Mouth ulcer - is this normal?

[localbunny]

Hi all, would appreciate some crowd sourced advice/personal experience from anyone.

DH has had a nasty mouth ulcer on his tongue for 4 days. I've had the occasional mouth ulcer - as most of us have - and though a bit painful I generally use some Bonjela and avoid salty foods etc and it clears up. DH can't speak as it's so painful. Tried Iglu, Bonjela, those pastilles that you suck slowly, ibuprofen and even a co-codamol when he couldn't sleep (!! but it's waking him up through the night) - nothing has really helped.

He's drinking through a straw, I'm making him really soft and bland foods etc and presume it will eventually go away (I know 4 days isn't long), but I'm a bit worried that it's causing him such extreme discomfort.

Has anyone else experienced this? Not sure whether to go back to the pharmacy and ask for some OTC?! Just feel so sorry for him.

I always just gargle with salt water to heal them. This suggests bicarb too.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58BGqx1Q3Cdw0MTyMxBDhl1/how-do-i-treat-a-mouth-ulcer
But if it’s that bad then you could ask the pharmacy if you don’t mind the queues there are these days.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/mouth-ulcers/

We always use Anbesol which is a liquid that you put on the ulcer. It does sting like hell at first but then the numbing action kicks in. Try to gently dry the ulcer area first so there is no salvia then apply using your finger tip, reapply and reapply a few times so it gets a good coating.

We set a timer to reapply every 3 hours. Mouth ulcers can be horrific and can stop you talking depending on their location in the mouth/on the tongue.

I never liked bonjela as it never stayed where I put it, all squidy and moving around.

Another vote for Anbesol!

I don't know about healing it up necessarily, but I've found Anbesol liquid to be the best painkiller for ulcers. It stings a fair bit for a few seconds when you apply it (and the worse the ulcer the more it hurts) but it numbs things for a while so eating is more comfortable.

• salvia? saliva! meant to say use a towel/flannel to dry the ulcer.

@localbunny, clear winner for you. Get thee to a chemist for Anbesol.

I used Ora gel it's brilliant!

Thank you all! Appreciate the help. Now proud owner of Anbesol, and the pharmacist also gave me some Difflam mouthwash for him. Just going to be a barrage of painkillers for a few days...