mouth sores

[Guest guest]

Has anyone found mouth sores to be a symptom of gluten ingestion? My

daughter got a nasty sore on her tongue after accidentally getting a

bit of a brownie in some ice cream. She tought it was from burning

her tongue on some hot food, but the sore stayed around alot longer

than any food burns I've ever had.

Thanks

Sue in Denver

[Guest guest]

My husband had canker sores (not his tongue) more often than not before

going gluten free. He only occasionally gets them now, usually after a

business trip when he has to eat out so often.

zoemom2001 wrote:

Has anyone found mouth sores to be a symptom of gluten ingestion? My

daughter got a nasty sore on her tongue after accidentally getting a

bit of a brownie in some ice cream. She tought it was from burning

her tongue on some hot food, but the sore stayed around alot longer

than any food burns I've ever had.

Thanks

Sue in Denver

[Guest guest]

> Yes! I have one right now that is hurting very badly! It is on the

> inside of my lip up pretty high though, not on my tongue. I went back

> and forth between trying the gf diet or not. I did it for about 2

weeks

> and then stopped. When I started eating gluten again I got about 5 of

> them in my mouth. It was SO painful!

These types of sores are common, particularly in college students and

people who don't get regular sleep, Herpes Simplex is generally thought

to be the cause. Because of the irritation association and GI

difficulties people who have CD may not get adequate amount of restful

sleep. In addition maladsorption of fatty acids and a decrease in

essential fatty acids might alter immune function and weaken fast

replicating cells defenses. As a result cells may be more susceptible

to infection. I would think that increasing sleep is the best way to

get rid of them.

In addition, the tissue in the mouth is a type of skin, and it can

be a site of presentation of Dermatitis Herpetiformis. If this were the

case one might expect bilateral sores (i.e. a similar pattern appearing

on both sides of the mouth) and sores elsewhere. Herpes Simplex can be

initiated by mouth injury compounded by stress, such a biting ones lip

and this would not be bilateral. Excessively painful sores might be

where the pain lies deep under the skin may be an indication that this

is DH and not something else.

Other sources that are painful could be Herpes Zoster virus, a.k.a.

chicken pox, that many of the the generation X crowd have had. This

virus can reappear later on in life as shingles, and create extremely

painful sores, though generally not in the mouth.