It is with great pleasure that I look forward to reading your Holiday Review each year! I was especially interested in the home remedy on canker sores submitted by Jane Mettham.1 For as long as I can remember, I have used baking soda on canker sores. It is used in a similar fashion as described for alum powder and is a common household product. Similarly, it hurts like heck but it seems to work. A quick search of PubMed revealed a reference for using baking soda mouthwashes in the treatment of oral ulcerations.2
Jennifer MacDonald PGY2 Family Medicine Fredericton, NB
References
- 1.Mettham J. Home remedies: a cure worse than the disease. CMAJ 2001;165(12):1614.
- 2.Birt D, From L, Main J. Diagnosis and management of long standing benign oral ulceration. Laryngoscope 1980;90(5 Pt 1):758-68. [PubMed]