A canker sore under her tongue

Now that we are about 3 days into Teagan’s cold, I would expect a little improvement. She should be feeling better each day.

If you were to judge how sick she is based on irritability alone things are not looking good for her today.

I began her on Advil for her low grade fever which seemed to quiet her screaming (her cry was like a siren of misery). Unfortunately as we neared the 6th hour after dosage she became inconsolable. Luckily my friend informed me that I alternate between Advil and Tylenol. This made the afternoon almost bearable.

She hasn’t been eating very well. In fact she threw a full on tantrum when I prepared her favorite foods smothered with her favorite condiment, ketchup. She has been fighting us with each dose of pain medication.

Tonight as we were trying to give her Advil I caught a glimpse of something in her mouth, something I get all the time – dreaded canker sores. I told Jay I thought I saw a sore under her tongue so he helped me get a better look. Sure enough her entire lingual frenulum was covered by a canker sore. The the little tissue, or membrane, or whatever you call it, that connects the underside of your tongue to the floor of the mouth.

This explains the misery, and the screaming bloody murder when I fed her lunch covered in ketchup. I know all too well that canker sores are even more painful when exposed to ketchup, citrus, and all things acidic.

Whenever I get a canker sore in my mouth I apply a topical anesthetic to numb the area for a little while. I love that my dad is a dentist because I snagged a trial size container of topical anesthetic many many years ago, the stuff the dentist applies before giving a shot of anesthesia. This tiny little amount has lasted me forever, a little dab on the tip of a Q-tip will do you.

So all I had to do was get the tip of the Q-tip to touch the canker sore in Teagan’s mouth and I knew she would experience instant relief. The crying stopped immediately and she was trying to figure out what was up with her numb tongue as she drooled a little bit.

Amen! Praying for a slightly more pleasant Sunday.