Why the tip of the tongue hurts like burned and how to treat it

Everyone had to at least once face minor burns of the tongue. But it also happens that a person becomes hurt, even if he did not burn anything. There are several reasons why the tip of the tongue hurts, as if burnt, and they need to be treated differently.. It is best to immediately consult a doctor and cure the underlying disease, but if you want to understand the problem yourself, it is advisable to start by identifying possible causes of pain.

Reasons Why Tongue Hurts Like Burnt

Usually experts call the feeling of pain in the tongue, as with a burn, glossalgia. The same term may refer to other symptoms associated with discomfort in the oral cavity.

At first glance it is difficult to determine what became the prerequisite for the appearance of pain. Sometimes it is provoked by internal diseases of the body, and sometimes external factors that in one way or another affect the sensitive mucous membrane.

External factors

Most often, external factors cause discomfort in the field of language. These include:

• Injuries. You can injure the mucous membrane of the tongue without even noticing it. Most often, scratches and cuts appear on the tongue with food.

  After prosthetics or filling of diseased teeth, the risk of injury to the tip of the tongue increases several times.

• Violation of oral hygiene. Usually in this case, a large amount of white plaque accumulates in the tongue, as in the photo on the right. Bacteria develop in it, which lead to discomfort. Poor hygiene is the reason for a whole list of diseases of the oral cavity: caries, pulpitis, tartar. Because of them, a burning sensation of the tongue also appears.
• Allergic reaction. The conditions under which an allergic reaction may develop include: taking medications, eating allergenic foods, and using low-quality oral hygiene products.
• The predominance of acidic foods in the diet. With increased sensitivity of the oral mucosa, it is enough to eat an unripe sour fruit, for example, pineapple or an apple, to provoke the sensation of a burnt tip of the tongue.
• Fungal infections. Most often, such pain in the tongue, as if a person was burned, leads to candidiasis. Outwardly, it manifests itself in the form of plaque on the mucous membranes of the throat, lips, cheeks - see photo on the right. The disease can develop after prolonged use of antibiotics, often manifested during pregnancy.

Sometimes pain in the tongue indicates more serious diseases that may not be associated with the condition of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. Such a symptom can only be an echo of a more dangerous ailment.

Internal problems

The internal causes of glossalgia are greater. But they provoke pain somewhat less than external ones. These factors include:

• Stomatitis and gingivitis. Diseases can occur due to insufficient oral hygiene. Less often, external factors lead to them. An example of the development of stomatitis is shown in the photo on the right.
• Digestive system diseases. Almost any disturbance in the functioning of the digestive system can lead to pain in the tongue, but most often it suffers greatly from dysbiosis and heartburn.
• Lack of nutrients. The tongue is especially sensitive to a lack of iron and B vitamins.Burning in this case is accompanied by hair loss, brittle nails, worsening skin conditions, general malaise.
• Stress. It is difficult to predict how nervous experiences will affect the health of the body. In some people, they are expressed precisely in the form of a feeling of discomfort in the oral cavity.
• Diabetes. The tongue can be very painful as burned due to a violation of the production of saliva. An example of a tongue with xerostomia (dryness) is shown in the photo.
• Neurological disorders. Together with pain in the tongue, discomfort occurs in the entire affected area. Diction is violated only in cases where the problem is associated with the nerves of the face and chewing apparatus.
• Hormonal imbalance. This group of prerequisites usually includes hormonal changes in women during menopause or pregnancy.

How to treat a burning sensation

The first thing to do if there is pain in the tongue is to consult a specialist. It is advisable to go to the therapist, and not to the dentist, as many do. Very rarely, pain in the tongue indicates problems with oral health. You need to go to the dentist only if the burning sensation occurs after dental treatment, or at the same time other symptoms are observed that indicate problems of a dental nature.

Usually, an examination and anamnesis are enough to identify the root cause of the unpleasant symptom. Only in rare cases is it necessary to do additional tests.

When the clinical picture becomes clear, the doctor will prescribe treatment. The speech organ itself is usually not given much attention, treatment should be aimed at eliminating the cause of the sensation of a burnt tongue:

• In case of fungal or infectious lesions, antibiotics are prescribed. In addition to them, the specialist selects agents that protect the natural microflora of the oral cavity.
• With serious stomach problems, not only drug therapy is prescribed, but also a diet. In rare cases, a hospital is required.
• The most difficult is the treatment of neurological diseases. When they are identified, the intervention of several doctors and serious therapy are required.

In all other cases, burning in the mouth is eliminated through proper nutrition and rejection of bad habits. In addition, stress should be avoided and attention should be paid to oral hygiene.

How to get rid of pain at home

Some of the reasons why the tongue hurts, as if burnt, and covered with a white coating, indicate poor hygiene. In this case, to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, it is enough to regularly clean the oral cavity from food debris and bacteria. If the discomfort persists after a few days, consult your doctor.

To alleviate symptoms at home, you can resort to such alternative methods of therapy:

• Do home rinses with antiseptic drugs to prevent infection. Such manipulations will be useful regardless of why the tongue started to hurt.
• If you are sure that you did not burn, but the discomfort does not go away, rinse your mouth with a soothing decoction of chamomile or sage. In pharmacies you can even find special solutions for sensitive gums, which also relieve pain.
• If you feel too much burning, you can take a pain medication. During pregnancy, you first need to consult a doctor.
• Drink more water, weak tea. For the duration of therapy, discard soda and juice. Try to exclude white sugar from the diet.
• Lollipops with mild flavors remove discomfort. But if you abuse them, you can damage the mucous membrane of the oral cavity and tongue.

There were very few ways to get rid of discomfort, similar to a burn of the tongue. In almost all cases, you will have to go to a specialist to find out how to treat the root cause of the pathology.