Introduction
A bump on the palate can have very different causes. It can also be firm, elastic or filled with pus. Proliferations on the palate can cause pain and signs of inflammation.
Especially when speaking and eating, bumps on the palate can be very annoying. It can be an injury or burn, but also more serious diseases. Since the causes of a bump on the palate are so different, you should have the bump examined by a dentist or an ENT specialist.
Causes
A bump on the palate can be caused by a simple injury from food, such as candy, or by an allergic reaction to certain foods. A burn from hot drinks or, for example, a hot pizza can also cause a burn blister on the palate. These bumps are usually painful and occur directly in connection with the event.
Other causes can be a benign bone proliferation, so-called bone hyperplasia. They usually form in the middle of the hard palate on the palatal suture. These proliferations can initially cause pain, mainly disturbances in swallowing or speaking.
Another cause can be an inflamed upper jaw tooth. A boil (abscess) can form in the area of the affected tooth and on the palate, causing severe pressure and tension pain. Cysts are relatively common on the palate, and a rounded, bulging and elastic bulge then forms.
There are different cysts on the palate, one of them is for example the nasopalatinal cyst, it remains undiscovered for a long time and only when it has already spread more widely does a roundish elastic bulge appear on the palate. Most proliferations in the mouth are benign, but there are also tumours and carcinomas that are malignant and show as a bulge on the palate. They usually do not grow as fast and are usually painless at the beginning.
If you have a cold, sucking cough sweets or hot tea can cause a bump on the palate due to injuries to the mucous membrane or burns. A weakened immune system can also trigger aphtae, small burning blisters on the back of the palate. If the tonsils swell due to an inflammation, bumps can also develop on the rear soft palate. These usually disappear again when the cold is over.
Associated symptoms
Due to the different causes of a bump on the palate there are different symptoms. If the bump is inflammatory, it can be accompanied by severe pain, redness and pressure complaints. From a general medical point of view, it can lead to fever and a poor sense of well-being.
A bump due to an injury or burn is also often very painful, especially when eating or drinking hot food or when touching it, the pain increases. Aphtae on the palate are burning vesicles, which can usually make food intake unbearable. A cyst on the palate usually does not cause pain, only when it spreads more widely can a feeling of tension arise and disturbances in swallowing or speaking occur.
Bone proliferations, trigger similar symptoms, but can also be perceived as painful. Tumours or cancers do not initially cause pain, only when they spread further do they cause severe pain and significant restrictions in swallowing or speaking. In addition, there are accompanying symptoms such as coughing and hoarseness.
In many cases, a bump on the palate can be painful, usually it is then an inflammatory process. Injuries, burns or aphtae on the palate can also cause pain. A cyst or tumour, on the other hand, is usually painless in the beginning.
A bump on the palate filled with pus is usually caused by an inflammation of the root of a tooth in the upper jaw. It is very painful and sensitive to pressure. In most cases, the affected tooth can be quickly identified and the inflammation can be eliminated by a root canal treatment or apicoectomy and the bump will recede.
An opening of the boil by the dentist can directly lead to an alleviation of the symptoms. Not all growths or bumps on the palate are malignant, but a boil should always be examined. Cancers and tumours can develop everywhere on the mucous membranes in the mouth.
Most of these tumours are ulcers on the surface of the mucous membranes. Often the palate or throat is also affected. Smoking and regular alcohol consumption are the main risk factors, because the toxins act directly on the mucous membrane and can promote the development of cancer there.
Human papilloma viruses (HPV) are another major trigger. They often cause a papilloma on the soft palate in the throat area, a benign tumour that often leads to swallowing difficulties or a foreign body sensation. Often mouth and throat cancer remains undetected for a long time, as they initially grow painlessly. The symptoms include: If severe pain or spontaneous bleeding occurs, the tumour may already be in an advanced stage. A tumour frequently found on the palate, for example, is mucoepidermoid carcinoma,
- Hoarseness
- Chesty cough
- Pain due to coughing
- Sore throat with difficulty speaking and swallowing
- Royal voice
- Bad breath
- Changes in the mucous membranes that have suddenly appeared without any recognisable reason
