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CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 2001 Dec 11;165(12):1614.

A cure worse than the disease

Jane Mettham 1
PMCID: PMC99191

This home remedy for cankers isn't very amusing, particularly for the patient, but it does seem to work. Moisten the tip of a spoon and dip the spoon into alum power, which is available at most grocery stores and is usually used to make pickles crunchy. Press the spoon tip against the ulcerated area and hold the alum in place as long as possible. If you watch yourself in the mirror you'll turn quite red and your eyes will water profusely. Rinse out your mouth, wipe away your tears and repeat as often as needed until the ulcer is gone — 2 applications usually does the trick. OUCH!

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Jane Mettham
RN, London, Ont.


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