Getting a tongue burn is a simple matter. Everyone has encountered this at least once in their life by swallowing hot tea, coffee, or soup. Sometimes burnt is very small and can be healed with home remedies and sometimes you need to consult a doctor. Here in this short read, we will discuss 10 effective ways to heal a burnt tongue, and when instead of looking for improvised means, the help of a doctor is urgently needed.
What Can Burn Your Tongue:
When burned, the mucous membrane of the tongue is damaged. More often this happens when eating too hot food or liquid and such a type of burn is called thermal. The victim experiences pain, burning, and sometimes taste sensations disappear for a while. Other symptoms depend on how long and strong the exposure was. With a mild lesion, it is limited to redness or slight swelling, and with a severe burn, blisters appear on the tongue.
Spicy Foods Burn
For those who accidentally miscalculated with a dose of wasabi or red-hot pepper, the feeling of “fire in the mouth” is familiar, which is difficult to appease with something. In the first minutes, you want to lower your tongue into a basin of cold water. However, according to the doctor, no real damage to the mucous membranes from spicy foods occurs.
The point is the chemicals contained in hot spices (capsaicin, sinigrin), act on thermoreceptors in the mouth, and they transmit a signal about a burn to the brain. As a result, a person perceives the pain from an acute one in the same way as the pain from too hot a tea. Sometimes it is so strong that it can lead to fainting.
Special treatment after a burn with spicy food is not required. Milk, sour cream, yogurt or boiled rice will help to cope with pain in this case.
Chemical Burn
In addition to ice and rinsing with cool water, if the tongue is burned with a chemical liquid, it is recommended to additionally rinse the mouth with a weak solution of citric acid or diluted vinegar (1 teaspoon per glass of water).
If acid is the cause of the damage, use a 2% solution of baking soda.
Under the influence of gases or chemical compounds, the surface of the tongue can become covered with large blisters. In such cases, you can not hesitate, you need to urgently seek help. It comes to tissue death, partial or complete charring of the organ when it will no longer be possible to save it.
Frozen Tongue
Touching a swing or a horizontal bar with your tongue in the cold is child’s play, sometimes not alien to adult lovers of experiments. Curiosity, as a rule, ends with the freezing of the tongue to the metal. Such an injury is called a cold injury, although its effect on the organ is similar to a thermal burn.
As doctors say, in such situations, it is impossible: Trying to “unstick” the tongue by force. This is fraught with damage to the mucous membrane and the wound will heal and bother for a long time.
Note: Shouting at a child – a scream will frighten and provoke a sharp movement. Instead, first of all, calm yourself and calm the child if he is injured.
- To safely detach a frozen tongue, breathe on the bonding surfaces. From warm breath, the ice will melt, and it will be easier to release the tongue.
- If you find, use water (warm or cold) – it is poured between the stuck tongue and the iron.
With the right approach, no wounds should remain on the tongue. If damage could not be avoided, treat the mucous membrane with a solution of chlorhexidine and consult a doctor for treatment.
Other Causes of Tongue Burn:
- Chemical substances
- Electricity
- Exposure (Radiation)
What To Do If You Burn Your Tongue:
According to the doctor’s opinion, light thermal burns of the oral cavity and tongue, as a rule, heal on their own in 1-2 weeks. But you can help the body quickly forget about the injury.
What to do, if burnt tongue hot? 10 effective ways for thermal burns of the tongue to relieve symptoms and speed up healing.
1. Apply a Piece of Ice
A piece of ice applied to the burn site will reduce pain. If ice is not available, rinse your mouth with cool water. As first aid after a burn, water and ice will work more effectively than the folk remedy “breathing through the mouth” – when it is advised to breathe deeply with an open mouth or blow on the tongue.
2. Do Not Use Yogurt and Alcohol
It is not recommended to cool the tongue with other cold liquids and products because of infection risk. Especially it is necessary to refuse the use of lactic acids and fermentation products (sour-milk products), which can lead to microbes entering the wound.
Also, as first aid for a burn, juices, carbonated drinks, and alcohol are contraindicated.
3. Lubricate the Sore Spot with Aloe Juice
With a tongue burn, such a popular folk remedy as aloe juice or pulp is useful. The pulp of the leaves of this plant is known for its anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, and regenerating properties.
The juice is squeezed out of the leaves, diluted with water in equal proportions and the affected area is treated. Instead of homemade juice, they also use special creams or gel with aloe, which are sold in pharmacies. Please note that they are not exclusively for external use, but are suitable for application to the tongue.
4. Hold A Spoonful of Honey in Your Mouth
Honey is another natural anti-inflammatory agent. However, before you save yourself with honey, think carefully about whether you have a tendency to an allergic reaction. For children under one year old, for example, this highly allergenic product is prohibited.
5. Rinse with Salt Water
This procedure is also useful for the rapid healing of damaged tissues. Saltwater is soothing and prevents the risk of infection. The solution is prepared as follows: one teaspoon of salt is taken per glass of water. The main thing is to watch the temperature, the water should not be hot, so as not to aggravate the problems. Rinse your mouth with warm saline after eating to remove food debris.
6. Use Mint
Menthol, found in high concentrations in peppermint, is found in many oral care products. But do not rush to pour menthol spray or toothpaste on the tongue. Proceed with caution. In addition to menthol, they contain other components, and how they will affect the burnt surface is unknown.
7. Lubricate with Glycerin
To accelerate healing, vegetable glycerin (a syrupy colorless liquid) is used. It keeps the surface of the tongue moisturized, which is important for recovery.
8. Treat with An Antiseptic
If there is a sore on the tongue, treat it to prevent bacterial infection. Suitable antiseptics such as miramistin, chlorhexidine, furacilin solution, or chamomile decoction.
9. Take Pain Medication
When the pain is difficult to tolerate, it is acceptable to take an over-the-counter pain reliever. If it is not too strong, there is no need to drink extra medicines.
10. Use Vitamins A and E
These vitamins help speed up tissue healing. Try to find a vitamin-mineral complex with a high content of vitamin E. Oil solutions of vitamins A and E are also allowed. To do this, open the ampoule with the vitamin, pour the contents onto the tongue, and gently spread over the burned area.
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Helpful Tips to Heal Burnt Tongue
- Until the tongue heals completely, try to forget about spicy, sour, and pickled foods. It will cause additional irritation of the tongue, which will negate previous efforts.
- Until the burn goes away, give up hard and hard foods like nuts, crackers, seeds, and so on. Mechanical damage to the already injured tissues of the tongue will be clearly superfluous.
Final Words:
The listed methods of assistance are only suitable for mild thermal injuries. If a severely burned tongue (with burns II-IV degree), self-treatment is fraught with health – it will not be possible to do without the help of a doctor.
If bubbles are swollen on the surface of the tongue, you should immediately seek help from a dentist. Under no circumstances should blisters be opened on their own. Also, medical attention is required when symptoms last 10 days or signs of infection occur. If this is not done on time and the problem starts, burns can lead to infection and other serious consequences.
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