How it is treated
The large tongue as such cannot be treated. A surgical reduction of the tongue is not practiced, but a treatment of the causative disease is performed. For example, if the tongue is swollen due to an inflammation or infection, the inflammation will be treated. If the underlying disease is a pituitary gland tumor that manifests itself as acromegaly, this tumor must be treated. The only symptomatic therapy specifically for the tongue – if it is swollen due to inflammation – would be sucking or chewing ice or ice cubes.
What are the consequences of a too large tongue?
The most frequently described consequence of a too large tongue is a sleep apnoea syndrome. Due to the size of the tongue, it is easy for it to “fall” backwards into the throat during sleep and thus obstruct the airway and breathing. As a result, the blood supply of oxygen to the blood is reduced and thus also the supply of oxygen to the heart and brain.
However, the body has various mechanisms at its disposal to control the oxygen content of the blood.If the body detects that there is too little oxygen in the blood, you are awakened to gasp for air. This results in a hardly restful sleep and a significant increase in stress levels. Studies could also show that the sleep apnoea syndrome can be a harbinger of cardiovascular diseases such as a heart attack or stroke. Learn more about the therapy of sleep apnoea.
