including metal braces can rub up against the inner lining of the mouth and the lip and really irritate them which can cause a canker sore to arise.

Who gets canker sores on the lip?

Anyone can get a canker sore as they are extremely common. However, those who are in the age bracket of 10-20 years old tend to get them more often than those who are younger or. Caucasians tend to get more canker sores too and those who are not even smokers can experience reoccurring ulcers like these.

Treating canker sores on the lip

There are many over-the-counter topical creams and ointments that can help rid the pain and discomfort of a canker sore on the lip. Since it can be hard to allow an ointment or cream to stay on inside the mouth where it is constantly moist, mouth rinses can also help satiate the sore. Mouth rinses not only help diminish the canker sore but can help the mouth stay clean and healthy. However, those who are looking for pain relief may need to stick with a topical cream or seek medical assistance. While a canker sore is not anything to worry about, they can sometimes take a while to heal and if there is a lot of pain, it might become an uncomfortable, ongoing nuisance that needs a prescription.

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Sores on the outside of the lip

While getting a canker sore on the inside of your lip is normal, having a sore on the outside of your lip is not considered to be a canker sore. These are typically called cold sores and, like canker sores, you don’t need to always seek medical attention unless they are extremely painful and do not go away within a few weeks. Since a cold sore is associated with a viral infection, herpes simplex, it is contagious and those with one should not share any dental products (such tooth brushes) or saliva.

You will know that you do not have a canker sore because a cold sore occurs on the outside of the mouth and is a red score that oozes a clear liquid. These can be very frustrating especially appearance-wise, but using an over-the-counter treatment or getting a prescription can help the blister diminish faster. Normally an oral rinse is not what is used to treat a cold sore because unlike a canker sore, they do not occur in the mouth and instead a topical application is more appropriate.

Preventing canker sores on the lip

There are plenty of ways to prevent a canker sore, especially on the inside of your lip where it can be most painful. Some of the ways to prevent them are:

• Oral rinses (non-alcoholic)
• Brushing teeth after meals
• Proper dental hygiene
• Healthy nutrition
• Using toothpastes without sodium dodecyl sulfate (SLS)

Instead of worrying about what to do if you get a canker sore, it makes more sense to simply try to prevent them. Those who have experienced these sores know that they can be very painful and take a while to fully heal, which can be very frustrating. By keeping a healthy dental hygiene program and a balanced diet with the proper nutrition and vitamins, you could easily help your mouth to staying canker sore free. Don’t let a canker sore bother the inside of your mouth or lip ever again when you properly prevent these ulcers from forming in the first place.