I don’t think anyone has ever not experienced this at one time or another in their lifetime. Burning your tongue with hot liquid like hot chocolate or coffee or even soup, is a mishap that most people have experienced. Then there are the foods that are just as easily to burn your tongue with, like pizza. This common occurrence usually occurs because of two reasons. One being that you are in a big hurry and try to down whatever it may be, and another reason is hunger. Ever been so hungry that you just cannot wait to get that scrumptious morsel of food in your mouth? I for one am guilty of this.
Some people have burnt their tongues and mouths so badly that they had to get medical attention. But mostly the burns are minor and will heal within a week or so.
If you have any cuts or mouth ulcers in your mouth and you burn your mouth it could damage these cuts and sores. Foods that contain marinades with high volumes of acidity irritate any open wounds in the mouth and this could be quite painful. The best thing you can do for your mouth would be to let your food cool of a little before taking that first bite.
Some fascinating facts about taste buds
Contrary to belief, taste buds are not only present on the tongue, they are also on the roof of your mouth, in your throat and in your stomach as well.
Another interesting fact is that the sweet receptors that were thought to be only on the tongue are actually present in the gut also. This means that sugar gets “tasted” a second time round, once on the tongue, and then in the gut. The receptors then trigger the glucose and are transported to the cells and into the blood stream, which in turn affects how fast the insulin will be released. This is a very important finding in the control of blood sugar.
Would you believe that those bumps that you see on your tongue are not actually your taste buds? They are called fungiform papillae, and our taste buds are situated inside of these papillae, as many as six taste buds to one papillae.
The great thing here is the fact that your taste buds grow back after being burnt. There will never be any risk of losing one of your senses (taste) because of burning your taste buds. This is also the reason why our sense of taste will never diminish with age.
The normal lifespan of taste buds are anywhere from 10 days up till 2 weeks, where after they regenerate themselves.
What is Burning Tongue Syndrome?
This is a condition that occurs, funnily enough, in middle aged woman. This condition is a burning sensation in the mouth, without having actually burnt your tongue with foods or hot beverages. You get two types of burning tongue syndrome. One is called the primary burning mouth syndrome, which is a condition where the mouth begins to burn for no good reason. The other is called the secondary burning mouth syndrome, and this is caused by some medical conditions like dry mouth or allergies.
Even though burning tongue syndrome occurs mainly in middle aged woman, anyone can be affected. It is not easy to identify the cause of this syndrome, It could be anything ranging from hormonal changes, prescription drugs and even over the counter medications that cause a dry mouth. Even nutritional deficiencies can be the cause of a dry mouth. So in order to find out what the cause is of your burning tongue syndrome, you need to find out which of the above mentioned causes could most likely be the problem.
To combat a dry mouth it is essential to keep your saliva production going at all times. You can do this by drinking plenty of water, chewing sugar free gum, and sucking on Therabreath’s specially formulated lozenges. Therabreath has a pack specifically in mind for the individual suffering from dry mouth. The pack is called the “Confidence pack” and consists of an Oral Rinse, a toothpaste and a box of Mandarin Lozenges.