Lip ulcers from water bottle?

[bainbridge]

Hi all

I've been doing some 'mini tours' lately which consist of going out riding from home, pitching up somewhere for the night and then riding back (used up most of my annual leave for the year so having to make the most of weekends).

The day after getting back from my most recent 2 day ride, I had the tell-tale tingling in my lips of a coldsore, but it wasn't just a coldsore. Over the next couple of days the centre of my bottom lip swelled to double its usual size and I have ulcers inside my mouth from just above the gumline in the middle of my mouth up to my lower lip and all over my lower lip. As an aside I just got taken away by the GF on a surprise weekend to the coast for my birthday and I could hardly eat or drink, these wounds in my mouth ruined my enjoyment of a posh meal and I had to drink a beer through a straw

I've been trying to work out what caused this. It was very sunny on the last ride and so I was drinking more than usual. I have x2 SIS water bottles which I fill with tap water and drop in the odd SIS (or High 5) tablet along the way. This time I refilled both along the way because it was so hot.

Now, normally when touring I put a few squirts of fairy in a little medicine bottle and after riding for the day I fill my bottles with water, add a dash of fairy and then after giving them a good shake I clean the tops too and rinse everything out. The habit I've gotten into on a mini tour is simply swilling out the bottles with water and leaving them, the rationale being I'm only riding for two days so I could leave the fairy at home.

Also (some of you might find this gross) because the most recent camp site I stayed at had no showers I decided to leave my wash kit at home and just have a wet wipe wash in the tent. I realised my toothbrush was also left at home in the washkit so swilled out my mouth with water and sucked a polo

Anyway, what I'd like to know is does anyone think my hygiene lapse led directly to the ulcers or was I just unlucky?

Also I'd be interested to hear any comments about people's water bottle routine or hygiene on short tours.

Thanks

[Richard D]

I burned a HUGE mouth ulcer on my lip last summer. I was staying in hospital and probably hadn't cleaved my teeth for 48/72 hours (a mix of no toothbrush, being unconscious/sedated, and having other things to worry about). Then the beaker I was drinking lots of water from also has a rough plastic edge. I couldn't feel the rough edge (strong painkillers dealing with a small broken leg issue) before the ulcer had developed. I only realised I had one when I spotted in the mirror once items like a toothbrush & razor arrived; luckily I never felt the darned thing, as it would have been very painful. Top grade painkillers had been prescribed for the leg, you see

[DaveP]

I have no idea what causes mouth ulcers.
I do know that I only ever have plain water in my bottles.
As I see it, while this does not remove the need for cleaning them it does minimise the consequences of imperfect cleaning.
And there are cheaper and more palatable ways of maintaining fuel levels during a ride. Bananas, cake... Do I need to go on?

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Not sure if this helps.
I took to drinking orange juice instead of other drinks at work.
After about three months I started getting a sore mouth ulcers followed, lasted two weeks and could barely eat toast.
Now avoid even oranges / pineapple.
I can eat oranges now but am careful not to over indulge.

[nez]

I clean mine with Milton. If it's good enough for babies it's good enough for me. I've also used babies' nappy sudocrem when chamois cream is unavailable.


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[bogmyrtle]

Although it makes sense to keep water bottles clean, the bottle may not have anything to do with the ulcers unless the way you drink from the bottle is causing damage to the lining of your mouth.
If you use Milton, this needs at least 15 minutes contact time to be effective. Bottles should be cleaned after each use and then stored upside down to drain and dry.
I get mouth ulcers when I'm run down. Nothing to do with water bottles.

[mjr]

Hi,
Not sure if this helps.
I took to drinking orange juice instead of other drinks at work.
After about three months I started getting a sore mouth ulcers followed, lasted two weeks and could barely eat toast.
Now avoid even oranges / pineapple.
I can eat oranges now but am careful not to over indulge.

Eat pineapple or drink its juice. It's reputed to help ulcers heal by removing the damaged skin, similar to how it can erode skin if you spend all day handling it.

Although it makes sense to keep water bottles clean, the bottle may not have anything to do with the ulcers unless the way you drink from the bottle is causing damage to the lining of your mouth.

Yes - if it's a squeezy bottle, squirt the water in your mouth. If it's metal, drip it in, suck at the end or ideally take the top off to drink. Don't hold the nozzle between your lips or teeth while riding along, especially on bumpy roads, else you could get hurt.

Also, prefer a bottle with a cap over wherever you drink, especially at times like this when farm vehicles are carrying mud from fields onto the roads, and keep the drinking bottle in the highest holder and then the frontmost if two are at the same height. Use bottles from lower cages to refill it - don't swap them over if you're not racing.

The toothbrushing skip won't have helped, but I don't think it would cause ulcers on its own unless something else is wrong.

[Vorpal]

I tend to get cold sores when I am worn down, overdo something, or am sick with something else.

A case of the bonk is usually followed a day or two later with a cold sore or two.

A few weeks ago, I had a sinus infection, and the third day of the sinus infection, I broke out in cold sores that sound rather like the OPs- I think I must have had 5 or 6 practically on top of one another. If it wasn't enough to be sick, my lower lip became all swelled up, and eating ang drinking were very painful.

I have sometimes gotten a cold sore when touring, especially if I have a couple of hard days in a row. I can't say that has happened to me recently.

I doubt that poor hygiene would cause ulcers or cold sores. However, if the water bottle is used regularly without being thoroughly washed or stuck in a dishwasher periodically, cold sore virus from the last time you had a cold sore could have stayed on it and reinfected you. Cold sore viruses can live for weeks without a host. The solution to that is clean the water bottle in a dishwasher with a sanitation cycle after having cold sores, or to make sure the water bottle, and especially the lid is cleaned very throroughly.

[Mick F]

We were in France last month, and drank lots of strong French coffee. After a day or three, we both had lip ulcers. Bottom lip.

From then on, we drank lots of water with the coffee, and they went.

[mark aldridge]

Pineapple should be avoided if you have a tendency to get lip ulcers, it is all due to the enzymes in the fruit.

I tend to get sore lips on long tours in hot weather and it is more common if I am climbing a lot. I think it is down to riding with my mouth slightly open and exposing my inner lip to the elements more than normal (it is more a problem with my lower lip). The solution appears to be extending my slathering of high factor lip balm to include my inner lip (ones based on bee wax are more palatable) and keeping my mouth shut.

Good luck.

[Vorpal]

I do sometimes get cold sores where I have had sunburn, but not usually on the inside of my lip. I have also gotten cold sores where I have had allergic reactions.