I’ve been getting swollen taste buds more frequently lately and I can’t figure out why. They are very painful, and it feels like there’s a large nodule on my tongue whenever I get one, even though the size of the inflamed bud is not much larger than its neighbors in reality.
What causes this? I’ve read spicy foods, but I haven’t eaten any spicy foods lately.
Whenever I get one of these it drives me so crazy I am compelled to pinch off the offending bud.
Is there any other sort of remedy? I’m not quite sure that pulling off the tip of the taste bud is such a good idea.
When I was a kid we’d put alum on them. Back then, I’m pretty sure it was sold like a spice/baking ingredient but I looked for it in the store the other day and didn’t see it. The dictionay says alum is
There are oral anesthetics available at your drugstore. Oragel is a brandname, but you can probably find a house brand of the same thing. The active ingredient is benzocaine, 20%. It numbs the hurty part very well. Food tastes a little strange with this stuff, though.
Warm salty water is the default treatment for most mouth sores.
A long term solution is to significantly increase the amount of probiotics in your diet- from supplements or Live Culture Yogurt. They will heal much faster, but this is not an overnight cure.
It also COULD be caused by Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (“SLS”) in your toothpaste. Try switching to a toothpaste without it- Biotene is one I can suggest. Or just baking soda.
I get this when I smoke certain brands of cigarettes and or pipe tobacco. Whats more, the brands change from year to year. My best guess is I am allergic to some breed of tobacco. You would think this would give me a clue that maybe I should stop smoking, but no, I just change brands because I’m a :wally.
