Help Heal Mouth Sores Faster With These 6 Tips

Weakened immunity caused by poor living habits is the real culprit keeping mouth sores from healing.

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Does pain from mouth sores prevent you from enjoying your meal? Weakened immunity caused by poor living habits is the real culprit keeping mouth sores from healing. Chien-Tung Wu from Taiwan Yong Sheng Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic recommends six dietary patterns and lifestyle habits to speed up the recovery of mouth sores.

Depending on different triggers, Western medicine divides mouth sores into categories like herpetic gingivostomatitis, oropharyngeal candidiasis, etc. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), according to the severity of the wound, relatively small sores are called aphthous ulcers (canker sores), and sores spreading within the mouth are called aphthous stomatitis (recurrent canker sores). Mr. Wu divides the body types that cause mouth sores into three major types.

3 Body Constitutions Prone to Mouth Sores

The following are three types of constitutions that make people more prone to mouth sores:

1. Dampness and heat in the spleen and stomach: Those who like to eat grilled, fried, spicy, and other “hot” foods and drink little water will have strong spleen and stomach fire, which can lead to inflammation of the epithelial tissue and development of mouth sores.
2. Yin deficiency with excess heat: People who are overworked, stay up late, or have low energy after a serious illness are prone to sores in their mouths due to yin deficiency with excess heat.
3. Weak spleen and stomach: People with weak spleen and stomach have difficulty absorbing nutrients. Once the sores break out, there are not enough nutrients to repair the damage to the epithelial tissue.

TCM uses the theory of yin and yang to explain the human body’s biological activities, the causes of disease, and pathological changes. This understanding allows practitioners to guide disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. TCM believes when the body’s yin and yang are out of balance, and internal fire is strong, it results in “excess fire.” This fire describes specific heat symptoms, such as red and swollen eyes, mouth sores, yellow urine, toothache, sore throat, etc.