Blisters on the tongue – causes, treatment and prevention

Blisters on the tongue

The healthy tongue is pale pink in color with a regularly moist and slightly rough surface. However, blisters can also appear on the tongue , which persist for some time and are usually painful. When you eat or drink, the pain usually becomes even more unbearable. There are many reasons for blisters on the tongue.

What are tongue blisters?

The tongue can say a lot about the current state of health. Blisters on the tongue are vesicles. They usually appear at the top and edges. The surface of the blisters on the tongue is transparent. The cavity is often filled with fluid, which is usually water or pus .

Most blisters on the tongue appear suddenly and usually disappear quickly without treatment. In addition, almost all forms of blisters are harmless. Exceptions are those that are ancillary symptoms of a serious illness, such as those associated with chemotherapy , tuberculosis, or blisters caused by herpes viruses. However, the blisters on the tongue often make it difficult to chew, speak and swallow.

Causes

One of the most common causes is poor oral hygiene . If brushing the teeth and cleaning the tongue are neglected too much, bacteria accumulate in the mouth and cause the mucous membranes to break down . If the oral mucosa is not intact, bacterial inflammation and blisters on the tongue are the result.Sometimes they go away quickly, for example when they are a reaction to eating fruit like pineapple or kiwi . In this case, the blisters on the tongue result from the aggressive substances in the food . However, if they occur regularly or permanently, the cause should be clarified by a doctor. This is because the sacs open and a secretion contaminated with herpes viruses can be released. Possible causes of blisters on the tongue can be:

  • Poor oral hygiene
  • burning of the tongue
  • Allergic causes due to certain foods such as fruit
  • Oral sex that transmits cold sores
  • High doses of histamine , for example in red wine or aged cheese
  • Overstimulated taste buds
  • Blunt injuries
  • Common cold, tonsillitis, bacterial infections, tuberculosis, tongue cancer, STDs like syphilis
  • Cold sores due to a weakened immune system
  • Pimples and blisters on the tongue are sometimes a sign of gastrointestinal problems
  • Taking medication, such as antibiotics , that causes a change in the oral flora

Diseases

When to the doctor?

Blisters on the tongue are usually extremely painful, but mostly completely harmless. They appear suddenly and subside just as quickly. Those affected should observe the blisters on the tongue. If the symptoms worsen or last for a long time, you should consult a doctor.

In some cases, however, blisters on the tongue can be a symptom of a serious medical condition. A doctor’s visit is strongly recommended, especially if additional symptoms such as burning tongue , high fever or a general feeling of illness become noticeable. A pronounced change in the coating of the tongue also requires a visit to the doctor.

However, they cause severe pain. A doctor should be consulted urgently, especially if the blisters on the tongue affect chewing, swallowing or speaking. He quickly makes a diagnosis and determines the further course of treatment. In some cases, the family doctor consults other specialists such as internists or oncologists. If those affected suffer from blisters on the tongue and there is no serious illness behind it, regular thorough oral hygiene has an extremely positive effect.

Diagnosis and course

It is not always necessary to see a doctor if you have a blister on your tongue. Changes that occur symmetrically are usually not considered to be serious. Blisters that form after contact with a certain substance can also be classified as harmless, so that the cause can be assigned without a doubt. For all unexplained blisters on the tongue, the cause should be clarified by a doctor. This is particularly important in the case of open blisters and whitish and red changes in the tongue.

If there is a suspicion, the doctor can ask specific questions and, if necessary, take a smear test. In many cases, the blisters on the tongue will disappear on their own. However, it is essential to keep the oral cavity clean at all times. Healing can also be accelerated in a number of ways. The blisters on the tongue must not be punctured under any circumstances, otherwise the open areas will become more inflamed and the blisters can expand.

Instead of using a needle, it is better to use a cotton swab and a suitable disinfectant, such as salt water. With this, the mouth can be rinsed out two to three times a day and the tongue can be freed from bacterial pathogens. It is advisable to limit the consumption of sweets during healing, but also as a prophylactic, because sugar acts as a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi .

Complications

Blisters on the tongue are usually harmless but often very painful. They can also cause problems with speaking, swallowing and chewing. Tongue blisters usually heal on their own, but they can happen again and again. Since a large part of the tongue itself can only be viewed poorly or not at all, making your own diagnosis is often problematic. A doctor’s visit is not absolutely necessary, but if you have any worrying signs, you should definitely see a doctor. For example, a blister on the tongue may be open or have reddish or whitish changes. Consequently, a smear is recommended. In addition, the blister should be treated according to the cause.

If blisters on the tongue are not treated properly or too late, a bacterial infection can occur. If herpes is the trigger for the tongue blisters, the infectious disease may spread throughout the body. The viruses are carried away from the blisters on the tongue and can then endanger the nose or eyes, for example. Complications related to tongue blisters are very rare. If creams or tinctures don’t help, antibiotics, gargling solutions or local anesthetics can help. Operations are only performed in rare cases. Often it is not only the tongue blisters that require an operation.

treatment and therapy

Treatment for tongue blisters depends on the cause. Creams or tinctures are available for canker sores. The latter are more pleasant to simply dab on with a cotton swab and have also proven to be better. The tinctures are often purely herbal, for example arnica . Cold compresses can relieve pain If this does not bring the desired success, a local anesthetic can be applied if the pain is severe .

With a gargling solution , even remote areas of the tongue can be reached. Due to the high alcohol content , among other things, they are antiseptic and have a cleaning effect, especially on open wounds . In this way, an additional infection can be avoided. These liquid tinctures are often a good addition. If herpes has triggered the blisters on the tongue, the development of the clinical picture must be closely monitored. Herpes can spread anywhere in the body, making it a widespread threat. In this case, the viruses are carried away from the weeping blisters on the tongue, for example to the nose or eyes. Antivirals are applied locally to the tonguedeployed. Antibiotics help with bacterial infections.

outlook and prognosis

Blisters on the tongue have a good prognosis in most cases. The existing underlying diseases are temporary, so that the blisters on the tongue often recede and heal completely within hours, days or weeks. Food intolerance is an allergic reaction in the body. Once the triggering substance or stimulus is no longer absorbed, the blisters gradually recede until they are gone.

If the affected person has burned themselves while eating, the taste cells on the tongue die off in addition to the formation of blisters. These are retrained within two weeks. During this process, the tongue heals and the blisters disappear. In the case of a bacterial infection, the blisters are relieved once the bacteria are stopped from multiplying by taking medication. This often occurs in connection with a cold, flu or inflammation of the mouth or throat .

If the blisters on the tongue are caused by a virus, such as herpes, the symptoms will increase in the first few hours or days. By administering medication or applying an ointment to the blisters, the viruses gradually die off and the blisters slowly shrink.

prevention

Careful oral hygiene with mouthwash and a special tongue cleaner is recommended so that blisters do not appear on the tongue or occur as rarely as possible. The latter cleans the top layer of the tongue and thus removes the harmful bacteria and the mouthwash also reaches remote corners and has a disinfecting effect. Eating a healthy diet also helps prevent tongue blisters. Sweets should be avoided to prevent fungal infection and candidiasis.

If the cause is known, the trigger should be avoided, for example in the case of allergic reactions to certain foods. With herpes it is more difficult. Once in the body, it can break out at any time.This usually happens at times when the immune system is particularly weak due to stress or illness. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle is also very important to avoid it. A weakened immune system can be strengthened with zinc .

Dorothy Farrar

Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *