home Treatment and prevention What to do if your tongue hurts: how to relieve the condition. Causes of pain in the tongue: treatment with traditional methods.

What to do if your tongue hurts: how to relieve the condition. Causes of pain in the tongue: treatment with traditional methods.

One of the most important organs in humans is the tongue. It “participates” in speech, as well as the process of chewing food. It contains taste buds. They look like small papillae. They are responsible for human perception of the taste of food.

Why does my tongue hurt, under the tongue, on the sides, at the base? What to do if there is pain? How to treat? It is difficult to formulate a question when the feeling of discomfort in the mouth becomes continuous. The tongue is an organ whose health you pay attention to only when the pain becomes unbearable. If this happens, you need to visit an otolaryngologist or dentist. He will conduct an examination and determine the appropriate treatment.

Why is my tongue swollen and does it hurt on the side? Causes? How to treat? All these questions arise when discomfort in the mouth appears.

Among the significant reasons for the appearance of painful sensations are:

Injuries and wounds due to mechanical impact.

This factor is one of the most frequently encountered. Mechanical damage can occur when chewing food. These are various kinds of pinching, scratches, burns. As a result, pain begins in the tongue, on the side under the tongue. The causes of injury may be more serious: chipping of tooth enamel, sharpened edges of a filling, improperly performed prosthetics. With constant mechanical impact, the pain intensifies and lasts longer.

My tongue started to hurt - what are the causes of pain?

Various inflammatory processes.

Inflammatory processes are one of the most serious causes of pain in the tongue. If the patient also talks about discomfort in the throat, palate, or difficulty swallowing, then you need to see a doctor. In this case, there is a possibility of the formation of an inflammatory process in the oral cavity against the background of a viral infection. If the nasopharynx is affected, then the sublingual lymph nodes subsequently enlarge.

Many young mothers do not have information on how to respond to the following complaints in a child: the tongue hurts at the base of the root, it hurts to swallow and white coating. What to do in such cases? It's better to see a doctor right away. He will determine an accurate diagnosis, because... symptoms may be a consequence of purulent tonsillitis. In this case, appropriate drug therapy is prescribed.

Pain syndrome can be provoked against the background of viral stomatitis. Rashes of all kinds appear on the surface of the tongue organ, the mucous membrane. The course of this disease is accompanied by difficulties in swallowing food and discomfort.

Allergic manifestations.

Allergies to foods and medications can cause pain. In this case, symptoms occur immediately after eating. This is especially true for products such as kiwi, pineapple, and seeds. Pain may occur after drinking alcoholic drinks, smoking.

An allergic reaction manifests itself in different ways. These could be stomatitis or fungal diseases.

Please note that when consuming spicy dishes and alcoholic drinks, the pain intensifies. It is necessary to limit or completely eliminate from the diet foods and medications that cause allergic reactions. As a result, the symptoms disappear.

Neuralgia.

Another factor that provokes the occurrence of pain in the oral cavity can be called various types of neuralgia. For example, glossalgia - it develops against the background of dysfunction of the endocrine system and neurogenic ailments. Psychological shock or severe stress can cause the development of the disease. Symptoms of glossalgia are numbness of the tongue organ of varying degrees of etiology, tingling, burning. Also, rapid fatigue of the organ during a conversation, pain in the lips can become a signal of a neuralgic disease.

Therefore install the real reason The occurrence of pain in the tongue in the presence of various types of neuralgia is quite difficult.

Unknown diseases internal organs .

Unidentified diseases of the internal organs can cause pain in the tongue. Painful sensations and discomfort are caused by various kinds of transformations in the general condition of the body. The tongue organ quickly responds to diseases of an infectious nature. In this case, inflammation occurs, for example glossitis.

How to find out what caused the pain in the tongue?

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, abnormalities in the functioning of the cardiovascular system, and anemia can manifest themselves as various types of discomfort in the mouth.

Clogging of the salivary gland.

Many patients ask the dentist why there is inflammation and pain under the tongue, on the left, on the right. The cause may be a clogged salivary gland located next to the tongue.

Oncological diseases.

One of the most fundamental reasons that result in painful sensations, is the presence of oncology. In this case, in patients the pain is localized inside the organ. The presence and nature of discomfort depends on the stage of development of the disease. For example, the initial phase of cancer may not be accompanied by discomfort in the oral cavity. And symptoms appear with further development of the disease. In this case, the patient is referred to an oncologist.

