View Full Version : Mouth and Nose Ulcers

02-05-2007, 12:57 AM
Often one of the first signs of a Lupus flare is mouth and/or nose ulcers. These are aphthous ulcers, better known as canker sores. Basically they are sores in the mouth or nose, usually less than 1 cm in diameter, shallow and painful.

They usually begin with a tingling or burning sensation at the site where an ulcer is going to appear. Within a few days they progress to a red spot or bump and then an open ulcer. They are usually a white or yellow oval with an inflamed red border.

There are several things you can do to help prevent mouth and nose ulcers as well as speed healing and reduce pain:

Early treatment greatly reduces the time the sore and pain last
Reduce disease activity with Lupus treatment
Reduce stress
Get plenty of rest
Practice good oral hygiene
Do not smoke
Rinse with salt water
Pain relieving gels such as Anbesol, Bonjela, Campho-Phenique, Orabase B, Zilactin, or Kanka can be used
Talk to your doctor or dentist about antiseptic mouthwashes
Talk to your doctor about steroid lozenges or pastes for the mouth
Talk to your doctor about steroid pastes or nasal sprays for the nose
In more severe cases there are specialized drugs that can be prescribed

02-06-2007, 04:08 AM
This is news to me :( The sores I get are in the roof of my mouth, and they are lots of blisters, like when you eat a pizza that's too hot. They are not canker sores.

02-06-2007, 07:43 PM
There are other ways the mouth can be involved. This just deals with the one way. Others include: Mucosal discoid lupus erythematosus, Bullous SLE, NON-SPECIFIC MUCOSAL LESIONS IN LE, Oral candidiasis.

Your post prompted me to look further into it and I found this on the LFA website:

Bullous SLE





Hope it helps!