# What's wrong with my tongue? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 23, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427 "2016-10-23T02:25:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/1 "2016-10-23T02:25:34Z")
The last few weeks or so I have had a strange thing going on with my tongue. Toward the back there is a V shaped row of bumps (circumvallate papillae) that point toward the throat and this is a normal part of the tongue. Every so often those bumps on my tongue get enlarged and I can’t find any correlation to a particular food or drink. It’s really annoying because when my mouth is closed and tongue at rest, the bumps hit the opening to my throat and it feels like there’s something stuck there; almost like a piece of popcorn kernel left behind. I’ve been trying to research online and while I find results for enlarged papillae, I can’t seem to find anything that explains what I’m experiencing. Also, the common causes listed for the bumps don’t appear to apply, like smoking which I don’t do. I figure what the heck, I’ll ask the boards if they have any insight or ideas. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/2 "2016-10-23T02:29:54Z")
I don’t know the cause either, but I will be interested to find out, as I’ve had that a few times as well. Quite annoying. Makes you want to reach back and rip those suckers out. Mine went away, and I don’t think I’ve had it in over a year. So yours probably will too! ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/3 "2016-10-23T18:39:44Z")
I’ll also accept a suggestion for if I should take this to my GP or dentist. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/4 "2016-10-24T06:11:14Z")
> [@saramamalana](#): > > I’ll also accept a suggestion for if I should take this to my GP or dentist. I’ve had my dentist check my tongue during an annual checkup, so I’d say whomever you can get into earliest. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/5 "2016-10-24T06:56:06Z")
When I had a lingering nasal congestion, I sometimes tried easing it by doing a vacuum thing that involved using the back end of my tongue. It would work a bit. But, it caused what you have. Those bumps at the back end got irritated. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/6 "2016-10-24T09:27:21Z")
As a survivor of four surgeries for oral cancer I urge you to get an informed medical opinion as soon as possible. White bumps on the bottom of my tongue led to the first diagnosis of cancer. I can only say that it is best to err on the side of safety. I hope that your diagnosis will be favorable. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/7 "2016-10-25T03:21:00Z")
> [@saramamalana](#): > > It’s really annoying because when my mouth is closed and tongue at rest, the bumps hit the opening to my throat and it feels like there’s something stuck there; almost like a piece of popcorn kernel left behind. How sure are you that the bumps being enlarged is what’s causing that feeling? I’ve gotten that feeling several times, but it’s been from [tonsilloliths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith), not the back of my tongue. You don’t notice this feeling being followed by later spitting up something pale, smooth, and smelly, [like this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsillolith#/media/File:Tonsillolith_close_up.jpg), do you? As for enlarged tongue bumps, mine have nearly always been caused by burning my tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/8 "2016-10-25T03:50:35Z")
My tongue looked like a popcorn ceiling at my last dental checkup. Whitish and seriously bumpy. Also sore. Dentist said it wasn’t a yeast infection, but I did have very long taste buds which tended to trap a lot of gunk. Handed me a tongue scraper and some peroxide mouthwash. I’ve been using the scraper and the mouthwash regularly and my tongue seems back to normal. FWIW, I’ve learned that if I scrape from the sides of my tongue, instead of the middle, I can scrape my whole tongue without my gag reflex getting all defensive. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/9 "2016-10-25T04:01:45Z")
It doesn’t sound quite exactly the same, but it could be it, so I’ll toss it out there…take a look into map tongue (or geographic tongue). My sister gets it. I know she said when hers ‘flairs up’ it’s painful, but I don’t know if that’s always the case. If you do a Google Image Search for Map Tongue, you’ll probably be able to quickly tell if it’s what you have. It should be noted that it doesn’t look at all the same on everyone (which is why I suggest checking out Google Images instead of wiki/mayo/webmd which might only show one picture). ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/10 "2016-10-25T05:18:53Z")
> [@Whatever4](#): > > FWIW, I’ve learned that if I scrape from the sides of my tongue, instead of the middle, I can scrape my whole tongue without my gag reflex getting all defensive. Interesting. Could you describe in greater detail how you scrape from the sides? I gag pretty easily too. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/11 "2016-10-26T01:49:06Z")
It’s not painful when it happens, but irritating. And I’m more confident that it’s the tongue and not the throat because when I look in the mirror I don’t see anything that looks out of the norm on my throat. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/12 "2016-10-26T01:59:50Z")
You should call your dentist and see if made an appointment to see them or an oral surgeon. My dentist always check my tongue when I have my teeth cleaned to see if I have any signs of cancer on my tongue. Did you eat food that was too hot by mistake ? ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-tongue/769427/13 "2016-10-26T15:37:43Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Interesting. Could you describe in greater detail how you scrape from the sides? I gag pretty easily too. Thanks! I hold the scraper at an angle, about 45 degrees. This puts just the corner of the scraper in the gag zone. Doesn’t rile up the barf beast. I do the outside edges of my tongue first and work in toward the center. Once the gag area is done, I hold the scraper straight and do the rest of my tongue. Hope that makes sense. I’ve had only one cup of caffeine.😉