- 1. Injuries or thrush
- 2. Tongue irritation
- 3. Burns
- 4. Nutritional deficiencies
- 5. Geographic language
- 6. Oral candidiasis
Tongue pain, known scientifically as glossalgia, is usually caused by visible changes such as wounds or infections. However, pain can also arise due to problems that are more difficult to identify and require treatment.
Thus, whenever the pain in the tongue appears for no apparent reason or does not improve after 1 week, it is advisable to consult a dentist or general practitioner to identify the problem and start the appropriate treatment.
It is important to determine the cause of the discomfort in the tongue in order to rule out, diagnose and treat early any disease that may be causing this symptom.
1. Injuries or thrush
Tongue injuries are very common, occurring mainly when you bite your tongue or eat very hard foods such as candies, lollipops or toast. These wounds, although they may be small, are quite painful, since the tongue is a very flexible muscle that moves constantly.
Similar to wounds, canker sores develop due to various factors, such as excessive stress, consumption of acidic foods, use of dental devices or weakened immune systems. See all the main causes of thrush.
What to do: A great way to quickly relieve the pain caused by these injuries is to rinse warm water with salt at least 3 times a day. In addition, it is important to maintain proper mouth hygiene by brushing your teeth after eating to avoid infecting your wounds with food bacteria.
2. Tongue irritation
Tongue irritation is almost as frequent as canker sores and occurs mainly after brushing the tongue too hard or after using irritating substances to the mouth, such as alcohol mouthwashes, for example. The consumption of very spicy foods, with a lot of pepper or pepper, can also cause irritation and a burning sensation for several hours.
What to do: Avoid drinking alcohol or putting irritating substances in your mouth. Putting an ice pebble on your tongue can also help relieve pain.
3. Burns
Burning of the tongue occurs when eating freshly cooked food or when touching a hot object to the tongue, for example. Although, the sharp pain improves shortly after the burn, the tongue may be sore for a few days until it has completely recovered.
What to do: An excellent tip is to eat something cold, like ice cream or an ice cube, to stop the burning and decrease the pain. See 4 other ways to improve pain and speed up the healing of burns.
4. Nutritional deficiencies
The lack of some nutrients such as vitamin B12 or iron, for example, can cause anemia, resulting in a burning sensation or sore tongue, associated with other symptoms such as excessive tiredness, pallor or excessive hunger.
What to do: If there is no other apparent reason for tongue pain, it is advisable to see a general practitioner and have a blood test to assess the possibility of anemia. See how anemia should be treated.
5. Geographic language
The geographical tongue is a change that can appear in childhood and that usually disappears around the age of 7, causing red spots on the tongue that can cause burning or pain, especially when eating salty or acidic foods.
When the child has tongue pain or a strange sensation, but it is not possible to identify any changes, the possibility of having ingested some chemical, such as detergent, for example, should be confirmed.
What to do: this problem must be diagnosed by a pediatrician, because if it causes pain, treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs, for example, should be done. Check out how the treatment is done.
6. Oral candidiasis
Candidiasis is a very common infection that usually appears when the immune system is weakened, such as after a cold or after taking antibiotics, for example. In addition to tongue pain, this infection can also cause other symptoms such as white spots on the mouth or difficulty swallowing.
What to do: the most important thing is to maintain adequate oral hygiene to help eliminate excess bacteria and fungi, as well as avoiding sugary or fatty foods. In the most severe cases, it may be necessary to use drugs such as nystatin. Understand how all oral candidiasis treatment is done.
