Asking for a friend. Or actually, D2 who is away at school.
She started complaining of a sore throat on Monday morning. Went to an urgent care at school Monday night and was told she has a cold sore/canker sore (from what I understand it’s a cold sore when it’s visible on the outside (like lips) and canker sore when it’s inside the mouth). The provider gave her “magic mouthwash” and told her to see her primary care physician in a week if it isn’t better.
She has been using the mouthwash 3x a day and warm water gargling inbetween. Advil for pain. She also had a cold sore on her lip but small and the least of her worries. Two days later and she is still in lots of pain and having trouble eating. Hurts to swallow. They did do a strep test on Monday that was negative.
Of course she does not have a PCP there. I called and found an family practice office that may take her - would be good for her to have a PCP there anyway since she is likely to be in that area for the next 3-4 years. I’m hoping they will call her for an appt today and give us a second opinion…
But, if she can’t get in today, any home treatment/remedies anyone who has had these in the back of throat can recommend? I did read to avoid hot liquids??? Soft foods of course but even that is hard.
Warm salt water gargles, though initially painful, will help with quicker healing.
If she can reach the spot, toothache type remedies sold otc like orajel would provide temporary relief.
If she has ongoing issues with canker sores, try taking B-12 supplements.
I hope she feels better soon. I know how painful those can be.
Thanks @doschicos The “magic mouthwash” is supposed to numb as well as serve as an antiseptic. But the numbing only lasts for a short time - maybe a half hour. I did tell her salt water gargle. 
She has had a cold sore or two in her 20 year life, but will keep B-12 in mind. She IS in pain!!! 
Sore throat? They need to test her for mono to rule that out, too. Hugs. When kiddos hurt, we hurt, too.
I agree about testing for mono. Could she go to a Minute Clinic or something like that? Cloraseptic (sp?) spray also helps with the pain.
Again, the magic mouthwash is a prescription numbing agent - but temporary.
Since she went to an urgent care, I don’t want to go the minute clinic type route again. It’s time she get a PCP in that area for care and this seems like a good time to do it. I’ll have her mention mono. But the canker sore was visable so it’s what is going on - just want to make sure that it isn’t worsening in some way or looking for relief or treatment.
Assuming the canker sore is a visible white spot like you say (so it’s actually a canker sore) - I’ve suffered from those pretty regularly since I was a teen (my D also gets them). I’ve tried lots of OTC treatments, but the only one that actually works to help heal it is the regular Zilactin gel:
https://www.amazon.com/Zilactin-Cold-Sore-Medicated-0-25/dp/B0018DE7VQ/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1522853183&sr=8-4&keywords=zilactin&dpID=51Dgx5sDlKL&preST=SY300_QL70&dpSrc=srch&th=1
It has Benzyl Alcohol as an active ingredient which I’m guessing helps to kill the bacteria causing the infection and speed healing. Without the Zilactin my canker sores would last 3-5 weeks, getting steadily larger and worse for the first 3 weeks, then very slowly healing for another 4-5 weeks. With the Zilactin, if I catch it early and apply 2-3 times per day, the pattern shrinks to about 7-8 days - getting worse for 4-5 days then healing up quickly after that.
Try to dry the area first, either with a tissue or if it’s in the back of the mouth/throat use a q-tip. Once dry apply a thin coat of the Zilactin (with a q-tip) and allow to dry before closing your mouth. Try to apply 3-4x per day the first few days, then you can taper to 2x per day after that. Stings like heck going on, but absolutely worth it.
Best of luck to your D. I’ve had a couple on the back of throat before and they absolutely suck. They do present initially as a sore throat until you get out a flashlight and have a close look. Very tough to dry off to apply the Zilactin, so don’t even worry about that step if she can’t; just try to slather some on any way you can and keep your mouth open for a bit to allow it to dry. I’ve noticed my local drugstores stopped carrying the regular Zilactin years ago so you may have to order from Amazon like I do. Hopefully you can get a next-day delivery or even use same-day Prime Now.
