I live in the U.S., and along with that, I can only use mouth ulcer medicine that’s available in the U.S. But, it turns out that I am also a bit of a mouth ulcer medicine researcher, so in my research, I have learned about canker sore medicines that are not available in the U.S., but in many cases, are very popular overseas (and in other cases, are available without a prescription, unlike here).
3. I’m about to say something I never
thought I’d say…
I’m sort-of looking forward to
getting a canker sore.
4. I live in the U.S., and along with
that, I can only use mouth ulcer
medicine that’s available in the
U.S. But, it turns out that I am
also a bit of a mouth ulcer
medicine researcher, so in my
research,
5. I have learned about canker sore
medicines that are not available in
the U.S., but in many cases, are
very popular overseas (and in
other cases, are available without
a prescription, unlike here).
6. Which is why I danced a little
gig when I found out
about mouthulcers.co.uk, the UK-
based online store that sells dozens
of mouth ulcer medicines that you
just can’t find here. This is the
same place that I got my hands on
Oralmedic, the over-the-counter
version of Debacterol that I wrote
about previously.
7. So, in the process of scouring
the internets, especially
searching on Twitter, I’ve heard
a lot about Bonjela. In fact, a
British celebrity once tweeted
that he loved the taste of
Bonjela and for a day or so,
canker sores actually trended a
little bit.
8. (Side note: I’ve noticed that British
people tend to call them “mouth
ulcers” while people in the States
more often say “canker
sores”. Why that is, I don’t
know. Don’t get me started on
“aluminum”.)
9. Curious about these strange and
unusual concoctions, I contacted
Dom, the owner
of mouthulcers.co.uk and asked
some questions about them. And
here’s how awesome this guy is…
11. Can someone say “Jackpot”?
Dom very generously sent a
package of sample products for
me to try out for the website,
including 2 different
formulations of the famous
Bonjela, a product called
Frador, and Gingival Gel.
13. Bonjela, as I said, is a very popular
canker sore product in Great Britain
that uses Choline Salicylate (8.714%)
and Cetalkonium Chloride (.01%) as
active ingredients. It’s claim is that it
helps to reduce inflammation
(always important with canker
sores) and fight infection.
14. I know fairly recently, they
began labeling Bonjela as only
for people 16 years and older
due to a connection between
salicylates and Reyes Syndrome
in developing children.
15. From what I’ve heard, Bonjela
doesn’t significantly reduce the
length of canker sores, but does
help make them more
bearable. I don’t know if it
numbs the area like Oragel or
not, but I guess I’ll find out soon
enough.
16. I did take a quick taste of Bonjela
(mostly to see what that British
celebrity was raving about) and it
has a sharp, tingling effect with a
distinct taste of
licorice. Consequently, licorice is
made from the Glycyrrhiza
glabra plant, which is a known
treatment
17. for canker sores and is included
in a lot of natural products. I
didn’t see it listed in the
ingredients, but it definitely had
the taste, so I’d be surprised if it’s
not in there.
Dom sent me regular Bonjela and
Bonjela Cool, a minty version of
the original.
23. There’s a lot more written on
the package, but I have no idea
what it says because it’s in
Korean. That’s not me saying
it’s in such technical jargon that
it might as well be in
Korean. This is completely non-
metaphorical. It is written in
the Korean language.
24. A quick taste gives me a warm,
tingling sensation (seriously,
how many times can a guy
write the word “tingling” in one
post?), with a slightly sweet,
honey-ish taste. Propolis does
come from bees, after all.
27. No, it’s not a country in Middle
Earth, Frador is a mouth ulcer
medicine with Chlorbutol as its
active ingredient (1%).
28. The first most impressive thing
you notice is the packaging. It
comes in a tiny bottle and they
provide what looks like about
6-7 cotton swabs in a small
plastic tray that you use to
stand the bottle up in so it
doesn’t fall over when you use
it.
29. Very handy and well-thought
out. This is how Apple would do
it if they created a mouth ulcer
medicine (The iSore? It works on
so many levels…)
30. Even more impressive – the
little bottle is actually
glass. How often do you see
glass in medical products
anymore? It’s kind-of
awesome. It feels strangely old-
school and new at the same
time.
31. A quick taste comes off with a
sort-of cinnamon flavor. Like
Big Red gum on anabolics. It’s
not listed in the ingredients,
they list menthol as an inert
ingredient, but it tasted like
cinnamon to me.
32. So that’s the British Invasion
that’s hit my house recently, I’m
really interested to give these a
try and see what we’re missing
out on over here in the
states. These on top of Robin
Barr’s new Canker Sores
33. formula (that will be in the
form of a balm stick, which is a
new application as far as I
know), and I’ve got a lot of
testing and experimenting to
do.
34. And this is why I find myself in
the strange position of actually
wanting to get a canker sore.
35. Which means that I’ll probably
never get one. I may have found
a sure-fire cure for canker sores
– wanting one.
