Which doctor is responsible for a swollen tongue?
The duration of a swollen tongue should not exceed hours to a few days. It depends very much on the degree of swelling to what extent it can be tolerated. Any pronounced swelling should be remedied within a short time with medication and supportive measures.
Slight swelling can be observed within a few days. In the case of injuries, the swelling usually goes down significantly within 3-4 days. This can be explained by the fast regeneration time of the oral mucosa.
Allergic reactions should improve within minutes with successful therapy and subside after a few hours. If medication is the trigger, the duration depends on the time the medication is effective. However, even in this case the swelling should not last longer than 48 hours.
Symptoms
The symptoms of a swollen tongue are quite different depending on the cause. In all cases, however, those affected state that they have the subjective feeling of a significant increase in the volume of the tongue. This means that sensations such as the tongue bumping against the teeth or the palate or an almost complete filling of the oral cavity are not uncommon.
In addition, those affected often have the feeling that their tongue feels different. The tactile sensation of the tongue therefore either decreases with numbness or increases extremely with increased sensitivity. What both have in common is that mobility is also affected in this process.
This is because the tongue cannot be moved or shaped as usual where the swelling predominates. In some cases, this even affects speech. A swollen tongue can also be present without pain.
This is because the perception via the nerve fibers of the tongue can be limited. In most cases, this is due to a very severe swelling of the tongue, which leads to an undersupply of the nerve fibers. The effect is initially a tingling sensation, which then turns into a numbness.
The numbness then indicates that the tongue is no longer sufficiently supplied by the nerves in this area. The tongue is extremely well supplied with sensitive nerve fibers so that it can serve as a tactile organ for humans. In addition, most receptors are located very superficially so that any touch can be perceived well.
If both the nerve fibers and the receptors are irritated, this sometimes leads to the perception of pain. In the case of a swollen tongue, it is the fluid stored in the tissue that compresses the nerves and causes pain. An accompanying inflammation of the affected area additionally sensitizes the fibers.
A swollen tongue in combination with a swollen throat usually always indicates an infection of the upper respiratory tract, which includes the mouth and throat area. The swollen throat is explained by the activation of the immune system by the lymph nodes in the neck area. They recognize the pathogens from the mouth area as foreign and initiate a defense reaction.
The more defense cells they attract, the larger they become. Those affected perceive this process as a painful swelling in the throat. The swollen tongue itself can have various causes.
The most common cause is a small wound on the tongue, which is infected by bacteria from the oral cavity. The consequence is an inflammation of the affected area and an increased susceptibility to further infection by pathogens. If the inflammation cannot be limited by the body’s own mechanisms, it spreads further.
The blood supply to the tongue is via cervical vessels. It is therefore logical that the infection spreads not only locally in the oral cavity but also in the direction of the throat. The more severe the infection is, the more accompanying symptoms to the swollen throat such as fever or difficulty swallowing are felt by the affected person.
The appearance of the tongue often provides information about the status of the infection. The greater the tissue defect, the more action is required. If no wound can be seen visually, a metabolic disorder must also be considered.
This must then be identified by a systematic examination of the organs. A white coating on the tongue is often due to a fungal infection. Especially in people with a weakened immune system or after long antibiotic therapy, the body’s own oral flora is disturbed.
Often, externally penetrating pathogens such as fungi then take advantage of the opportunity to colonize the mucous membrane of the tongue and throat. If the infection is manifest, it manifests itself in a white, flat coating on the tongue.It is characteristic that this cannot be wiped off. It even hurts a lot when trying to remove it.
If the coating can still be partially removed, the surface is bloody and highly inflamed. The first indication of a fungal infection is therefore often the visual inspection of the tongue. If, however, the affected persons do not open their mouth for dental hygiene, for example during daily care, they first notice a special bad breath.
In addition, affected persons often claim that they can no longer taste properly. This is explained by the fact that the whitish coating overgrows the taste buds on the tongue. As a result, they no longer perceive sweet, sour, pungent or bitter components of the food properly.