Thus, if symptoms appear, you should not treat tongue diseases on your own. Which doctor should I contact? A dentist or therapist will take an anamnesis and conduct an examination. Based on the data obtained, treatment will be prescribed or referred to the appropriate specialist - oncologist, endocrinologist, otolaryngologist, etc.

Classification of pain

Based on localization, the following types of pain are distinguished.

On the tip of the tongue.

What to do if your tongue starts to hurt, what caused it?

Pain at the tip occurs for a number of reasons:

mechanical damage– biting while chewing food, burns from food that is too hot. As a result, the papillae or the tongue itself are injured. The patient feels severe pain at the site of injury. In some cases, problems arise when eating. Such mini-injuries heal on their own;
glossalgia. This is a complex disease that is difficult to treat. It manifests itself as soreness at the tip, and in some cases, at the sides of the organ. The nature of the pain is a burning sensation, like after a thermal burn. As the disease develops, painful manifestations can spread to other organs. Patients report pain in the tongue, gums, lips, and cheeks. If any symptom occurs, it is recommended to consult a doctor;
glossitis. This disease is infectious in nature. In this case, it is the tip that is affected, which is associated with an increased likelihood of injury. It manifests itself as an inflammatory process at the site of damage and infection;
stomatitis. This disease is manifested by the spread of painful ulcers over the surface of the tongue. Any touch to them results in pronounced pain;
allergic reaction.

Under the tongue at the base.

Another type is the presence of pain at the base of the tongue. Painful sensations do not allow you to talk or eat normally, which affects your overall emotional condition person.

Why does the root, base of the tongue hurt when swallowing? The reasons can be very different - from allergies to serious inflammatory processes.

The following are distinguished:

glossalgia. Depending on the constitutional characteristics of the tongue, the pain syndrome in this disease can be localized not only at the tip of the tongue, but also at its base. More detailed symptoms are described above;
allergic reactions;
diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Prolonged pain in the area of the base of the tongue can result from various types of diseases of this organ;
avitaminosis. It manifests itself as a painful tingling at the root of the tongue;
phlegmon, abscess. These are purulent diseases of inflammatory nature. They manifest as acute pain in the base of the tongue, putrid breath, and increased salivation. It is also difficult for the patient to close his mouth. Subsequently, the tongue swells, speech becomes slurred, and breathing becomes difficult. Both diseases are dangerous, so if you have at least one sign, you need to consult a doctor.

On the sides of the tongue.

Complaints of pain on the sides of the tongue are provoked by all of the above reasons - injury, glossalgia, rashes and stomatitis.

What to do if your tongue hurts

However, there are several less common factors that can provoke the appearance of painful sensations:

poorly adjusted dental prote h, the sharp edges of which rub and injure the mucous membrane;
regular smoking;
neuralgia.

Treatment methods for tongue pain

If you have pain in your tongue, you should see a specialist. Try to describe the symptoms in as much detail as possible in order to establish the true cause of the disease. The doctor will then determine the appropriate treatment.

If it is determined that the cause of the pain is an injury, the wound will need time to heal. Sometimes pain appears after piercing, i.e. piercing In this case, it is recommended to carry out care measures and maintain oral hygiene.

Sore throat and white tongue may serve as symptoms of a sore throat. Inflamed tonsils and lymph nodes also cause pain. In this case, you need to go to a therapist who will determine the appropriate treatment. As inflammation and redness decrease, the pain in the tongue will subside.

Painful sensations and the presence of a cheesy coating indicate candidal stomatitis. Treatment must be determined by a doctor.

When anesthetic drugs are administered during tooth extraction, swelling of the gums and pain in the tongue may occur. This is especially true for the posterior molars. However, the pain goes away on its own a few days after the procedure.

How to find out what caused the pain in the tongue? My tongue started to hurt - what are the causes of pain? Why does my tongue hurt - what is the treatment method? What to do if your tongue starts to hurt What to do if your tongue starts to hurt, what caused it?

The causes of tongue pain can be very diverse, ranging from mechanical damage to the presence of cancer. Most often, pain occurs for the following reasons:

presence of mechanical damage;
development of inflammatory processes;
various allergic reactions;
development of neuralgia;
the presence of hidden diseases of other organs human body;
blockage of the salivary gland;
presence of cancer.

Most common cause pain on the tip or sides of the tongue are due to mechanical damage. Most often, the patient receives such injuries during eating, and they include biting, burns, scratches and cuts. The tongue can also be injured by chipped tooth enamel, an uncomfortable denture, or an unscrupulously installed filling with sharp edges. Constant, even minor injury can lead to long-term pain.

Inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity are dangerous and painful. If a patient has a sore tongue, throat, palate, and it hurts to swallow, the doctor has every reason to suspect the presence of inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. They can be caused by viral diseases of the nasopharynx, as a result of which the patient has an increase in sublingual The lymph nodes. In this case, the patient complains of pain when swallowing at the base of the tongue. With such symptoms, you should consult an otolaryngologist, since the cause of pain in the tongue may be acute purulent tonsillitis, which requires immediate medical treatment.

Another cause of pain is viral stomatitis. It affects both the surface of the tongue and the entire mucous membrane of the oral cavity. The disease is painful, causes difficulty in eating, and causes discomfort to the patient.

Often the causes of pain in the tongue lie in the presence of an allergic reaction in the patient. This could be an allergy to food or medications. Typically, the patient complains of tongue pain after eating, especially after kiwi, pineapple, seeds, drinking alcohol, and also after smoking a pipe and cigarettes.

Most often, an allergic reaction is expressed in the form of stomatitis or fungal diseases. Consumption of spicy food and alcohol only aggravates the painful condition. Discontinuation of those drugs and products that cause an allergic reaction leads to the disappearance of allergy symptoms.

Neuralgic diseases usually significantly complicate correct diagnosis; in this case, it is difficult to determine why the patient’s tongue hurts. The most common neuralgic disease is glossalgia. It occurs as a result of malfunctions of the endocrine system, as a result of neurogenic disorders, and also as a reaction to mental trauma or severe stress. With glossalgia, partial or complete numbness of the tongue, tingling, burning, and rapid fatigue of the tongue when speaking are observed. Often with glossalgia, the lips also hurt; the patient complains that he has a headache and a numb tongue.

Another reason for the appearance of pain in the tongue is the presence of hidden diseases of other organs and systems in the patient. The tongue reacts sharply to any changes in the condition of the body, and the result of infectious diseases of the body can be glossitis - inflammation of tissues.

Soreness can also be caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular and endocrine systems, as well as the presence of anemia in the patient.

A blockage in the salivary gland, which is located near the tongue, can also lead to pain. In this case, the patient complains of pain under the tongue, constant discomfort and soreness of the oral cavity.

The most serious cause of tongue pain is cancer. In this case, patients complain of pain inside the tongue. In the early stages of cancer, there may be no pain at all; it usually appears in later stages. The treatment of oncological diseases is carried out by an oncologist, to whom both a general practitioner and a dentist can refer if there is a suspicion of oncological disease.

Pain after puncture

IN Lately It has become fashionable to pierce the tongue, it is called piercing. We will skip moralizing on this topic and tell you briefly what this threatens.

Many patients complain that they have long time Tongue hurts after puncture. This is considered normal, since a puncture, even the most skillful one, is a kind of injury that takes time to heal. In addition, the tongue is literally riddled with nerve endings, so the puncture site hurts especially strongly. It is impossible to say exactly how long the pain continues after the puncture; this happens individually for everyone: for some, the pain stops 2-3 days after the puncture, for others the pain lasts for 10-12 days. If your tongue is swollen and painful immediately after the piercing, this is normal. However, severe pain and swelling should gradually subside and disappear completely 4-5 days after the puncture. If the pain does not subside after a week or is acute and throbbing, you should immediately consult a doctor, as the possibility of infection cannot be ruled out.

Causes of pain after piercing:

damage resulting from puncture of nerve endings located in the tongue;
infection in the wound and development of the inflammatory process;
allergy to the metal from which the jewelry is made.

In order to prevent the development of complications, you should contact only professionals. After all, not every cosmetologist knows how to properly pierce the tongue without damaging the nerve or developing inflammatory processes. If, after the piercing, the pain when speaking and swallowing does not go away, you should consult a dentist or surgeon.

It should be warned that the closer to the edges of the tongue the puncture is made, the more painful and dangerous complications he is. The easiest way to heal is a puncture made in the center of the tongue, because along the edges of the tongue there are arteries, damage to which can even lead to death. How far from the tip the puncture is made also plays a role. The closer to the root the tongue is pierced, the more it swells and hurts.

If after piercing your tongue hurts on the side, left or right, you should definitely consult a doctor to see if the lateral arteries are damaged or if they are being pressed by a barbell.
If the patient is suffering from pain in the tip of the tongue, but it is not swollen and there are no signs of inflammation, such pain must be endured and the puncture site must be given time to heal.
If the tongue was pierced in the root area, you should expect that the pain at the base will be prolonged, and the healing itself will take 4-6 weeks.

Stitching pain in the tongue after piercing should alert you, as they most often indicate the development of an acute inflammatory process due to infection. Without timely treatment, an abscess may develop.

Pain on the tip of the tongue

There may be several reasons for the occurrence of such pain:

Mini tip injury. In first place in terms of prevalence are mini-injuries of the tip of the tongue. Most often, patients inadvertently bite the tip of their tongue or burn it with too hot food. Such mini-injuries are painful and cause a lot of trouble for patients; the papillae hurt, and sometimes eating becomes impossible for a while due to severe pain. Over time, everything heals and passes without a trace.
Glossalgia- a serious disease in which the tip of the tongue most often hurts, less often - its sides. The pain is manifested by a burning sensation; patients often complain that their tongue hurts, like after a burn. Sometimes the painful sensations spread to other organs of the oral cavity; the patient’s tongue and gums, sometimes lips and cheeks, hurt. If such symptoms are detected, you should immediately consult a doctor, since glossalgia is difficult to treat and exhausts the patient with its symptoms.
Glossitis- inflammatory disease of the tongue. When it occurs, the tip of the tongue can be very painful, because the infection that causes inflammation usually gets into the wound, and the tip of the tongue is bitten much more often than other parts of it.
Stomatitis is also accompanied by severe pain of the tongue, which is covered with painful ulcers located over its entire surface.
Allergy. Allergic reactions are also common causes of pain.

Pain under the tongue at the base

Pain at the base of the tongue is a strong irritant for a person; it interferes with talking and eating, significantly worsening the patient’s quality of life. There are several causes of pain at the root:

With glossalgia, pain can be localized both at the tip of the tongue and at its base, it all depends on the structural features of the patient’s tongue.
With allergies, almost any part of the tongue can also hurt.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can provoke severe pain at the root of the tongue, which annoy the patient for a long time.
With vitamin deficiency, patients complain of tingling and pain at the base.
The most serious causes of soreness at the base of the tongue are cellulitis and abscess. The symptoms of these diseases are severe sharp pain at the base of the tongue, inability to close the mouth, bad breath, increased salivation, in which saliva constantly drips from the mouth. The patient's tongue swells, causing speech impairment and difficulty breathing. Both abscess and cellulitis are extremely dangerous diseases, therefore, if you notice at least one of the above symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Soreness on the sides of the tongue

If a patient complains of pain on the lateral surfaces of the tongue, the main reasons for their occurrence are most likely the same mechanical injuries, glossalgia or glossitis, allergic reactions and stomatitis. Often the tongue hurts on the sides due to poorly fitted dentures, which constantly injure the mucous membrane with its sharp edges.
If the patient smokes a lot, this can also cause severe pain.
If there is no apparent reason for the soreness of the tongue, and yet it hurts almost constantly, neuralgia should be suspected.

In any case, if your tongue is painful, you should consult a doctor; only he can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.

What to do and how to deal with pain?

First of all, you should contact one of the specialists dealing with oral diseases. This could be either a dentist or an otolaryngologist. Only a doctor can determine why the tongue hurts and what treatment needs to be prescribed.

Most often, patients are interested in what to do if the tip of the tongue hurts. First of all, you should rule out injury. If you bite or burn the tip of your tongue, you need to give the wound time to heal. As it heals, the pain will go away on its own. If the cause of pain is a piercing, you should follow all care recommendations, paying attention to Special attention on oral hygiene.

If your throat and white tongue hurt, it is most likely a sore throat or other upper respiratory tract disease. Inflammation of the tonsils is usually accompanied by severe pain at the base of the tongue, and if it hurts left-hand side This means that the left tonsil is more enlarged and inflamed and vice versa. If you notice redness of the throat, enlarged tonsils and submandibular lymph nodes, you should consult a therapist or otolaryngologist for treatment. After the sore throat goes away, the pain in the tongue will subside on its own.

If the tongue is very sore and the surface of the oral cavity is covered with a white cheesy coating and is inflamed, this is most likely candidal stomatitis. It is unlikely that you will be able to cope with the disease on your own, so you should contact a specialist for help.

