Duration
The duration of a swelling on the palate depends on the trigger. If the palate swells up due to a mechanical injury or irritation, it usually takes a few days for the wound to heal and the swelling to disappear. Viral and bacterial inflammation may also cause swelling of the palate. The duration of the swelling in such cases depends on the duration of the disease. A flu-like infection is usually caused by viruses and is usually cured after five to seven days, whereas bacterial infections (e.g. a purulent tonsillitis caused by streptococcus bacteria) are more persistent and require antibiotic therapy.
Prognosis
Swelling of the palate has a good prognosis in most cases. The swollen palate is often caused by small injuries or infections in the ear, nose and throat area. Once the infection has healed, the swelling disappears quickly. In rare cases, however, complications can occur, for example if the palate is so swollen that breathing or eating becomes difficult.In such cases, the patient must immediately consult a doctor or the nearest hospital.
Symptoms
A swelling of the palate causes a variety of symptoms. Mostly the symptoms start with a strange feeling. The affected persons feel the palate as less sensitive than usual, have a furry, sometimes even numb feeling.
Furthermore, they feel a kind of strange sensation when they touch the palate with their tongue. Sometimes, if the palate is very swollen, it can also be dented. This means that if you press on it with your finger, it recedes a few millimeters, but then returns to its original position.
Since the palate is also responsible for speech and swallowing, occasionally indistinct pronunciation may occur during a palatal swelling. In order to perform a swallowing process, the pressure of the tongue on the palate is necessary in addition to numerous other muscle involvement. Thus, if the palate is swollen, the swallowing process may be disturbed and swallowing difficulties may occur. In the case of strong allergic reactions, it can happen that the palate also swells strongly in the rear area at the transition to the esophagus. In this case, there is a risk that, in addition to problems with breathing (in the case of a very severe dislocation), problems with swallowing may also occur because the chyme has to be moved through a severe constriction.