Often a fungal infection is a visual diagnosis and can be treated well. Waiting is not justified because the infection is not self-limiting. One recalls that it occurs especially in immunocompromised persons and after long antibiotic therapy.
Supportive wound healing with medication is therefore necessary, as the immune system of those affected is still too weak and there is a risk of further spread. Antimycotics are the means of choice here. They can be applied locally as a brush or spray and systemically as tablets.
However, some patience is required until the infection is cured. Several daily applications over one to two weeks are usually necessary. This topic might also be of interest to you: Mouth SoreA strictly one-sided swelling of the tongue is extremely rare.
It is often caused by a one-sided injury to the tongue from a pointed or hot object. This means that a wound is limited to one side of the tongue and also only leads to a one-sided restriction. If no external injuries to the tongue are visible, a neurological disorder is suspected.
The tongue can already be divided into two halves purely optically by the dividing furrow. The tongue is innervated in pairs from the left and right by different cranial nerves. If one side of the innervation fails, this results in a one-sided loss of function.
If the sensitive innervation of the tongue is disturbed on one side, this often results in a numbness of the affected side. Reactively, this side is perceived as swollen and too large. This is comparable to the feeling after an anaesthetic injection at the dentist.
Those affected often feel that they have an excessively thick cheek. However, the swelling is only subjective and cannot be objectively proven. It is important to have the functional failure checked with different tests and to treat it adequately depending on the individual case.
Ear pain often occurs in the context of a middle ear infection. The pathogens can reach the middle ear in different ways. One possibility is the route via the so-called “Eustachian tube” from the nasopharynx to the middle ear.
The opening to the throat is in the area of the pharyngeal tonsils. The close anatomical position from the pharyngeal tonsils to the tongue explains the possible occurrence of earache and a swollen tongue parallel to each other. However, the swelling of the tongue is then usually limited to the back third of the tongue.
It is also a mostly harmless swelling. Those affected usually notice it by difficulty swallowing. The swelling of the tongue itself is explained by the activation of the lymphatic tissue in the back of the tongue.
It is used to recognize invading pathogens and present them to the immune system. An adequate defense reaction can then be initiated. However, it is generally rather rare for the tongue to swell in the case of earache.
The swelling of the pharyngeal mucosa often feigns a swollen tongue as part of the inflammatory reaction caused by the infection. This is because the pharyngeal mucosa starts at the side of the base of the tongue and can lift it slightly when it swells. Those affected then often perceive this as a swollen tongue.
Anatomically, the tongue and throat are adjacent to each other. When looking into the open mouth, one can see that the base of the tongue is anchored in the throat. An inflammation or infection of one of the two structures can therefore also spread to the other.
The throat is quite often affected by viral infections in the autumn and winter months. An inflammation of its mucous membranes is usually the result. Those affected notice this in the form of a scratchy throat, a chesty cough or difficulty swallowing.
However, before the infection spreads to the tongue, it usually first spreads along the entire throat towards the nose and larynx.An infection of the tongue usually occurs last. In this case only the back part of the tongue is affected, which has the most contact with the throat. This results in a narrowing of the passageway for food and breathing air.
Those affected may notice this in the form of difficulty swallowing or impaired breathing when breathing in through the mouth. These effects are naturally intensified by the additional swollen pharyngeal mucosa. The swollen tongue can therefore be seen as a consequence of the spreading infection of the throat and indicates a more complicated course of the disease, which requires medical clarification if the patient is clearly impaired.
Toothache in combination with a swollen tongue is usually always treated by a dentist. In most cases, it concerns inflamed tooth roots or severe caries, which lead to an inflammation of the adjacent gums. If the inflammation continues to spread, it can also reach the tongue and cause painful swelling there. Here, however, the chronological sequence of symptoms is typical, as first the toothache and then the swollen tongue occurs. Finally, a tooth cleaning also removes the swelling of the tongue.
