The tongue, being one of the strongest muscles in the body, has multiple functions, the most important of them being the grinding of food. It also assists in the first digestive breakdown of food. However, there are instances when the tongue swells up due to various factors. Some of them include hypothyroidism, pituitary gland over-secretion, acromegaly, tumor, amyloidosis, cretinism, mongolism, irritation due to dental plate and tooth decay, leukoplakia, tuberculous infiltration, suprahyoid cyst and so on. At times, swelling is also caused due to hereditary conditions known as hereditary angioedema. Allergic reactions are other causes that lead to swelling of the tongue. In this case, swelling is usually accompanied by a host of other symptoms that includes hives, intense itching, a serious swelling of the entire face and vomiting. Other factors that lead to swelling are environmental factors like a change in temperature or a physical wound on the tongue. A swelling tongue should not be ignored and taken seriously, as it can spread towards the back and into the throat, eventually causing blockage in the air passage. This can even result in death. Go through the following lines to find out some home remedies for treating swollen tongue.
Home Remedies For Swollen Tongue
- Dilute half a teaspoon of turmeric in a warm glass of water. Gargle with this mixture twice a day to relieve from inflammation and swelling of the tongue.
- Place some ice chips in your mouth. The cold temperature of the ice will help in effectively reducing the tongue swelling.
- Include celery sticks in your diet, as these will provide relief to your swelling tongue. The high quantity of water in celery helps in stimulating the salivary glands and relaxing the tongue.
- Switch on to semi-solid and soft foods, as this will help in easing the swollen tongue and provide relaxation. Consume lots of gravy, broths, butter, stew, soups and yoghurt.
- Combine fennel seeds with aniseeds. Use them as a soothing mouthwash to calm down the tongue. This will also remove the breath and stimulate the salivary glands.
- Soak some aniseeds, rosemary and mint leaves in a bowl of water overnight. Strain the mixture in the morning and use it as a mouthwash. While mint will calm the inflammation of the tongue, aniseed would sweeten the breath and rosemary would acts as a germicide fighting the germs.
- Drink small amounts of water at regular intervals to ease the swelling in the tongue considerably.
- Place half a teaspoon of sugar on the tongue. This also eases the swelling and reduces the pain effectively.
- Reduce your intake of sour and salty food to prevent the production of saliva. With a swollen tongue, it is difficult to swallow saliva and hence, salty foods should be avoided to ease the difficulty.