The tongue may hurt after anesthesia, tooth extraction, and a visit to the dentist. This happens especially often if a back root tooth has been removed. At the same time, swelling of the gums, which is inevitable when a tooth is removed, can also affect the tongue area, causing its pain. Usually the discomfort goes away a few days after tooth extraction. If the pain persists longer, you should immediately contact the doctor who performed the tooth extraction.

The tongue is a human organ that consists of muscles and is covered with a mucous membrane. It contains many ordinary nerve endings, as well as specific ones - taste ones. Specifics pain in the tongue associated with these anatomical features.

Causes

The causes of pain in the tongue are very diverse. They can be conditionally classified according to different criteria. According to the source, all pain in the tongue can be divided into two large groups:
1. The origin of which is directly related to the organ itself.
2. Originating from neighboring anatomical formations: pain can radiate to the tongue from the salivary glands, tonsils, lymph nodes, pharynx, larynx.

The origin of pain in the tongue can also be different:

inflammatory processes;
allergic reactions;
bacterial and viral;
specific infections (syphilis, etc.);
injuries;
tumor processes.

Pain from tongue injuries

Acute trauma

The tongue is located in the oral cavity, and is reliably protected by the jaws and teeth. Therefore, his acute injuries are relatively infrequent. In most cases, this occurs in the following situations:

Severe facial injuries with tissue crushing.
A blow that falls from below into the lower jaw, under the chin: in this case, the victim can bite his own tongue with his teeth.
Damage to the tongue from sharp instruments during dental procedures and surgical interventions on the face and oral cavity. Fortunately, today, with the development of technology, this happens less and less.
Attack: during tension of all the muscles of the body, the patient usually bites his tongue. If appropriate measures are not taken in time, this can result in serious injury.
Tongue injury sharp objects(for example, bones during meals).

At the time of injury, there is an acute sharp pain in the tongue. If this leads to damage to the mucous membrane, then the taste of blood is felt in the mouth.

Pain from minor tongue injuries usually goes away on its own after some time. In case of severe injuries, you should contact an oral and maxillofacial surgeon as soon as possible.

Chronic injury

Pain in the tongue due to chronic injury can be caused by the following reasons:

The presence of fragments of teeth with sharp edges in the mouth. Most often, the lateral parts of the tongue are injured by broken molars.
Malocclusion. At the same time, when closing the jaws, the teeth can constantly touch the tongue.
Improperly installed implants, dentures, orthodontic structures in the oral cavity.
Using a tongue scraper that is too sharp.
An increase in the size of the tongue, due to which it no longer fits in the oral cavity. The most typical disease in which a similar clinical picture occurs is myxedema (reduced function).

With chronic injury, the patient notes pain and burning in the corresponding part of the tongue. Upon examination, you can see that the tongue is more or less swollen on the corresponding side, its mucous membrane is red.

Burns

The most common are superficial tongues. Their cause is too hot food and drinks. There is pain, a burning sensation in the tongue, and a slight feeling of numbness. Very soon these symptoms pass on their own.

Chemical burns most often occur in unattended children younger age(drinking various antiseptics from the first aid kit, household products), at work (inhalation of caustic fumes), when consuming alcohol substitutes.

Severe burns of the tongue are relatively rare and are combined with burns of the oral cavity and esophagus. There is very severe pain and burning in the tongue, and difficulty swallowing. In this case, you should immediately go to the emergency room.

Pain after tongue piercing

The pain that occurs in the tongue after a piercing can also be classified as traumatic. Sometimes they don't bother you at all. And sometimes they continue for a short time, after which they go away on their own.

Prolonged severe pain in the tongue after piercing may be a symptom of the following conditions:
1. The introduction of infection into the wound during puncture and the development of the inflammatory process.
2. The development of an allergic reaction to the material from which the barbell is made.
3. Damage during nerve manipulation.

In order to avoid these consequences, you should contact professional professionals who know how to pierce your tongue without pain and prevent complications. If consequences in the form of severe pain in the tongue do occur, you need to visit a dentist or surgeon.

Irritation from tobacco smoke

This symptom occurs in people who smoke a fairly large number of cigarettes every day. Tobacco smoke contains irritants that can lead to pain and burning in the tongue. In addition, smoking weakens and promotes the development of inflammatory processes in the oral cavity.

Glossitis

Glossitis is an inflammation of the tongue, which can have a different nature and, accordingly, be accompanied by different symptoms.

