Aphthous Ulcer
Many people find sometime in life that they are getting some or lots of painful wounds (sores) inside their mouth. Most of these sores are a type of Aphthous ulcer, popularly known as mouth ulcers or canker sores. Aphthous ulcers are generally developed on the mucous membranes of the mouth. Aphthous ulcers are usually in regular round or oval shaped sores. In general ulcers develop inside the mouth on parts where the skin is not tightly bound to the core bone such as inside of the lips, cheeks and under the tongue.
Three types of aphthous ulcers are commonly occurring. Each of them has different characteristics.
Minor Aphthous Ulcer
Minor aphthous ulcer is the most common form of mouth ulcer to occur. In minor aphthous ulcer the lesions or wounds are small around 3 to 8 mm, and circular or oval in shape. They are pale yellow in colour and surrounding area will be swollen and red. Extreme pain is the normal quality of the lesion. When the ulcer is yellowish it will become more painful. This type of aphthous ulcers can last for about a week to10 days. There will be no mark left when the ulcer vanish.Major Aphthous Ulcer
These types of ulcers will happen in about 1 out of 10 cases. The size of major aphthous ulcer is around 10 mm or larger. In general there will only be 1 or 2 of these ulcers at a time. This form of ulcer may last in about two weeks to several months. The lesions or wounds cause severe pain and uneasiness and also leave scars. Eating may become difficult in this case.Pinpoint aphthous ulcers
Like the major aphthous ulcer these Pinpoint aphthous ulcers will affect about 1 in 10 cases. In this case lesions or wounds are very small. They are about 1 to 3 mm in size. Lots of small aphthous ulcers will occur at the same time. Normally they develop collectively and in irregular shapes.
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