Sometimes lumps may appear on the tongue that alarm us. However, most of the time there is no need to worry.
What Causes Lumps on Tongue?
As Dr. Mónica Muñoz, periodontist and member of the Spanish Society of Periodontology (SEPA) explains, these lumps can be due to countless causes. Most of the time it is due to a benign process and in a few days they will disappear without the need for any treatment.
- Microtraumas. Biting our tongue, frequent friction with the tongue, poorly fitting fillings, a broken tooth, burning ourselves with food or drinks that are too hot are some of the circumstances that can cause the appearance of lumps. In general, these will disappear within a few days without major problem.
- Allergy. To certain foods or drinks. In this case, the bumps are usually reddish or yellowish in color and are usually painful.
- Virus infection Among them, the human papillomavirus; a sexually transmitted virus that can affect the throat and mouth.
- Vitamin deficiency. Like, for example, the B vitamins. It can also be one of the symptoms of anemia.
- Stress. Stress can cause an inflammatory reaction and, as a consequence, the appearance of both bumps on the tongue and canker sores and sores in the mouth.
- Oral cancer. It is not a very common cause, but it must be taken into account that lumps on the tongue can also appear due to oral cancer in its early stages. They are usually hard lumps, which appear for no apparent reason, are painless, are located on the sides of the tongue and below it and do not disappear after two weeks.
Lumps on the tongue: what can I do?
In the presence of any lump, Dr. Muñoz always recommends going to the dentist for an examination of the tongue, determining the exact cause and ruling out processes that if not diagnosed in time can have more serious consequences.
But in addition to going to the dentist, to reduce the discomfort you can drink cold liquids or suck on ice and thus help reduce inflammation. It is also advisable that you avoid irritating foods (acid, spicy …) and that you do not smoke, since tobacco can irritate the tongue and prolong inflammation.
And of course, it is also very important that you take care of the hygiene of the tongue. And yes, in addition to your teeth, you should also clean your tongue because bacteria as harmful as those that may be on your teeth accumulate in it . To clean it you must use a special brush (tongue rake). Ideally, clean it after every meal, but at least do it before going to bed.
