.png)
My husband came to me on a Sunday night asking me if I had any help for a canker sore. He was desperate for a little relief from the pain. He doesn't get canker sores very often and usually there are some triggers for the development: certain foods, seasonal allergies, and stress all contribute to the eruption of a canker sore for him.
I set to researching and found that there are several oils that could help with canker sores such clove and eucalyptus. A blend of these and other essential oils to be the best help for a canker sore. We use Immune Strength from Rocky Mountain Oils which contains: Clove Bud, Cinnamon Bark, Lemon, Orange, Oregano, Mandarin, Thyme, Rosemary, Nutmeg, Ginger Root, and Eucalyptus citriodora.
How to Use Essential Oils on Canker Sores
1. Prepare a bottle of diluted Immune Strength essential oil blend to have on hand.
Immune Strength essential oil blend contains several “hot” oils that are not recommended to applied “neat” or without a carrier oil. Fractionated coconut oil would be a perfect choice as a carrier oil in this case because of it's anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. FCO stays liquid whereas regular coconut oil will solidify at cooler room temps. I recommend making a small bottle that is pre-diluted and ready to go for applications like this. This simple essential oil dilution guide will assist you with determining how many drops of the essential oil to put in for the size bottle you're using. For this particular short-term use, we personally use a higher dilution percentage like 3-5%. Be sure to label your bottle. A simple label maker works well.
2. Apply a drop or two of your diluted Immune Strength essential oil blend to your canker sore.
To apply, you can either put a drop of the oil on a clean finger or a cotton ball and then rub it gently over the canker sore to cover it. Again, there are “hot” oils in this blend so use with caution! Part of the effectiveness of these essential oils for a canker sore is the numbing effect, but you may find that it initially stings from the initial antiseptic and cleaning effect of the essential oils. Repeat application for each canker sore, if you have multiple.
3. Reapply the diluted Immune Strength essential oil blend 2-3 times a day until the canker sore is gone.
We have found that the using Immune Strength essential oil blend usually helps our bodies clear a canker sore within 24-48 hours. By the second day, we've usually forgotten that we have a canker sore because our bodies have already been hard a work repairing the spot. If a canker sore happens to linger, we continue to apply the diluted Immune Strength essential oil blend until the canker sore is gone or we've forgotten about it.
Our Results
When we first tried using essential oils on a canker sore, we were shocked with the results. Days after his initial request for help, Josh came to me asking which night he told me he had the canker sore because he had neglected to reapply the oil regularly… and now it was long gone and nearly forgotten.
When we counted back, we found that sometime within the first 48 hours, Josh's canker sore had disappeared! If you ever get canker sores, you know that they seem to take forever to go away and can be quite painful as well as annoying.
In addition to canker sores, we use Immune Strength a lot during the winter to help our bodies stay healthy and fight off the typical winter bugs.
Disclosure: I do need to tell you that I'm not a doctor and this is not intended to be medical advice. This is simply my family's experience with using essential oils and the results.
Like this post? Read more helpful motherhood posts here.
Teach Your Kids to Have a Devotional Time
Teaching your kids grow their own faith doesn't have to be difficult. Get this downloadable guide to help you teach your kids to have their own devotional time!
My sister introduced me to Young Living Essential Oils and I love them. How did I ever do without them. But to your point, thieves is a must have in the house. I recently developed a canker sore under my tongue and was miserable to tears. I knew Thieves had many uses, have used it for headaches etc…so I did like your husband, and used it full strength… put some on my finger and rubbed it on my canker. I did a little dance as it stung for a minute, but then the numbing set in and the canker calmed down!! Talk about happy!!! Finally, I could eat and drink without pain! Thank you for sharing your post.
So glad it was helpful!
Thank you thank you I just put drops under my tongue for ulcers. Yes it burned it has numbed
I was to tears
Hi! I have never had a canker sore like I do right now. I felt a bruise and soreness in my jaw a few days ago. Then a small sore appeared between my gum and cheek in the back of my jaw. I’m new to YL and figured some Theives oil couldn’t hurt. So I did as your hubby did and now it’s the size of a quarter and spreading! I got nervous the thieves shouldn’t be used this way but it’s been the only way I find any pain relief. So now I know I can continue using it and pray this heals soon. Thank you for sharing
You’re right to be cautious… Therapeutic grade essential oils are powerful and need to be used carefully. Glad to hear it helped you!
I have a compromised immune system and canker sores are my nemesis. My daughter told me to put Thieves on the new ones that developed on my lip and tongue. (The last ones I had lasted 5 weeks before I knew about Thieves). So u did what she recommended and this time, the sores lasted 4 days! I even got a fever blister and put Thieves on it figuring I might as well give it a shot – voila: gone in two days! This stuff is amazing!
I love Thieves Oil, Spray and Losenges. I always keep a spray in my classroom, in my car and at home. Every now and then i use one drop in my bottled water. I need to stock up for the winter.
Wow wow wow! So thankful I came across your post! My 3 yr old son was in tears for over 1/2hr because of a canker sore on his tongue and nothing was helping. Grabbed my theives old and just like you said for your son, it stung for about a minute but then in a couple minutes he was happily playing again! Amazing! Thank you!
I have a friend who just had a stem cell transplant and she has terrible mouth sores. She is in much pain…..how would she apply this with so many sores? I use thieves essential oil and absolutely love what it does also. Thank you.