What to do when you burn your tongue?
It’s happened to all of us. You eat or drink something hot and burn your tongue. The first reaction is likely a vocal one ladened with words you rather your mother didn’t hear. However, you need to pay attention to what you do after that because there are many ways to relieve the pain.
People don’t think about how to treat a burned tongue. However, there are many easy ways to relieve the pain immediately. Ways also exist to help it heal over the next day or so. Most of the recommendations are all natural using what you have around the house.
Drink a cool drink.
The first protocol for easing a burned tongue is to drink something cool. It doesn’t have to be extremely cold but a cool beverage will ease the pain quickly.
Eat cold, soft foods.
It could ruin your next meal when you burn your tongue. The idea is to provide some comfort for it while it heals. You can do that by eating cooler, softer foods for a couple of meals. Think about smoothies, yogurt, ice cream, potato salad, and cold pasta.
Ice it.
Ice has always been a suggestion for pain relief and it’s easy to ice down a tongue by sucking on ice or eating a popsicle.
Get some milk.
Milk is a natural soother for many ailments and a burned tongue is one of those. Coat your tongue in milk or take a swig of it and let it sit in your mouth before swallowing.
Eat honey.
Honey is another one of those all-purpose remedies for whatever ails you and taking a spoonful of honey on the tongue helps the burned swelling go down.
A saltwater rinse.
Dentists have long recommended saltwater rinses for many oral problems. This remedy will help ease the pain you feel from a burned tongue.
A burned tongue typically doesn’t last beyond a day or two. It can take up to two weeks in some cases but tongues usually heal quickly. The problem is a burned tongue can affect your taste because taste buds are on the tongue.
Burning your tongue means you likely damaged taste buds too. The good news is taste buds regrow every two weeks so you will be able to taste food again soon.
Avoid Some Foods
Your tongue may take a few days to heal so you should be careful to avoid certain foods during that time. Obviously, keep foods to a lower temperature level so you don’t aggravate the burn or make it worse. There are other foods you should avoid.
Keep spicy foods away until your tongue heals. Spice can escalate blood flow, which would aggravate the soreness from the burned tongue. Spice is a type of heat so it could add to the burned feeling even if it isn’t hot in temperature.
You will also want to avoid hard or crunchy foods that could aggravate the tongue. Keep foods soft and easy to eat for a while.
Alcohol consumption can go either way, depending on how strong the drink is and how you drink it. Don’t do any whiskey fireballs and keep it cool and simple.
Change How You Brush
You still need to brush your teeth and even your tongue while your tongue is healing. The best thing to do is to switch to a soft bristle toothbrush. You may want to go with a standard toothpaste rather than a minty, flavorful one. You should probably avoid toothpaste that has flavors like the Dentine cinnamon flavor.
Also, be cautious about mouthwashes. Some of the stronger antibacterial brands could aggravate your tongue as they contain alcohol.
Medicines
You can use over-the-counter pain medicine that has acetaminophen or ibuprofen to reduce inflammation in your tongue.
Those who have a chronically swollen tongue need to go to a dentist because they may have more than a burn. Allergies and other causes can lead to inflammation. We can answer your questions about this and other oral health issues. Call us. We are happy to help.
