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Mouth ulcers at least once in a lifetime appeared in every person. A slight reddening of the mucous membranes quickly increases in size, tissue damage occurs, which causes pain and discomfort.
Causes of mouth ulcers
Mouth ulcers form for a variety of reasons.
All of them can be combined into 2 large groups:
Traumatic injuries leading to the formation of ulcers.
Diseases that provoke the formation of ulcers in the mouth.
If we consider the causes of mouth ulcers in more detail, we can distinguish the most common of them:
Taking medications. Ulcers appear in the mouth as an adverse reaction to ongoing treatment. For example, diuretics can interfere with the production of saliva, which often causes the mouth to dry out.
Deficiency of vitamins in the body, errors in nutrition. Ulcers are caused by a lack of vitamins A and B.
An allergic reaction of the body to certain foods. The most allergenic foods include eggs, chocolate, milk, citrus fruits.
Use of toothpaste containing sodium lauryl sulfate. This component dries out the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, depriving it of its natural protection.
Hormonal surge. It occurs during menopause and during pregnancy.
Dehydration of the body.
Hereditary predisposition to the formation of ulcerative defects.
Alcohol abuse, smoking.
Often it is thanks to mouth ulcers that it is possible to detect diseases that a person did not even suspect before.
These small defects on the oral mucosa can appear for the following reasons:
Crayfish. The neoplasm can be localized in the nasopharynx, in the neck.
Cancer treatment.
Diseases of the digestive tract, for example, gastritis or colitis. Even helminthic infestations can lead to mouth ulcers.
Dehydration of the body. It develops for various reasons, including: diarrhea, vomiting, blood loss, high body temperature.
Hormonal imbalance. Mouth ulcers often appear in women in position and during menopause.
The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the body’s own defenses.
Diabetes.
Sjogren’s syndrome.
Bronchial asthma. Mouth ulcers appear in people who use aerosol preparations containing a hormonal component for treatment.
Anemia.
Types of mouth ulcers
Most often, mouth ulcers indicate a disease such as stomatitis. There are many varieties of this pathology. Distinguish fungal stomatitis, herpetic aphthous, allergic. The disease can have both acute and chronic course.
Depending on the cause that provoked the appearance of ulcers in the mouth, there are such types of stomatitis as:
Aphthous. The cause of mouth ulcers is an autoimmune reaction of the body, or an adenovirus infection. First, reddish spots appear on the mucous membrane, which increase in size. Then a grayish coating forms on them. The tissues underneath begin to die, which leads to painful sensations. In the future, the ulcer will clear up on its own and heal.
Herpetic. This type of disease is caused by the herpes virus. Bubbles filled with gray liquid appear in the mouth. They are located at the bottom of the oral cavity, in the sky, on the tongue, on the inner surface of the cheeks. Ulcers are very painful, cause itching and discomfort.
Bacterial. The disease becomes a consequence of microbial infection of the tissues of the oral cavity. It can be staphylococci, streptococci and other pathogens.
Candidiasis. Mouth ulcers appear due to the active reproduction of fungi of the genus Candida.
Allergic. The mucous membrane of the oral cavity ulcerates against the background of an allergic reaction of the body. It can occur in response to the components of toothpaste, to drugs, to substances that dentists use to treat children.
Regardless of the type of stomatitis, mouth ulcers appear in people with reduced immunity.
Ulcers can form after an injury. Sometimes a person accidentally bites on soft tissues, or gets hurt with a brush while brushing their teeth. Often the cause of the injury is dentures. Less often, injuries are caused to the patient by doctors (dentists or prosthetists) during the performance of medical manipulations.
Mouth ulcers are not always the result of stomatitis.
They may appear for other reasons, including:
Acute gingivostomatitis. Ulcers fester, populate not only the gums and the inner surface of the cheeks, but also the soft palate, as well as the tonsils. The cause of the disease is a viral infection. To get rid of ulcerative defects, you need to take antiviral drugs.
Syphilis. This is an infectious disease that is transmitted sexually. Ulcers that appear in the oral cavity are red, covered with a dark gray coating and do not hurt.
Cancerous tumors. Ulcerative defects are dense, do not cause pain in a person.
Tuberculosis of the oral cavity. Tubercles appear in the mouth, on the surface of which ulcerative defects form. They ooze blood from time to time.
Scarlet fever and diphtheria. These diseases can also cause the formation of mouth ulcers.
These disorders have a variety of symptoms. Mouth ulcers are far from the only sign of illness. Severe pathologies are accompanied by decomposition of internal organs, fever, weakness, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss and pain.
Symptoms
Mouth ulcers, regardless of the cause that led to their formation, give a certain set of symptoms. In children, body temperature rises more often than in adults, but general well-being rarely suffers.
The main symptoms include:
Redness of a separate area in the mouth, its swelling and soreness. These signs appear first.
A day later, an oval or round ulcer forms in the inflamed area. It is covered with a film of yellow or white, and there is a red border around it. Such symptoms most often indicate the bacterial nature of the ulcer.
Saliva begins to stand out more. Mouth may smell bad.
In some patients, bleeding gums increase.
There is pain, which is gaining strength during eating, when talking.
Increase in body temperature. With intense inflammation, it can reach feverish marks.
Enlarged lymph nodes in size.
A favorite place for localization of ulcers are the gums, the inner surface of the cheeks, the palate and tonsils. The sublingual region and the tongue itself suffer less often.
When should you see a doctor?
If the ulcers do not cause anxiety and pain to a person and go away on their own after a few days, then you should not worry. However, this does not always happen. Sometimes it is impossible to do without medical help.
You need to see a doctor in the following situations:
In addition to ulcers in the mouth, a rash appeared on the skin of a person.
Body temperature rose to high levels.
Inflamed other mucous membranes (eyes, genitals).
A person is sick, vomits, develops diarrhea.
Severe headaches appeared, breathing became difficult, and the rashes themselves itch strongly.
Ulcers persist in the mouth for more than 7 days, there are no signs of tissue epithelialization. Defects are large, or there are more than 10 of them.
Ulcers keep recurring. Moreover, new defects appear at a time when the old ones have not yet healed.
Diagnostics
To determine the nature of the ulcer that appeared in the mouth, you need to consult a doctor. You can go to an appointment with either a dentist or a general practitioner. As a rule, stomatitis does not cause difficulties in the diagnostic plan. Therefore, it is possible to get by with a visual inspection.
If the doctor suspects some other pathology, then PCR diagnostics are required (PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction). The collected material is examined, due to which the cause of the disease is determined.
Treatment of mouth ulcers
Treatment for mouth ulcers depends on the underlying cause. It is important to accurately determine the causes of mouth ulcers. Sometimes they are very serious. Such patients require complex therapy, which differs from the treatment regimens for stomatitis. Local treatment of ulcers caused by cancerous tumors or sexually transmitted diseases will not be enough.
If you do not eliminate the cause that led to the formation of ulcers, then it will not be possible to get rid of them forever. After a while they will appear again. Therefore, it is so important to visit a doctor, and not engage in self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
Video: Live great! Ulcers in the mouth: