Have you ever underestimated the temperature of your hot chocolate or hot tea and sipped it in a hurry and burnt your tongue? Well, you are not alone if you raised your hand. The burnt tongue is a common ailment that millions of people experience daily.
Hot food and liquid can burn your lips, tongue, and mouth more often than not. While all you get is a pat on the shoulder and sympathetic look for it, you could get some help in the form of useful home remedies to treat your burnt tongue.
A burnt tongue can range between mild and severe. While mild cases heal in a day or two, severe scaling could last for days and even weeks.
Severe burns can disrupt your taste and sensation and cause swelling, irritation, pain, and blisters. It can also impair your brushing and flossing and cause infection.
While tongue burn doesn’t require medication, home remedies will help heal it more quickly and regain your taste. Take a note of the following suggestions in case you have to deal with a burnt tongue in the future.
What Does A Burnt Tongue Look Like?
Depending upon the severity of the burn, tongue burn is categorized into three stages:
– Stage 1: The hot food or beverage just scales the outer layer of the tongue. Symptoms include mild pain and irritation, redness, and swelling.
– Stage 2: Here, both the outer and inner layers are affected. Common signs are redness, inflammation, blisters, pain, and irritation.
– Stage 3: The tissues of the tongue are impaired, which could result in numbness, severe and prolonged pain, burnt skin, and blackened or white tongue.
When the tongue inflames, the taste buds (rough bumps) vanish, which is why your sense of taste decreases. There is no need to panic, though, as this is a temporary condition, and once the swelling recedes, your taste buds will recover.
How To Treat A Burnt Tongue At Home
You don’t need the rocket-science level technique to heal your tongue. The following home remedies will work just fine.
Have Something Cold Immediately
If you want to lessen the degree of your burn, treat it immediately with something cold. Place an ice-cube or have ice-cream to soothe the injury. The ice will stop the burning and tissue damage.
You can also drink a cold beverage or suck an ice-cube now and then to heal the damage. If nothing is available, rinse your mouth with cold water.
Keeping your mouth hydrated will prevent an infection.
Stick Your Tongue Out
Spit out the saliva and stick your tongue out if water or ice is not handy. Breathe through your mouth so that the cold air soothes your burning. This will give you some relief.
Have Honey
Honey is the most relied-upon natural ingredient used for treating various skin conditions. Honey is loaded with these anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which help prevent infection growth and soothes inflammation and redness.
It is also a great way to treat kids with a burnt tongue. Have a spoonful of honey and keep it in your mouth for some time without swallowing it. Repeat this every few hours until your tongue is relieved from the pain.
Curd
Curd is not only tasty, but it also produces a cooling effect, which invariably treats burns and blisters in the mouth. If there’s yogurt around, place a spoonful of yogurt on your tongue and let it sit as long as you can without swallowing it.
You can repeat this process as many times as you want.
Swish Your Mouth With Warm Water
On the contrary to what people believe, warm water limits the severity of tongue burns.
According to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery study, swishing your mouth with warm water can prevent tissue damage, for it increases microcirculatory perfusion.
Mainly if you use salt water, as salt is known to be an excellent antibacterial and prevents infection, all you have to do is swish your mouth with warm water for 30 seconds and spit it out.
Do not swallow. Repeat the process every 4 hours for maximum benefits.
Sugar
Sugar will not only repair your lost sense of taste, but it will also lessen tissue damage and pain. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of sugar on your tongue and let it sit until it dissolves. Children with a burnt tongue will love this treatment!
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is universally used to treat skin inflammation, rashes, irritation, and pain.
The anti-inflammatory properties present in this plant can address different types of skin problems and burns, including the most common autoimmune skin condition, eczema.
You can also use aloe vera to heal second and third-degree tongue burns. Place a teaspoon of freshly extracted aloe vera gel on your tongue, and you will observe the soothing effects almost instantly.
Aloe vera repairs damaged cells, soothe inflammation, reduce blisters, and relieve pain.
Vitamin E Oil
Vitamin E oil is effective in treating inflammation, tissue repair, and regrowth. Buy a strip of Vitamin E capsules, pierce the head of one capsule and empty the contents directly on your tongue.
Apply the oil evenly on the burnt part and let it stay for some time. Repeat at least three times a day for optimal results.
Avoid Having Spicy Foods
For the next couple of days after a burn, try avoiding extremely hot beverages and spicy foods. Also, try not to have acidic fruits and foods, such as citrus, vinegar, and fried foods. They can aggravate the pain and irritation, besides slowing down the healing process.
Take your mind away from foods that can hurt the blisters, like chips, nuts, and crunchy food. Maintain good oral hygiene to prevent infection. Floss and brush adequately. To keep your mouth hydrated, suck lozenges or chew gums to increase salivation.
Final Thoughts
We hope these remedies help you treat your burnt tongue. Besides, there’s another type of tongue burn. It is called chemical burn, which is caused when your tongue comes in contact with toxic chemicals.
Since a severe tongue burn can lead to infection growth, you must visit a doctor if your sense of taste doesn’t recover in 5 days or if you continue to experience pain.
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Author Bio:
Emylee is a wellness lifestyle writer. She loves sharing her thoughts and personal experiences related to natural remedies, yoga and fitness through her writing. She currently writes for How to Cure. She can connect with others experiencing health concerns and help them through their recovery journeys through natural remedies.
