Taste Buds Screaming!
August 15, 2008 6:11 AM   Subscribe

My taste buds, when awakened, almost hurt, and certainly make me cringe.

Sometimes, if I've gone a while without eating something, candy (especially Sour Patch Kids) or other sweet, sour or bold-tasting food makes my mouth curl up like a ball and there's this distinctive feeling I get for the first couple seconds the food is introduced, after which the feeling subsides and I am "equalized" again. It is not the typical "sour" reaction of puckering, but a strong tingly feeling in the sides of my mouth. Feeling is more pronounced after smoking pot. Try it. Smoke a joint, wait 45 minutes, and eat a Sour Patch Kid. Why does this happen?

P.S. It can happen without weed too, so this is not a 100% stoner question.
posted by ChickenringNYC to Food & Drink (12 answers total)
 
I don't think I've experienced this, and I am an irregular eater who likes candy. It may be idiosyncratic.
posted by grobstein at 6:17 AM on August 15, 2008


That will be your salivary glands kicking in again.
posted by flabdablet at 6:23 AM on August 15, 2008 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Smoke a joint, wait 45 minutes, and eat a Sour Patch Kid.

I'm surprised this isn't already printed on the Sour Patch Kids package.

But yeah, I agree with flabdablet: your salivary glands are kicking into gear hardcore and can't get the saliva out fast enough, so it tingles for a bit. You just feel it more when you're high because, well, you're high.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:35 AM on August 15, 2008 [3 favorites]


this happens to me too. so much so that i don't really eat sour things anymore. i mean, i'm tingly and salivating now just thinking about sour patch kids!
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:38 AM on August 15, 2008


It happens to me every time I smell Jolly Ranchers and can sometimes be painful. I'm pretty sure it's just your taste buds overreacting and going into overdrive.
posted by Axle at 8:44 AM on August 15, 2008


You could try using something like biotene to keep your mouth from drying out.
posted by Citrus at 8:47 AM on August 15, 2008


This happens to me! Not just with sour foods, but random times when I eat something after having not eaten in awhile. I frown, and sometimes shudder, which is a terrible thing to do when I'm trying what my husband just lovingly prepared for dinner. But it's not because it's bad, it's just very strong at first.

Since the commonality is not having eaten recently, I agree it's probably delayed saliva production.
posted by nev at 9:35 AM on August 15, 2008


Ahh, this almost always happens to me when I eat after having not eaten in a while, just like nev. I have a very strong salivation response, it seems, 'cause I can feel it fairly often, and on occasion will have a little saliva jet out of my mouth if I smack my lips as I eat when I'm really hungry. My friends just look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I can feel myself salivate, so I'm glad you asked this question!
posted by limeonaire at 10:01 AM on August 15, 2008


And yeah, it does hurt a little sometimes. And the reason you feel it on the sides of your mouth is 'cause that's where the outlets for your salivary glands are located.
posted by limeonaire at 10:03 AM on August 15, 2008


It happens to me too randomly - it's some sort of pain coming from the salivary glands in my cheeks. Overproduction or something, I dunno. Apparently it's you Parotid gland. A bunch of nerves run by there so perhaps too much salivation causes a nerve to get squeezed causing the pain, though that's just speculation.
posted by GuyZero at 11:03 AM on August 15, 2008


Response by poster: Cool answers.. glad to call attention to one of those odd sensations most all of us have experienced at one time or another. Kind of like tripping over something in your dream during a nap, making you kick your leg out like crazy.
posted by ChickenringNYC at 11:10 AM on August 15, 2008


I have this pretty bad - as in it happens at the first bite of every meal. It's part of my everyday experience, so I don't give it any thought unless someone asks me why I'm wincing.
posted by MillMan at 12:32 PM on August 15, 2008


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