Why do children often get cold sores?

Canker sores in children are ulcers of the oral mucosa caused by many different causes. Children who often suffer from canker sores often feel extremely uncomfortable and painful when eating and drinking. Therefore, understanding the cause for effective treatment is the best way to help children feel more comfortable.

Canker sores in children is an ulcerative condition of the oral mucosa caused by many different causes. Children are prone to sores on the oral mucosa, pain, burning in the oral cavity, dry and foul mouth, red tongue, ... Children with oral heat and tongue disease manifest as a few white spots suddenly appearing in the child's mouth. Round or oval, the initial size is about 1-2mm, then it grows to about 8-10mm. A few days later, these spots burst and burst, causing mouth ulcers.
The sores often appear anywhere in the mouth, tongue or on the gums of the child, so when eating spicy or salty foods, the baby will have sore sores. Even many children cannot eat or drink anything until the symptoms subside. Children often have tongue heat, mouth is often uncomfortable, fussy and anorexia, mouth drooling a lot. Even if the ulcer is severe, the baby may have a fever, accompanied by swollen neck nodes, swollen gums and bleeding.

Children have frequent and recurrent mouth and tongue heat, mainly due to the following reasons:
Children are bitten by hard objects (toothbrushes, sharp objects such as chopsticks, forks, bones,...) or accidentally bitten by them. inside the lips, cheeks, tearing the lining of the mouth; Children with weakened immune systems due to stress, illness, poor diet, etc., so their health is weakened, creating conditions for bacteria to attack, causing mouth ulcers; Children eat too much fat, spicy, hot, ... cause heat in the body and lead to mouth ulcers; Children with tooth decay or inflammation of the roots, inflammation of the pulp, inflammation of the apex,...; Children are infected with certain types of bacteria and fungi, which disrupt the biological balance in the body, leading to mouth sores; Children with impaired liver function, weakened or damaged liver, resulting in not being able to filter out harmful toxins such as arsenic or lead. These toxins will accumulate in the oral mucosa for a long time, causing mouth ulcers; Children with allergies to drugs and foods; Children with iron deficiency, vitamin C, zinc and vitamin B12,...; Other causes: Colitis, Celiac disease, allergy to chemical ingredients in toothpaste (sodium lauryl sulfate), sensitivity to some foods, coffee, pineapple, eggs, chocolate, nuts, ....

Usually, the symptoms of canker sores go away on their own in 1-2 weeks. However, canker sores are easy to recur if parents do not treat their children properly. Over time, children will lose weight, become thin, not excited to participate in activities,...
To limit discomfort and pain for children, parents can do the following:
Give children Gargle with diluted salt water at least 4 times a day until the sores heal completely. Parents can also let children gargle with beet juice 3 times a day to quickly fake unpleasant symptoms of canker sores; Feed children liquid, pureed, easy-to-swallow foods that do not need to be chewed as much as porridge, soup, etc. At the same time, parents should note that food for children needs to be frugal; It should not be too spicy, salty or hot. Besides, it is necessary to limit feeding children with chips or nuts because they are easy to damage gums and soft tissues in the mouth; Ice can be applied to the ulcer to relieve pain; Let the child suck on honey or take a cotton swab soaked in honey, apply it to the ulcer site (note not to use honey for children under 1 year old to avoid toxicity). In addition, parents can apply other folk methods such as applying aloe vera, yogurt, turmeric, ... to the sores in the child's mouth to treat canker sores; Let children drink tomato juice 1-2 times/day; adding orange juice, lemon juice, grapefruit juice daily for babies, ... also helps provide enough vitamins needed for children to improve resistance, quickly get rid of mouth sores; Let the baby gargle with 0.9% physiological saline every day until the ulcer heals completely; Children should drink more water. If a child has 2-3 sores in the mouth and they often recur, parents should take the child to see a doctor. The doctor may give your child some antibacterial medicine to reduce the growth of bacteria, helping the sores in the mouth to heal faster. In addition, the doctor may also give the child some medicines that are applied directly to the sores to help the wound heal faster.

To prevent the risk of recurrence of canker sores in children, parents should pay attention to:
For children to use toothpaste that does not contain sodium lauryl sulfate; Encourage children to clean their teeth every day. Children should use a soft toothbrush, instruct them not to brush too hard. With younger children, parents can use a tongue scraper to gently clean the baby's oral cavity; Check if the child is allergic to any food, if so, remove that food from the child's menu; Make sure your child has a healthy and nutritious diet full of green vegetables, fruits and whole grains; Establish good habits for children in daily activities such as resting on time, not staying up late, not eating too much,... At the same time, children should practice gargling with warm salt water daily to clean their mouths. effective oral cavity; If a child often has mouth sores, has applied the above measures but is not effective or the child has other symptoms such as fever, rash, etc., parents should take the child to a doctor immediately to be detected and treated. Early treatment ensures the baby has a good health.
With many years of experience in examining and treating diseases in children, now the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec International General Hospital has become one of the major health care centers, capable of examining , screening and treatment of many specialized diseases in children. Therefore, if the child has signs of a sore throat that does not go away for a long time or has more severe symptoms, parents can take the child to Vinmec International General Hospital for examination and receive support and advice from doctors. doctors and health professionals.