@abasket, did they test her forfusobacterium necrophorum? I’d never heard of it until last week, when D went to her student health center with a bad sore throat. The doctor said “fuso throat” is very common among young adults. A lot of the time, what young adults assume is strep is actually fuso. In rare cases, it can lead to serious illness - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695513/ I would have her ask a doctor if fuso throat is a possibility.
They put D on antibiotics and she felt better in about three days.
@anomander , thanks for the tip about the Zilactin gel. My son and I both get extremely painful canker sores and I’ve never found a product that helped. I just ordered a tube from Walgreens.com (cheaper than Amazon because they ship free to the store. It’s not eligible for Prime yet).
@patsmom I hope it works for you - let me know! It’s been a life-saver for me and my D; canker sores have gone from major OMG event to minor irritation with it.
I agree with the Zilactin recommendation. Order that for her. A canker sore takes time to heal. There isn’t much you can do to speed up the healing process aside from getting plenty of rest and avoiding stress as both of these can be triggers for canker sores. Assuming the first diagnosis is correct, another dr visit isn’t going to speed up the healing process or really even change anything for her.
I’m on the phone calling around for Zilactin right now to see if I can find it in her town. She does have an appt for tomorrow. I am willing to pay an extra co-pay to get a second opinion and to be sure the diagnosis is right and nothing else.
I think she also needs the verification for herself. She does say she feels pretty fine otherwise.
No luck in stores, ordered it to be shipped to her store. If I wasted $10 so be it. I figured better to be safe than sorry. Thank you so much for the guidance.
I’m not sure what is worse - the pain or that she is can’t eat normally! She’s hungry!!!
I have been getting canker sores since I was a kid. I have found that since taking fish oil supplements the occurrence of cancer sores has become SO much less frequent and if I do get one it heals up in a matter of days. It’s worth a try.
Warm salt water gargle, warm lemon water with honey and boiled ginger water works for us. It helps with sore throats too.
My son gets these often enough that his doctor suggested he take L-Lysine on a regular basis to try to prevent. Also works to treat but use 2-3 times a day.
I’m so sorry about your d, @abasket. I had suffered since childhood with canker sores. One time I had 7 and happened to be at the dentist and he said he’d never seen such a bad case. I never found anything that really helped and, for me, zilactin might have helped a bit but nothing transformative (hope that’s not the case for your D and this was years ago so there could be a better formula now).
What transformed my life (but, sadly, this won’t help your D this particular time) is a prescription of fluocinonide cream. A dental hygienist had just come from a conference where she learned about it and suggested it for me. You must apply it at the very first signs and apply it frequently for 24-48 hours. It keep the canker sore from actually forming. I now rarely get them but, when I do, I just apply a few times and it abates. I highly recommend trying it to anyone who suffers from canker sores.
Also, I one time had one on the thing that hangs down in your throat (can’t recall the name of it, despite taking that anatomy class back in college…) and those, along with the ones way back in your throat are awful because reaching them to apply something is almost impossible and every time you eat anything or even swallow you’re in pain.
Good luck to your D. I hope she confirms that a canker sore is ‘all’ that it is and that this period goes quickly. And that the zilactin works.
Just checked my rx and it’s Fluocinonide, .05% cream (once get the gel by accident and it doesn’t adhere as well as the cream).
Another Lysine person here.
If it is really a cold sore (herpies) it is viral and needs acyclovir. The over the counter creams like abreva work on the lips. I have a prescription for zovirax (talk about magic medicine!). If it is in my mouth, nose or the worst, eye, I need acyclovir pills. Many docs don’t know about this. I get it from my eye doc, but dentists can also prescribe if you know what to ask for.
As I was typing this I saw twoin’s post. Cold sores are caused by herpes simplex virus. (NOT the same virus as the virus that causes genital herpes). Antivirals like acyclovir cream (or oral acyclovir or valcyclovir but those can have side effects) stop the virus from replicating uncontrollably and force it into dormancy. Of course, that stuff is prescription only.