Superficial glossitis

With superficial glossitis, inflammation affects only the mucous membrane of the tongue. In this case, the tongue becomes painful, acquires a brighter red color, and becomes slightly swollen. Superficial glossitis rarely occurs on its own. Most often it becomes one of the manifestations of stomatitis - inflammation of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. Reasons for this condition:

diseases of teeth and gums;
insufficient oral hygiene;
smoking and alcohol abuse.

Catarrhal

Catarrhal glossitis is also a superficial inflammation. In this case, the patient constantly feels pain and burning in the tongue, which intensifies during food intake and mechanical irritation. A coating appears on the tongue white, it becomes swollen, dense, its mobility is sharply hampered. The patient complains that he produces a large amount of saliva, he ceases to distinguish tastes. Catarrhal glossitis is characterized by rejection of areas of the mucous membrane of the tongue, leaving spots in their place bright red, and this is very clearly noticeable during the inspection.

Pain and burning of the tongue with catarrhal glossitis are often symptoms of other, more serious diseases. These signs can play a role in infectious pathologies (diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles), diseases of the digestive system.

Deep

Deep glossitis is an inflammatory process that develops deep in the tissues of the tongue. Most often it occurs as a classic purulent inflammation:
1. Phlegmon is diffuse inflammation.
2. An abscess is a limited cavity containing pus.

In both cases, there is pain at the base of the tongue, in the depths. The purulent process can spread further, and then pain occurs under the tongue: in the neck, in the chin. Pathogenic microorganisms can spread to the submandibular lymph nodes, as a result of which they increase in size and become painful. With deep glossitis, the patient’s general condition may be disturbed: body temperature rises, malaise is noted.

Treatment in this case is surgical.

Ulcerative

With ulcerative glossitis, pain occurs simultaneously with the appearance of plaque on the tongue gray. It has a very unpleasant smell, and if it is removed, bright red bleeding ulcers remain on the mucous membrane of the tongue. This pathology is caused by yeast and other pathogens.

Pain and burning at the tip of the tongue with glossalgia

Glossalgia is a pathological condition that causes pain and burning in the tongue. The nature of the disease has not yet been fully elucidated. He is considered the same functional disorder, such as vegetative-vascular dystonia.
Glossalgia is manifested by the following main symptoms:

Pain and burning in the tongue, tingling and feeling of rawness. Apparent reasons There are no such symptoms, but they can be provoked by eating certain types of food and talking for a long time. Due to discomfort and fatigue, patients with glossalgia cannot speak for a long time.
Dryness of the tongue and oral mucosa.
While eating, all symptoms of glossalgia disappear. Sometimes this leads to the patient starting to eat constantly and developing bulimia (pathological appetite).
Pain at the tip of the tongue is very common.
Sometimes all the described symptoms disappear on their own, without treatment. In most cases, glossalgia can be treated with great difficulty.

Viral tongue ulcer

Sometimes a small painful formation may appear on the tongue, which is popularly called a pip, and in medical terminology - a viral ulcer. This type of pip occurs for no apparent reason. Viral ulcers are often associated with weakened immunity and minor injuries to the tongue. Usually it goes away on its own.

Acute pain in the tongue caused by allergic reactions

Many allergic reactions primarily affect the face, mouth, and tongue. This may be a food reaction, a reaction to taking certain medications (most often - antibacterial drugs), tobacco smoke, alcohol, spicy food.

First, a small compaction appears on the mucous membrane of the tongue - the so-called tuberculous tubercle. Pathogens multiply in it. Then the tubercle collapses and turns into, which leads to very severe sharp pain in the tongue. Other symptoms of tongue tuberculosis are:

enlargement of nearby lymph nodes;
significant general deterioration in the patient's condition;
weight loss, exhaustion;
increased sweating;
prolonged rise in temperature to 37 o C.

Syphilitic lesions of the tongue occur at any stage of syphilis: primary, secondary and tertiary. In this case, various seals and spots may appear on the mucous membrane. The tongue may increase in size. Pain in the tongue does not always occur, and is often mild.

Shingles

Shingles is a viral disease that can affect the mucous membranes of the mouth and tongue. This occurs when it spreads along the branches of the trigeminal nerve.

A chain of small bubbles appears on the tongue, which then burst and turn into small ulcers. At the same time, there are strong sharp pains in language. They intensify during eating and talking and often cause significant suffering to the patient. Herpesvirus infection of the tongue is accompanied by symptoms such as:

deterioration of the condition, as with acute respiratory infections, increase in body temperature to 38–39 o C;
enlargement of the submandibular lymph nodes, up to the development of lymphadenitis;
usually rashes simultaneously appear on the skin of the face, on the lips, on the wings of the nose;
often a cold is superimposed on a herpes virus infection.

