Mgimino
35 posts
Jul 21, 2009
4:51 PM
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Since I've started playing, often I get a canker sore in the same place on my inner lip. Would these have something to with playing harmonica, does anyone else get these?
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Michael
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KingoBad
57 posts
Jul 21, 2009
5:09 PM
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It is called HARPes Simplex. Stop being so nasty with your playing.
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nacoran
123 posts
Jul 21, 2009
5:20 PM
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Sometimes if I play too long, particularly with a wooden comb harp my lips get a little chewed up, but not quite like a canker sore. If it persists try a plastic comb. If it still persists, give it a rest and see if it goes away.
Kingo- lol.
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Mgimino
36 posts
Jul 21, 2009
5:22 PM
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They go away in 2 days or so, but while I have them they are so annoying. I already have a complete set of MB can't go changing to plastic just yet even if I wanted to
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Michael
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jonsparrow
636 posts
Jul 21, 2009
5:31 PM
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are you sure its a canker sore or did you just rub your lips raw from playin? i dont think you would get a canker sore from harp. but if its just rubbed raw try puttin it deeper in your mouth, fattin up your lips more, an make sure they dont get dry...as perverse as that sounds.
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Mgimino
37 posts
Jul 21, 2009
5:43 PM
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It's a canker sore alright, or cold sore, whatever it's called. Looks like a red swollen dot.
If I put my mouth any deeper on the harp I'd swallow it
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Michael
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jonsparrow
639 posts
Jul 21, 2009
7:12 PM
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"your hand may be irritating your lips and depositing some oil there."
could be that too. or maybe try cleanin your coverplates. like every time i put the harp down i wipe it down nice an good with my shirt an get all the saliva off it so its nice an shiny an clean. or take off the cover plate every so often an you will notice a build up of skin/saliva at the front. clean that off good.
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Greg Heumann
105 posts
Jul 21, 2009
10:22 PM
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Canker sores and cold sores are different. Canker sores are small white lesions, inside your mouth - hurt like hell. Cold sores usually happen on the boundary of your lip and facial skin. There is prescription medicine called Acyclovir for cold sores.
I suffer form canker sores. Used to anyway. I have learned some very useful info. If you have the virus you have it - it is always there. There are two kinds of amino acids in foods. One of these amino acids absolutely positively causes canker sores. The good news is that most foods have a balance of both and they offset each other so aren't a problem. Walnuts, on the other hand, have the highest ratio of the bad stuff to the good stuff. I can eat other kinds of nuts with no problem (although once I pigged out on a mountain of pistachios and got some sores coming on.) If I eat walnuts, my chances of getting a canker sore soar.
There is an over the counter tablet you can buy called Lysine or "L-Lysine". This is the good amino acid. You'll find it in the vitamin supplement section of any drug store or most grocery stores. Ever since I found out about it - at the first little tingle indicating an oncoming sore, or even if I just engage in risky behavior (eat walnuts, bite my lip or otherwise injure the skin inside my mouth) I take Lysine - a tablet or two a day for a couple days. The stuff is MAGIC and has COMPLETELY controlled my problem. And most doctors don't even know this. I now keep some in my car. The sooner you take it when you've injured yourself or suspect you might be getting a sore, the better. If you already have a sore, it will help it heal sooner and keep it from spreading.
If you google "canker sore and lysine" you'll find out a whole lot more - but I haven't had a canker sore in several years now simply by avoiding walnuts and using Lysine when I think there is a chance one will erupt.
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/Greg
http://www.BlowsMeAway.com
http://www.BlueStateBand.net
Last Edited by on Jul 21, 2009 10:25 PM
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jaymcc28
96 posts
Jul 22, 2009
7:05 AM
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I have always had a MAJOR problem with canker sores. Greg is right that cankers are very different from cold sores. Another way to explain a canker is that it is an ulcer on the inside of your mouth. I get them bad, all over the inside of my mouth and they last a LONG time. I not only get them on my gums but my tongue, soft tissue inside my cheeks and (GULP) even on my uvula! I find that if I'm playing a lot of harmonica I can get flare ups around the gums and soft tissue that touches my teeth. However, I found that if, as Greg says, at the 'first tingling' I rinse my mouth with chlorhexidine gluconate I can stave them off. Chlorhexidine gluconate is a prescription rinse that dentists sometimes prescribe after oral surgery. My wife had some work done and got this prescription and the dentist mentioned in passing that it also worked real well on cankers. I tried it and it's like magic so the dentist will prescribe it for me if I call in.
