Aphthous ulcer; Ulcer - aphthous
The first symptom is usually a tingling or burning sensation that you feel before other symptoms develop.
The following symptoms may then occur:
Pain decreases in 7 to 10 days, with complete healing in 1 to 3 weeks. Particularly large ulcers (greater than 1 cm in diameter) often take longer to heal (2 to 4 weeks). Occasionally, a severe occurrence may be accompanied by nonspecific symptoms of illness, such as fever. Canker sores often return.
Your health care provider can often make the diagnosis by looking at the sore. If canker sores persist or continue to return, tests should be done to rule out other causes, such as erythema multiforme, drug allergies, herpes infection, bullous lichen planus, and other disorders.
In rare cases, a type of cancer may first appear as a mouth ulcer that does not heal. See: Squamous cell carcinoma.
A skin lesion biopsy may be used to distinguish a canker sore from other causes of mouth ulcers.