Pain due to tongue tumors

For malignant tumor() characterized by severe sharp pain in the tongue. The neoplasm is manifested by the following symptoms:
1. Ulcers appear on the mucous membrane of the tongue, which are very painful and bleed. This symptom indicates that the patient did not seek help from a dentist or oncologist in time, and the disease is in an advanced stage.
2. Even before the appearance of ulcers and pain in the tongue, you can notice areas of redness and white spots on the mucous membrane. Often the patient does not attach any importance to them, mistaking them for symptoms of glossitis.
3. At the location of the tumor there is a compaction. Most often it is located on the side of the tongue.
4. Bad breath is also a late symptom of the pathology, and indicates that the tumor has begun to disintegrate.
5. Cancer cells from tongue tumors are quickly able to penetrate into the submandibular lymph nodes, as a result of which the latter increase in size and become painful.
6. General symptoms include weakness, increased body temperature, usually up to 37 o C, lethargy, and drowsiness.

Black "hairy" tongue

The causes of this pathology, which may be accompanied by pain in the tongue, are still not fully known. It is believed that the main provoking factors are: smoking and alcohol abuse, poor circulation in the tongue, and entry of pathogenic bacteria into the mucous membrane.

Pain in the tongue with this disease is not very pronounced, and may be completely absent. The following symptoms are noted:

sensation of a foreign body in the tongue;
feeling of tongue numbness;
the mucous membrane becomes dark, “hairs” (elongated papillae of the tongue) appear on it;
the lesion covers a limited area with round or triangular outlines.

Causes of pain in the tongue associated with other organs

Submandibular lymphadenitis

This disease is characterized by inflammation of the submandibular lymph nodes, and is accompanied by pain under the tongue. Most often this is caused by chronic tonsillitis (inflammation of the tonsils), long-term or pulpitis, and infectious diseases of the gums.

Typically, pain under the tongue with submandibular lymphadenitis intensifies in the evening and may be accompanied by an increase in body temperature. Painful, enlarged lymph nodes can be easily felt under the skin under the lower jaw.

Acute inflammation of the submandibular and sublingual salivary gland

The sublingual and submandibular salivary glands are located in the root of the tongue. If an acute inflammatory process develops in them, then the symptoms are very characteristic:

pain under the tongue, intensifying during eating and swallowing;
under the lower jaw on the right or left you can feel a dense, painful formation - an inflamed gland.

Salivary stone disease

The formation of stones in the sublingual and submandibular glands is a fairly rare pathology. It is characterized by the following symptoms:

pain under the tongue is not very strong, it is transient, sometimes appearing, sometimes completely disappearing;
often pain is provoked by food intake, usually spicy, which promotes the secretion large quantity saliva;

The most severe complication of tonsillitis is a peritonsillar abscess, in which a cavity with pus forms in the tonsil area. This pathology manifests itself in the form of very severe pain at the base of the tongue during swallowing, high temperature body, significant impairment of the patient's condition.

Inflammation of the pharynx

Laryngitis

Neuralgia

damage to the nervous system;
irritation of nerves associated with pathologies of neighboring organs, most often teeth;
severe pain can radiate to the tongue with neuralgia of the lower branch of the trigeminal nerve (in this case, pain is also noted in the lower part of the face, lower jaw);
damage to the nerves of the tongue during surgical interventions on the larynx and other organs of the neck and oral cavity.

Pain and burning in the tongue in various pathologies (geographic tongue)

The symptoms that accompany pain and burning of the tongue in these conditions are determined by the underlying disease:
1. With pathology of the gastrointestinal tract, nausea, vomiting, belching, heartburn, abdominal pain, stool disorders, etc. are noted;
2. Anemia causes pallor, lethargy, and weakness.

Cardiovascular diseases

If the pain in the tongue is caused by angina pectoris, then it usually begins to bother you during walking, stress, physical activity. Once a person rests a little, all unpleasant sensations disappear completely.

With a heart attack, the pain in the tongue is very severe. A serious illness can be suspected based on the following symptoms:

drop in blood pressure;
sticky cold sweat;
pallor.

