Tongue Ulcers

How often have you sat down with a chilled can of coke and screamed out a big ‘awww’ in the first gulp? Tongue ulcers are nothing but pesky little lesions that can make our lives quite miserable, thanks to our disgusting oral habits, super-spicy meals, stress and poor lifestyle. Right from fungal raids, food allergies to frequent brushing can make our tongue go haywire. Almost every one of us has lived this sore experience at least once and knows what big pests tongue ulcers are. While these white bumps are often the result of accidental nip or may be even hard brushing, know that everything from nicotine and herpes infection to frail immune can turn our tongue into awful blight. Although tongue ulcers are nothing serious and are rarely contagious, they can be damaging at times and can be subtle indications of other health complications. Here is a short overview on tongue ulcers cause to leave you better informed on this common health nuisance. Read on to know more on this.

Ever experienced a biting sting or a vicious burning inside your mouth when guzzling orange juice and literally bite your tongue in pain. Blame it on white crater-like lesions, clinically called as ‘canker sores’ or ‘aphthous ulcers’, which affects the soft mucous membranes and base of the gums, leaving one with slurry speech and difficulty in eating. Canker sores are not contagious and go away on their own within a couple of weeks. Nonetheless, they can be very painful and make life miserable if not treated on time.

 

More often than not tongue ulcers are nothing but painful repercussion of severe teeth brushing, poorly fitting dentures, sharp teeth or an accidental bite on the tongue. However, at times it can indicate towards a more serious case of oral cancer. If you notice sore lumps on the bed or bottom of your tongue and suffer from constant bouts of minor ulcers inside your oral cavity, then beware, for it can be a severe case of mouth cancer.

 

Gingivostomatitis, also called as primary herpetic gingivostomatitis, is another key cause of painful tongue ulcers, especially in children and young adults.Gingivostomatitis is a type of oral infection, often triggered by viruses like herpes simplex or coxsackie, and is usually the upshot of poor oral hygiene.

 

Another key cause of ulcers on the tongue is herpes simplex virus-1 infection or tongue herpes, usually characterized by painful red protuberances and blisters on the tongue and the mucous membranes. This highly contagious infection takes about two to three weeks to surface and is often accompanied by extreme pain in the mouth, especially during and after meals. 

 

Tongue ulcers may often be the upshot of several tongue conditions like oral thrush, glossitis and even tongue cancer. Yeast infection and even bacterial raids on the top and bottom of the tongue can cause red, yellow or white painful fissure on the tongue and make life utterly sore.

Poor oral hygiene, using alcohol based mouthwash, wrong brushing and improper cleaning of the mouth are deemed as other crucial reasons behind  painful fissures on the bed and bottom of your tongue. Apart from that, poor dietary and lifestyle habits like eating spicy foods, excessive consumption of tea or coffee, poor or no sleep, alcohol and nicotine are touted as the prime factors behind tongue ulcers.