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Thank you, *all* for replying so quickly!  I wanted to reply to each of you personally, but I’ve received well over 70 emails in the last 17 hours!  WOW!  A little overwhelming to wade through... but thank you all for giving of your time and your thoughts!  :)

Almost every single person who replied said that canker sores are related to Celiac Disease.  Those of you who have struggled with them yourselves (and there were many, many of you!) said that once you went GF, the sores stopped coming.  Many of you suggested that this could be a sign that he is getting gluten somehow.  A few of you suggested food journaling to find the culprit!

A doctor wrote back: “The cause of canker sores is not known, but many people believe it may be an IgA reaction similar to what happens with celiac disease in the gut. Many people diagnosed with celiac disease experienced canker sores, sometimes very badly, prior to the gluten free diet. Many people experience a near complete remission of the canker sores on the gluten free diet. This suggests that in those people the canker sores are caused by gluten.”

A couple of you said it could be related to a reaction to citrus or another food allergy/sensitivity.

You all said corn gluten is safe for Celiacs.  A dietician wrote back and said: “Gluten is the general name for the storage proteins (prolamins) in wheat, rye and barley. These specific prolamins damage the small intestine in people with celiac disease. The actual name of the toxic prolamins are gliadin in wheat, secalin in rye and horedin in barley. Corn and rice also contain gluten and the corn prolamin is called zein and rice prolamin is called orzenin. However, these prolamins do not have a toxic effect on the intestine of persons with celiac disease. Therefore, corn "gluten" is acceptable on a gluten-free diet. It is important when contacting a company to determine the gluten-free status of a product to ask if it contains any wheat, rye or barley in the ingredients or components of the ingredients rather than asking if it is gluten-free because of this very issue of corn gluten.”

Many of you said that both Maalox and Benadryl are GF.  Though one person said they have had a reaction to Benadryl.  One wrote: “According to "http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/display.asp?webtag=celiac&msg=21270.1" all over the counter Benadryl is o.k.

Other suggestions for the canker sores were papaya juice, probiotics, a teaspoon of raw honey (though honey should not be given to children under the age of one year), L-Lysine (a pill/found in natural health food stores), clove oil to numb it, B complex vitamins, Listerine, Oragel, water with salt or baking soda as a rinse,  NAT MUR 30c (a homeopathic remedy - 2 pills under the tongue every 2 hours).

Someone else wrote, “The only thing that I've found that works is Orabase paste and the newer Orabase Soothe-N-Seal ("http://www.colgate.com/cp/global.class/showcasetool/templates/displayPr" oduct.jsp?id=44). It's almost like super glue and provides a sort of scab or film over the sore.”

Someone suggested going to the following website for more info about canker sores: www.mayoclinic.com

So for all of you fellow canker sore sufferers, I hope this helps!  It has certainly helped us!

Thanks again,
Beckah





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