Frequent stress and mental pathologies

other unpleasant sensations in the tongue in the form of burning and tingling;
The patient's tongue often gets tired during a conversation;
sensation of numbness of the tongue - the patient complains that he almost does not feel it;
Often, pain is felt in other areas of the body: cheeks, lips, throat (characteristic spasms, a feeling of a “lump in the throat”).

A physician examining a patient with the symptoms described must exercise caution. Before diagnosing pain in the tongue of psychogenic origin, you need to make sure that they are not caused by other, more serious diseases.

Other diseases that may cause tongue pain

It should be remembered that various diseases that lead to pain in the tongue can overlap each other. This requires careful diagnosis and a different profile.

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The tongue is one of the most important organs of the human mouth. Being a muscular organ, it performs the main function in the speech process and one of the most significant functions during eating. The muscle tissue of the tongue is covered with a mucous membrane protected by stratified squamous epithelium. Numerous papillae located on its surface contain taste buds.

Thus, the tongue is one of the most active and mobile human organs. All the more important is the answer to the question of what to do if it hurts. As in most such cases, only a qualified specialist can give an accurate answer and explain why this organ hurts. If you complain about pain in this area, you should contact your dentist, otolaryngologist or therapist.

IN modern medicine The following most probable causes of pain in the tongue are known:

Mechanical damage.
Inflammatory processes caused by viral infections.
Neuralgia of various types.
Allergic reactions.
Diseases of other organs or systems in the body that occur in a latent form.

1. Mechanical injuries that cause the tongue to experience pain include minor injuries (cuts, biting, scratches), injuries received while chewing hard foods, and burns. Also, his injuries appear as a result of untreated chipped tooth enamel or wearing poorly fitting dentures. All these factors cause quite unpleasant sensations and, with prolonged exposure, can cause acute pain in the tongue.

2. Inflammatory processes in the mouth are very common and quite dangerous phenomenon, which, if not treated in a timely manner, can cause serious illness. Inflammations, in which the tongue hurts and experiences discomfort, occur when viral diseases nasopharynx as a consequence in the sublingual area. There are also known cases of diseases of the salivary gland and stomatitis of various etiologies. Painful stomatitis (the so-called viral ulcer) can develop both on the surface of the tongue and on the entire mucous membrane of the oral cavity, causing pain and preventing a full meal.

3. Serious illness caused by an acute inflammatory process in the oral cavity is glossitis. Occurring in the form of superficial or deep inflammation of the tissues of the tongue, glossitis, as a rule, is a consequence of infectious diseases of other organs of the oral cavity (for example,) or the body as a whole. In cases of deep (phlegmonous) glossitis, an abscess forms in the thickness of the tongue, causing acute inflammation in the neck and chin area. IN similar situation, as a rule, surgical intervention is necessary.

4. In the case of neuralgic diseases, it can be quite difficult to make a correct diagnosis and determine why a person experiences discomfort in the tongue. Inflammation or stimulation of the nerve endings in the mouth can be caused by many different factors. There are often cases when unpleasant sensations in the tongue appear as a consequence of processes taking place in the gums or teeth.

One of the most common neuralgic diseases of the tongue is glossalgia. The disease can be caused by neurogenic disorders or disorders in the endocrine system. Glossalgia is also a consequence severe stress and mental trauma. The most characteristic symptoms of the disease are partial numbness of the tongue, fatigue of the organ during conversation, burning, tingling, and in rare cases, acute pain in the tongue itself. Symptoms may spread to other areas of the mouth, such as the lips or cheeks.

5. Allergic reactions affecting the oral cavity and, in particular, the tongue are very common. These include different kinds food allergies, reactions to taking medications (especially antibiotics), the consequences of smoking, drinking alcohol-containing liquids and spicy foods. The disease manifests itself in the form of varying severity of stomatitis or fungal formations. As a rule, after eliminating allergens and refusing to eat inappropriate foods, the pain in the tongue goes away, and the external manifestations of the allergy disappear after a while.

What should you do if your tongue hurts, but your mouth examination and allergen test did not give positive results? In such cases, a complete and thorough examination of the body should be carried out for hidden forms of diseases. Pain in the area of this organ may appear as a result of disturbances in gastrointestinal tract, in the cardiovascular system and in other systems of the human body. For example, one of the symptoms of anemia (iron deficiency in the blood) and vitamin deficiency may be constant pain in it.

Thus, in order to promptly identify and eliminate the causes of discomfort in the tongue area, it is not enough to conduct an external examination of the oral cavity. Often, a complete examination of the body followed by serious treatment is necessary.

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