I have 1 or 2 inflamed taste buds on the tip of my tongue. The damn things hurt- I feel like I licked the edge of a razor blade. Does anyone have any suggestions to soothe them?
Only one suggestion: DON’T BITE THEM!!! You have my sympathy.
Cocaine
I hate those. If you can get to a drugstore or reasonable facsimile, try some benzocaine gel (US brand names include Anbesol, Kank+a, Orabase, Orajel). They usually keep it on the edge of the dental stuff section. It’s not perfect – those tastebud sores have pain tentacles that go half an inch down into your tongue, I swear – but it’s better than nothing.
Sometimes I think dabbing the sore with hydrogen perozide on a Q-tip helps it heal faster, but that may be a myth. Maybe it just makes the pain flare up and exhaust those pain tentacles for a while.
My husband always gets a new toothbrush if he gets one. No idea if whatever causes them festers on the old toothbrush, or if a worn-out toothbrush leaves behind too much crap after you brush your teeth.
I tend to get this sort of thing when I get too little sleep. No idea why it happens, but the two things do seem to be tied together in my case.
I haven’t found a good remedy, though a bit of ice usually helps a bit.
It’s been my experience that tongue pains heal pretty quickly. Has anyone else ever noticed this? If this is so, I put it down to an evolutionary adaptation. We all need to eat, and with a painful tongue, it is hard to do so. Therefore, tongue pains heal rapidly. So, just hang loose, and it will heal itself quite nicely. If this doesn’t work, then I say take ShermanAter’s advice, and apply massive amounts of cocaine (and in keeping with the board rules about never stating that you are engaging in illegal activities, make sure that it is medically prescribed cocaine).
I just wanted to express my sympathy and solidarity with tongue sore sufferers. It seems I hardly go a week without getting a sore tongue in one spot or more, and when that heals, it moves to another spot. I have also recently developed Mosaic Tongue, which is a fairly weird (but harmless) thing. I don’t know of anything that makes them heal faster; they just get irritated, then they heal, and life goes on.
I have heard that mouths do heal the quickest of any spot on your body, but I think it is more of a physical thing - you wear off cells with the abrasion and acidity of eating, so they need to be replenished quickly.
Heh. I was out shopping Saturday, when I noticed a vendor offering hot cocoa samples. I cheerfully took a cup, and as I was sipping the lady said “I had to send my assistant out for more cups, 'cause the cocoa is getting way to hot [in the electric kettle thingy] and I need to start pouring more of it!” Forturnately, I only managed to sear the left side of my tongue. Right now, it doesn’t actually hurt any more – it just feels really weird – so yeah, your tongue heals fast.
Wasn’t there a thread awhile back where it was decided that these things are the result of an infected/inflamed taste bud (not necessarily the result of physical tongue injury, such as biting)?
Also expressing my sympathy. I recently got over the same thing. Lasted for about a week then went away. Tongues are weird and awful when sore.
I definitely recommend that you stay away from alcohol, coffee, teas, acidic drinks (no OJ or lemonade), or any other potential irritants. Coffee is probably the biggest no-no for anybody suffering from oral sores. In my experience, it makes the pain worse and makes it last much longer. Do drink plenty of water and be mindful of the sore areas while brushing and flossing. You don’t want to do anything to irritate them anymore than they already have been.
If I eat too much artificial sweetener, I get those little nasties. Just so you know there’s another possible trigger out there.
Cut them off.
No really! That is actually what I do. I get those white inflamed taste buds about every three months or so and they are so damn painful! Of course, because it is irritating my tounge I cannot help but poke at them with my teeth. Gah!
So I take the sharpest pair of small scissors, or the sharpest finger nail clipper around, soak it in some alcohol, caaarreeeefulllly isolate those naughty taste buds and snip off they go!
In contrast, the pain from snipping them is minor and momentary. It is a lot less aggravating then having them in my mouth!
I think you need to put a warning on that post, AquaPura, to prevent fainting. 
I’m not sure if it will work on inflamed taste buds, but I do this for canker sores, so it’s worth a try.
Salt. Wet your finger, press the salt against the sore and hold it there. Do this a few times a day. It will hurt while you do it, of course, but it seems to seal it, which helps prevent further irritation, and helps it heal faster.
[nitpick]They’re not taste buds, they’re papillae. Papillae are each covered with taste buds that are way too small to see.[/nitpick]
I agree with the salt, but I usually just swish salt water around and spit it out.