Swelling of the tongue is a partial or complete increase in volume of the tongue. In this condition, it may look bloated and swollen. Swelling can occur over the entire surface or in some areas of the tongue. Such symptoms are characteristic of many diseases, ranging from minor mechanical trauma to allergies. Therefore, it is important to determine the reason why the tongue is swollen and prescribe the correct treatment. After all, if a slight partial swelling of the tip of the tongue, which occurs when biting, does not pose a threat to the patient’s life, then severe swelling of the tongue and larynx, which occurs during allergic conditions, can cause an attack of suffocation and even death.
Swelling of the tongue may indicate the development of many diseases, each of which is treated in its own way.
The main symptoms that may occur simultaneously with swelling:
- runny nose and sneezing;
- cough;
- the appearance of a rash on the body;
- itching in the mouth or respiratory tract;
- change in tongue color;
- change in taste sensations;
- painful sensations both on the tongue and in the mouth;
- feeling of heat, increased body temperature;
- difficulty swallowing and breathing;
- sensation of a foreign body in the mouth.
If these symptoms appear, you should call an ambulance or a doctor, as they may indicate a rapidly developing allergic reaction .
Swelling of the root of the tongue is especially dangerous. Since it is located directly next to the larynx, even a slight swelling can block the airway!
No less dangerous are swelling of the palatine and small uvula. If assistance is not provided in a timely manner, a state of suffocation may occur, and it will be difficult to save the patient.
Causes
If a patient has a swollen tongue, the reasons can be very diverse, ranging from a banal injury to a severe allergic reaction. According to the cause, appropriate treatment is prescribed.
If the tongue swells very quickly and at the same time greatly increases in size, then this may be a symptom of a severe allergic reaction. In this case, you should act immediately, since the sensation of a swollen tongue may precede the development of anaphylactic shock. If no measures are taken, the patient may suffocate. So if you have a swollen tongue, allergies are the first reason you should think about.
With allergies, patients usually complain of the following symptoms:
- the tongue hurts and is swollen, as if it does not fit in the mouth;
- lips and tongue are swollen, it is difficult to talk and swallow;
- the papillae on the tongue became swollen, and the tongue itself became painful and sensitive;
- swollen at the base, which makes it difficult to swallow and breathe fully.
Another reason why a patient’s tongue is swollen may be injuries resulting from an incorrect bite, cut, or scratch with hard pieces of food. In this case, the patient usually complains that his tongue is swollen on one left or right side, that is, on the side on which he was injured. In this case, it is important to ensure the cleanliness of the oral cavity and prevent bacteria from entering the wound in order to prevent the occurrence of an inflammatory process.
- If the patient's tongue is swollen on the sides, especially when tooth marks are visible on the side surface, the doctor may suspect thyroid disease. In this case, it is necessary to refer the patient to study the level of thyroid hormones.
- If the patient has swelling under the tongue, this may be a consequence of taking sublingual drugs - those that dissolve under the tongue (validol, engistol and a number of other drugs). In this case, the swelling under the tongue usually goes away on its own after you stop taking the medications.
- Complaints that the tongue is swollen can also occur if the patient has injured the delicate epithelium with sharp pieces of food - for example, chips. In this case, the sensation will go away on its own after brushing your teeth or rinsing your mouth with a tooth elixir or balm.
- Some infections can also lead to swelling of the tongue, in particular streptococcal infection, herpes virus, candidiasis, syphilis. In this case, it not only swells, but also hurts, and small rashes, a dense white coating or ulcers appear on the surface of the mucous membrane, depending on the condition and neglect of the disease.
- The most dangerous reason for a sore throat and swollen tongue is cancer. It is quite rare, but still should not be discounted. Therefore, if the patient has no visible causes of tongue swelling, allergies are excluded, and his condition still does not improve, there is a reason to refer such a patient for a consultation with an oncologist.
Treatment
The course of therapy depends on the cause that provoked the appearance of the tumor. In cases where the mucous membrane of the tongue has been injured, the swelling goes away on its own. This does not require the use of special medications. Experts advise maintaining oral hygiene to prevent the entry of viruses and germs.
Self-medication is dangerous with complications!
Attention
Despite the fact that our articles are based on trusted sources and have been tested by practicing doctors, the same symptoms can be signs of different diseases, and the disease may not proceed according to the textbook.
Pros of seeing a doctor:
- Only a specialist will prescribe suitable medications.
- Recovery will be easier and faster.
- The doctor will monitor the course of the disease and help avoid complications.
find a doctor
Do not try to treat yourself - consult a specialist.
Antibiotics are prescribed if the cause of the symptom is glossitis or other viral pathologies. The choice of drug depends on the type of virus.
With the development of infectious, viral or bacterial diseases, the use of antibiotics and antiviral agents is first required.
Antihistamines are used for allergic reactions. They help relieve swelling.
When diagnosing thyroid diseases, depending on the type of pathology, hormonal therapy or surgical intervention is prescribed.
In cases where a tongue tumor occurs against the background of genetic disorders, symptomatic treatment is carried out. In this case, it is impossible to completely cure the disease.
You should consult an oncologist if there are various tumors. He will determine the nature of their course and prescribe the necessary treatment.
There are also several traditional methods of treatment for tongue tumors. They should be used only when the cause is minor trauma to the mucous membrane. An effective remedy is a decoction of chamomile or calendula, which is used to rinse the mouth. But they should not be hot, as this will only increase the pain, and the injury will not heal for a long time.
