Pregnancy is a crucial time for both the mother and the baby. Many of the mothers face some serious complications during the three trimesters of their pregnancy. In this article, we are going to discuss one of those complications. Some pregnant women tend to have tongue sores that cause a painful experience in their mouths. A sore or painful tongue may be quite distressing for an expecting mother. However, it is more often than not a solid reason for concern. Usually, tongue sores during pregnancy used to go away on their own or need minimal treatment.
Let’s discuss in detail the real causes, symptoms, and some preventive measures and treatments to heal these tongue sores completely.
Causes Of Tongue Sores During Pregnancy:
Tongue sores can be highly painful. There are a large number of reasons behind the cause of these severe tongue sores in pregnant women. Some of these causes are mentioned as follows:
- Stress: Pregnancy can be somehow a stressful situation for some ladies. Any kind of stress can be harmful to the mother as well as for the baby. Tongue sores can be a result of the excessive stress you take on your mind. For this, the family should try to keep the home’s environment cheerful and stress less around the pregnant lady to keep her away from the stress.
- Smoking: Smoking has many adverse effects on the health of the growing fetus. Other than that, it causes inflammation on the tongue that causes tongue sores during pregnancy. Therefore if you smoke, try to quit it during pregnancy to get rid of this painful complication.
- Biting: Sometimes, we accidentally bite our tongue while eating or talking; it can cause tongue sores. Another reason could be that you have consumed an extremely hot beverage or snack that inflamed your tongue, causing soreness. Clenching and grinding of teeth irritate the sides of the tongue, giving rise to colored bumps on the tongue.
- Enlarged Papillae: Many of the times, enlarged papillae causes the problem of soreness in the tongue. Taste buds get inflamed due to various reasons. Most of the time, it causes swelling of the tongue that converts into a painful bump.
- Medical Conditions: Anaemia and gestational diabetes can also be a reason for soreness in your tongues. Consult your physician if you are diagnosed with these medical conditions.
- Viral Infection: Viral infection could be another reason for soreness in your tongue during pregnancy. It will take some time to heal.
- Oral Cancer: Tongue sores are not a big reason to be worried about it. But if you have tobacco or do smoke, consult your doctor immediately. In most cases, oral cancers do not show any severe symptoms. If your tongue remains sore for an extended period without having any pain, it could be a symptom of oral cancer.
- Deficiency Of Vitamin And Minerals: Zinc deficiency, iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency, etc. can trigger Tongue sores during pregnancy.
- Hormonal Changes: The drastic changes in the hormone level during pregnancy may alter the chemical composition of the body markedly. This may bring about tongue ulcers.
- Burning Mouth Syndrome: Even though it is not common among expecting women, tongue sore can be due to this issue. Burning mouth syndrome usually happens when immunity is compromised. It may arise due to some reaction against certain mouth wash and toothpaste. Also, acid reflux, stress, lack of Vitamin B12, iron and folic acid, and thyroid issues during pregnancy may trigger BMS.
Symptoms Of Tongue Sores During Pregnancy:
There are several symptoms accompanied by tongue sores. Some of these signs and symptoms of tongue sores in pregnant women are given below:
- Bumped tongue
- Burning sensation on the tongue
- Red patches that occur often
- An occurrence of white lines on the tongue
- A thick white color coating on the tongue
- Foul smell
- Inflammation of the tongue and painful sores that appear under the tongue region.
- Difficulty in drinking, talking and eating
Treating Tongue Sores During Pregnancy:
There are a plethora of ways to treat this disease from its roots. The first and most important tip to prevent/treat this issue is to follow a well balanced and vitamin-enriched diet during pregnancy. Likewise, increase the intake of fluid. Drinking turmeric milk, tomato juice, peppermint tea, etc. will help to alleviate the inflammation and burning sensation of the tongue. Eating curd rice is also very good in this aspect
Given below is the list of treatments you can go for if you are facing aching tongue sores:
- Medication: Various antibiotics are available in the market to treat sore tongue. Ask your doctor to prescribe some medication to heal it up. Ibuprofen and naproxen help to get relief from painful bumps.
- Surgical measures: Many of the times sores take a long time to heal. If they are severe, aggravates, and hurt a lot, you can go for surgery to get them to remove.
- Radiation therapy: If all the other methods fail, your physician can ask you to go through radiation therapy to treat the soreness of the tongue.
- Home Remedies: Other than these treatments, you can also try some home remedies like:
- Applying honey on the tongue sores several times a day is very effective to cure tongue sore. Mixing honey and turmeric together and applying on an affected area four times a day is very effective in getting fast relief from a sore tongue
- Gargling with lukewarm saltwater will eradicate the germs in and around the sores. It also helps to bring down the inflammation and pain
- Rinsing mouth with Aloe Vera gel will help to bring down inflammation. Remember, Aloe Vera is well known for its anti-inflammatory property.
- Applying ice could help alleviate pain due to the soreness of the tongue.
- Overnight application of glycerin on the affected area
Preventing Tongue Sores During Pregnancy:
Prevention is better than cure. Keeping this in mind, we have discussed some preventive measures to protect you from these painful sores in the following points:
- Go for a balanced diet: Many of the time’s tongue sores occur due to an imbalanced diet deficient in iron and vitamins. So it is very important to take a balanced diet to prevent yourself from tongue sores. A balanced diet is also good for the health of the growing fetus and pregnant mother.
- Keep a check on your oral hygiene: Oral hygiene can be quite effective in preventing soreness of the tongue. You can also try gargles of hot water with salt to prevent sores. Don’t forget to clean your tongue in the morning while brushing.
- Say No To Hot foods and Beverages: Avoid consuming extremely hot beverages and food. And don’t talk while eating as it can lead to tongue bite.
- Say No To Spicy Food: Eating a lot of spicy food may bring about tongue sores. Also, too much spice is not good for a healthy pregnancy, as it triggers acidity as well.
- No Tobacco Products To be used: Quit smoking and tobacco during pregnancy.
When To Seek Medical Attention For Tongue Sores During Pregnancy?
During pregnancy, anything and everything out of normal should be taken to your doctor’s notice. Also, self-medication is prohibited. However, tongue sore is a relatively harmless issue that will disappear in due course by means of the home remedy itself. Still, you should seek immediate medical attention if:
- The sores show sign of aggravation
- The pain is unbearable
- If the problem persists more than a week without signs of retreating.
- A previous history of large tongue sores
- If tongue sore is accompanied by high fever
- If it is hard to eat or drink
Wrapping Up
We all know that pregnant women require some extra care as she has to give birth to a new life. So, it becomes essential for her to take each and every step very carefully. Home remedies, along with the medications, can be helpful in getting fast relief. Do not take any kind of medication without consulting your doctor.
Source: https://www.beingtheparent.com/tongue-sores-during-pregnancy-causes-symptoms-treatments/
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