Minor Irritations Can Become Major Pains!

Holy cow, canker sores suck!!

As you may have guessed from the title, I developed a canker sore this week. And I think I know how, and I have only myself to blame.

I was brushing my teeth one day, and as I was brushing my front top teeth by moving the toothbrush side to side, I accidentally jammed the toothbrush into the soft membrane that connects the upper lips and gums. Man that hurt! (Ironically, as a martial artist I train with sticks, staffs, nanchucks, kama, tonfa and occasionally knives – never had a problem. But a toothbrush – look out!) But there was no blood, so I continued on my merry way.

Two days later that area really stung. Now I was confused – did I cut myself, which seemed unlikely ’cause the pain didn’t start until a couple of days later, or was it a canker sore, which seems like a very odd coincidence.

As most people do when faced with confusion, I did nothing. For two days I just suffered. It was so annoying – the pain would go anywhere from a mild irritations to a ridiculously painful stinging. Sometimes it would make my teeth hurt. Many times I found it hard to focus and be productive.

I finally decided it was a canker sore. Then I visited the Mayo clinic’s website and discovered two things:

1. I probably caused the canker sore with my toothbrush accident. From the website as one of the potential causes: “A minor injury to your mouth from dental work, overzealous brushing, sports mishaps, spicy or acidic foods, or an accidental cheek bite” (I am going to call it a “sports mishap” and not “overzealous brushing”)
2. There is no real cure for canker sores. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, I did find ways of managing the symptoms, including Listerine and Anbesol. So now the sore is still with me but when it acts up I can make the pain go away and still go about my life.

That little canker sore, at times a minor irritation, grew into a major pain that really threw me off.

Lesson #1: Don’t ignore the minor irritations in your life. They may not seem like much, but they can tremendously impact your effectiveness and productivity. They can also grow and get worse. If something is irritating you, fix it as soon as possible.

Lesson #2: Indecision sucks. My confusion about what exactly the problem led me to two days of just suffering with this damn sore. I could have had a much better couple of days if I had just resolved to figure it out and make a decision right away.

Don’t let minor irritations turn into major pains in your life. And for the love of God, be careful when you brush your teeth!

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