06 Sep 2022 Are you suffering from a sore tongue? Well, many of us have faced a situation like this before. You cannot ignore it at all as you feel continuous pain and discomfort while eating and speaking. A sore tongue may occur for various reasons. A common type of this condition usually goes away on its own within 10 to 14 days. To get relief from a sore tongue you may try some common home remedies like rinsing your mouth with salt water or cool chamomile tea, applying honey on the affected area or using mouthwash and topical gel. Sucking Ice cube and avoiding quirky and spicy and acidic foods and tobacco are the other ways that also make the healing faster.
In case, it is still a nuisance you may try certain OTC or over-the-counter medications to relieve pain. Often a deficiency of vitamins and infections also cause a sore tongue. In such situations, your doctor may prescribe vitamin supplements or antibiotics that may quickly heal the sore. .
However, if your sore tongue persists for more than two weeks or it recurs within a short span of time, you must see the dentist.
Symptoms of Tongue Sore
Though the symptoms of the sore tongue may differ from person to person here are the common symptoms that are more or less similar for most of them.
- Pain in the tongue
- Difficulty in eating
- Difficulty in speaking
- Pain in moving the tongue
- Discomfort
- Swollen feeling
- Dry feeling in the mouth
Different types of sore tongue
Sore tongues are of different types caused by diversified underlying health issues. To understand if you need to worry about your sore tongue and when to see a dentist, Here we discuss the causes that create this condition.
Sore tongue caused by trauma.
Often we bite down our tongue hard while chewing food. It becomes extremely painful and takes time to heal. Eating or drinking hot food, tea or coffee may also create a burn on our tongue that may last for some days or more than a week. Most of the time these conditions naturally subside that do not need medical attention.
Sore tongue caused by inflammation
Our tongue is composed of some small muscles and the surface is covered with papillae or small bumps. Our taste buds lie within these bumps. Sometimes we develop enlarged taste buds or papillae which hurt. Babies and senior individuals also commonly develop inflammation and soreness on their tongues caused by an infection called oral thrush. In this condition, the color of your tongue gets changed to white, and needs immediate medical consultation to treat it.
Sore tongue caused by allergy or food sensitivity
Certain food may have an allergic effects on some particular individuals. This creates soreness on the tongue and affects the mouth and lips by making them swollen with itchy feelings. Medications may offer quick relief in this situation.
Sore tongue caused by vitamin deficiency and anemia
Some individuals experience sore tongues as they suffer from certain vitamin deficiencies and low hemoglobin counts. If you are also one of them, vitamin supplements and treatment for anemia can quickly solve your issues with your tongue.
Sore tongue caused by Smoking and quitting smoking
If you are a regular smoker you may often have pain in your tongue which may slowly push you towards oral cancer. People who have stopped smoking also complain about this pain and discomfort.
Sore tongue caused by mouth ulcers
Sore tongue may occur as a result of a mouth ulcer commonly known as a canker sore that develops on your tongue. Trauma, allergic reaction from food or medicine, smoking, hormonal changes and even mental anxiety may cause such a canker sore n ulcer that needs immediate treatment and healing.
Sore tongue caused by Oral Cancer
This is another cause of sore tongue that develops lump and sore with complaints of pain and other discomforts. Sore tongue does not necessarily mean carcinoma but if you have such symptoms that do not go away you must visit a dentist.
Sore tongue caused by uncommon diseases
Some other less common diseases also create sore tongue in many individuals. If you have a chronic skin disease called Lichen Planus you may have a sore tongue. Pemphigus vulgaris is again another rare disorder that causes sore tongue. Moeseller glositis and Behcets’ disease are other diseases that remain responsible for sore tongue.
When to seek medical advice in sore tongue?
I have noticed many patients think sore longue is not a big health issue and try to solve it by natural remedies or by taking common pain killers before it becomes late. You need to be aware that apparently small issues may also have some deep-rooted causes which we cannot ignore. You must call your dentist and make an appointment without fail if you are facing the following conditions:
- A sore tongue that persists more than two weeks
- A lump or sore on your tongue that becomes bigger
- If the color of your tongue changes to white or black
- A sore that shows other pain and other complains
- If you sore looks like dry patches
- If the sore is causing bad breathe
So as we all know a stitch in time saves nine, by taking medical advice in right time you will be doubly benefited. Not only you will get easily relieved with right diagnosis and treatment at the same time you will also become a gainer to rule out other more serious causes like oral cancer.
Furthermore, our modern medical research and advancements shows up plenty of success and achievement stories. Who shall deny we have numerous cancer survivors in the society who won the battle as they were aware and got diagnosed and treated early?
Reduce the risk of getting cancer
Prevention is always better than cure. So if you can take action before you develop any ailment there is nothing like it. To avoid chance of sore tongue follow these 7 golden rules:
- Maintain oral hygiene
- Quit smoking
- Limit your alcohol consumption
- Don’t spend long time out in the sun
- Go for medical checkups at regular intervals
- Try to maintain a healthy life style
- Take precaution against HPV a sexually transmitted disease that develops a type of cancer affecting tonsil and tongue, now in rising trend.