Two other things that I find useful. First, is that I use a special toothpaste from Rembrandt specific for canker sores. Since I started using it about 10 years ago my flare ups are much less frequent. About a year ago I couldn't find it at the local pharmacy and sure enough things got worse. We found it online and bought a case.
Second, if things are real bad I can drink a Bass Ale and it works wonders. I'm not talking about drinking until I can't feel anymore, just one or two beers.
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harpcrab
14 posts
Jul 22, 2009
7:41 AM
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Apthous Ulcers, aka- canker sores, are pretty tough to manage. Direct cause is unknown- thought to have an autoimmune component. Some people have "triggers", such as citrus or spicy foods, stress, traumatic injury, hormonal changes etc., but not everyone. I've had some luck with Chlorhexidine rinse (Peridex) but for the most part treatment is paliative at best. Of course, different treatments work better or worse for each person. Best of luck-
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MrVerylongusername
432 posts
Jul 22, 2009
7:45 AM
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Could it related to nickel allergy - do hohners still have nickel plates??? - try putting some surgical tape across the cover plates where your lips would contact. If that reduces it maybe you need to swap to harps with ss covers.
Last Edited by on Jul 22, 2009 7:48 AM
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Greg Heumann
106 posts
Jul 22, 2009
9:43 AM
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jaymcc, harpcrab - have you tried Lysine? If so, and it does NOT work for you I'd like to know. It sure works for me. If you haven't tried it - do yourself a favor. I swear it is the best thing I've ever found for it - and has (knock wood) completely eliminated the problem for me as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. HereIgoagainnotwantingtotypyourusernamebecuaseitssolong:
I don't think it has anything to do with nickel (or any other) metal allergy - however rubbing your skin raw, or simply irritating a minor, non-canker wore with the harp is a recipe to turn it into one.
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/Greg
http://www.BlowsMeAway.com
http://www.BlueStateBand.net
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harpcrab
15 posts
Jul 22, 2009
10:12 AM
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I've had some folks swear by it for cold sores, others say it did no good. Generally, the L-lysine is supposed to be benificial for herpetic lesions ("cold sores" on the lips/extraoral), not so much apthous ulcers ("canker sores" autoimmune???/intraoral). If you find something that works for you, then by all means!!!
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jaymcc28
97 posts
Jul 22, 2009
11:42 AM
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@Greg: I've never used the lysine. The Chlorohexedine Gluconate works great for me. If I notice one starting and rinse in the morning and at night I can usually keep the sores from showing up at all. Maybe I'll pick some lysine up as a back up but I wouldn't want to play around with my 'treatment'. You know what they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
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nacoran
124 posts
Jul 22, 2009
12:17 PM
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When I get a sore in my mouth, usually from biting my cheek or lip, I gargle with pineapple juice. I get one of those cans of chunked pineapple and eat half of it. I hold the pineapple piece against the sore. The next day it's much better. (A doctor suggested this to me once.) You can also try an antiseptic/analgesic like Kanka, just be careful putting it on or you'll end up with your whole mouth numb.
On a side note, never use Kanka in your nose. Sometimes in the winter, well, anyway, a numb nose feels just like a runny nose for several hours.
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bluzlvr
225 posts
Jul 22, 2009
1:26 PM
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Man, I hate those canker sores. I get them from time to time, but once I got a horrible outbreak of canker sores (there were at least ten, too many to count) right before a friend asked me to play harp on a public access video he was making.
No matter which way I moved my mouth it hurt, but I swallowed about 5 aspirin and got through the gig.
Needless to say, my harp playing wasn't quite up to par, and it was all captured on video!
I gotta try that pineapple thing next time. I love pineapple anyway.
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