Swollen after puncture
Many patients complain that their tongue is swollen after piercing. In most cases, this swelling is not pathological. The tongue was injured during the puncture process, and slight swelling is completely natural and natural. Therefore, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the recommendations of the specialist who performed the puncture, keep the oral cavity clean, and rinse your mouth with antibacterial drugs. However, if the swelling does not go away within 4-5 days, and purulent exudate forms at the puncture site, you should immediately consult a doctor, since various complications often arise with tongue piercing.
Normally, healing after a puncture occurs within two weeks. During this period, the tongue may swell, hurt, and the patient may experience a feeling of discomfort, burning, and soreness. In the future, all these unpleasant symptoms will disappear, and after two weeks the wound should heal without a trace, and the swelling should go away.
Consequences
Lack of therapy may not always lead to consequences. If the cause is injury, the tumor goes away without complications, the mucosal surface heals completely and swelling subsides.
But in some cases, failure to contact a specialist in a timely manner can lead to serious consequences:
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Respiratory disturbance .
- Suffocation.
- Constant fatigue and malaise.
- Development of cancer cells and tumor metastasis to other organs.
- Anaphylactic shock.
Complications arise depending on the cause of the tumor. Some of them can be fatal. That is why, if your tongue has a tumor, you need to consult a doctor and find out the cause of the unpleasant symptom.
The tongue may swell as a result of the negative effects of chemicals or become a symptom of the development of serious diseases. You should consult a doctor immediately in cases where the tumor is accompanied by itching, pain, difficulty breathing and other signs. Lack of therapy leads to dangerous consequences.
Swollen lips
As mentioned above, the tongue and lips most often swell at the same time due to allergies. In this case, swelling occurs rapidly, literally in a matter of minutes. Along with a swollen tongue, the patient may experience other unpleasant symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, vomiting and abdominal pain. If no measures are taken, then other symptoms may appear a little later - such as increased body temperature, changes in body color and sensitivity, and soreness and swelling of the tongue.
Many in this situation are lost and do not know what to do if the tongue is swollen and the patient apparently has an allergic reaction. You should not panic, you need to act quickly and clearly. You need to urgently call an ambulance, and before it arrives, give the patient an antihistamine, open the windows wide and provide access to fresh air, and avoid contact with the allergen (if known).
Glossalgia - symptoms and treatment
The complaints that patients make are varied. At the same time, they allow one to make a diagnosis quite accurately. With glossalgia, patients usually complain of a burning sensation, tingling and tingling in the tongue area.
Unpleasant sensations can occur either periodically or be permanent. In some cases, patients compare the unpleasant sensations with sensations like eating spicy food . Because of this, some patients note the impossibility of long conversations , as increased fatigue develops.
A large number of patients complain of excessive dryness in the mouth and a small amount of saliva.
During stressful situations, various kinds of anxiety, as well as severe fatigue, the symptoms of glossalgia progress. The burning sensation and pain intensify, and therefore the psychological state of such patients worsens. They become very irritable and whiny. While eating, patients feel relief, discomfort disappears or becomes less pronounced.
Burning and tingling sensations are most pronounced on the lateral surfaces and on the tip of the tongue ; in rare cases, glossalgia appears on the back and root of the tongue. The pain is diffuse. If there is no treatment, the symptoms of glossalgia may disappear and then appear, but in another area of the tongue. This disease also has a tendency to disappear completely on its own.
There are no visible changes in the mucous membrane of the tongue, as well as in the oral cavity, with glossalgia. In some patients, slight swelling of the tongue due to the enlargement of some papillae, as well as a coating, usually white, sometimes yellow , which occurs due to insufficient saliva secretion. In old age, varicose veins of the tongue , which is manifested by a slight enlargement of the tongue and its cyanosis.
As a rule, the neurological status of such patients is impaired. Signs of depression , apathy and fatigue may be present . In contrast, patients may be overly active, agitated, anxious and very suspicious .
Most of these patients suffer from nosophobia, a phobic anxiety disorder manifested by an irrational fear of developing life-threatening diseases. During the conversation, it becomes clear that in addition to glossalgia, the patient has other neurotic conditions - sleep disturbances, fatigue, stool disorders [4][6][8].
Swollen throat
If the tongue and throat are swollen at the same time, this condition is life-threatening for the patient. In the vast majority of cases, this condition occurs during anaphylactic shock (the most severe manifestation of allergies). Only an experienced doctor can remove a patient from a state of anaphylactic shock, therefore, at the first signs of swelling of the tongue and throat, you should immediately call an ambulance, especially if the patient has other dangerous symptoms - such as difficulty swallowing, bluish coloration of the lips and nails, swelling of the eyes and lips, small rashes, low blood pressure, nausea, shortness of breath or choking.
What to do
If a patient has a swollen tongue, treatment primarily depends on what causes the swelling. First of all, the cause should be determined; only an experienced doctor can do this. If the cause is known and it is not life-threatening (for example, biting the tongue or being burned by too hot food), then you can try to relieve the unpleasant symptoms yourself. But if the cause of tongue swelling is an allergic reaction, self-medication is life-threatening.
There are many ways to relieve swelling using traditional methods. However, all of them are suitable only for cases where the cause of swelling is microtrauma of the tongue.
You can rinse your mouth with decoctions of medicinal herbs - chamomile, sage, calendula, eucalyptus. You can use baths and rinses made from chlorhexidine, various herbal balms and rinses. If the patient's tongue is swollen after tooth extraction, rinsing with herbal infusions will help. It should be remembered that in this case you should absolutely not rinse your mouth with hot infusion, it will only increase inflammation.
