Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tongue

Can babies typically twist their tongues completely over?

Mayor Curley — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:43:01 -0800

My eight month old daughter can (and frequently does) horizontally rotate her tongue 180 degrees in her mouth. Is this something that children her age can typically do, or should I be negotiating with a circus? If it's typical, it seems like it should have been easier to find information, except that the web is full of info about ankyloglossia (tongue tie) and every search about infants and their tongues seems to just give results about that.

My Mouth Feels Awkward

Anonymous — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:53:26 -0800

When I get nervous my mouth feels awkward. My tongue doesn't sit right in my mouth and I can't keep my mouth still. I come to the hive for advice. In anxious situations I can't find a position for my mouth to stay in. Everything in my mouth area feels awkward, and this throws off my otherwise comfortable confidence. I have tried fixing my mouth in certain positions (but it still feels uncomfortable), pushing my tongue against the roof of my mouth and releasing it (to relax the mouth), etc.

Holding my mouth still and relaxed likewise feels uncomfortable.

Maybe I'm overthinking this, as I don't think this bothers anyone I encounter too much, but it drives me crazy and throws off my groove.

What should I do?

throwaway email at mymouthfeelsawkward@gmail.com

Thanks in advance.

I already hated going to the dentist...

Vervain — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:34:22 -0800

Tell me about your experiences with dental paresthesia, please... I saw my dentist last Wednesday for a routine filling, which was located near the back on the lower right side of my mouth. It took two shots of anesthetic to get me sufficiently numb, and when they did the second shot, something felt...strange. Off. It felt like a sharp twinge, combined with a sort of "pop" sensation. At the time I paid it no mind, and the rest of the procedure was uneventful. That is, until the sensation never returned to the right side of my tongue. It's most annoying--heat and cold don't really register, things taste off, I'm having trouble articulating when I talk, etc.

At any rate, I called my dentist the next morning, and he assured me that this does occasionally happen--but that it takes time (days to weeks or sometimes longer) for things to get back to normal. He gave me a 6-day prescription for 4mg of methylprednisolone (Medrol), which I've been taking dutifully. And things do seem to be improving, if very slowly. At the very least I can now register when I'm accidentally biting my tongue while eating...

As for my question(s), dear MeFites...has this ever happened to you? How long did it take for it to go away completely? Did it go away completely? Anything else I could or should be doing to help speed up the healing (nutritional supplements, call my acupuncturist, whatever)? This is a new one on me and most everyone I've talked to, so your advice is appreciated!

My sore bitter tasting tongue

Grums — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:56:19 -0800

Why is my taste bitter and my tongue has some sore white spots? 10 days ago, Wedensday, I ate dinner and after dinner my tongue felt like it was burned. This burning soreness continued for days and gradually my taste changed. Usually a burned tongue is cured in 24 hours. By sunday my taste buds was hyper sensitive and some food with Provance spice tasted like the hottes chilli and orange juice tasted like bitter lemon juice.

This continued for a few days and then gradually got better. Today, Saturday, most of the taste has returned to normal, but the white spots is still there and is still a bit sore.

From my research I have onlye gotten som vague hints that it might
be some kind of virus that you can get at the same time that you have a cold. I had a sore throath for a couple of days, but nothing serious. I could still do my work out routine.

So even if I should be good after this weekend I wonder if anybody knows or have experienced the same thing. This is the first time for me.

When am I gonna flush out this Thrush?

Unicorn on the cob — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:09:57 -0800

I was diagnosed with Oral Thrush and am being treated with Diflucan. How long before I'm back to 100% normal? Quick info: I had a bad case of bronchitis and was treated with a Z-Pack, Prednisone, and an oral steroid inhaler. Unfortunately I was sick during the busiest week of the year for me, work-wise, and my body always hates steroids (I cannot sleep EVEN with sleeping pills, get angry/cry easily, feel horrible, and generally eat too much).

The tipping point must've been eating roughly an entire bag of jelly beans last Tuesday. By Thursday, my mouth looked... scary as hell.

The doctor prescribed me 10 days of Diflucan, and this is day 5. The back half of my tongue still is kinda gross, but more importantly, has stayed in some kind of bad tasting/bad feeling stasis since roughly Saturday.

The doctor gave me no dietary restrictions or special instructions; however, as per my Internet research goes, I have tried to severely limit carbs, sugar, vinegar (all my favorite things!), and dairy (severely limit = less than or approximately 1 teaspoon or 1 serving per day of each "forbidden" thing). I've eaten at LEAST one clove of fresh garlic a day, sometimes as many as 3, often raw. Yogurt, too. I am taking acidophilus and flax seed supplements, brushing 3-4 times per day, flossing, and drinking water with fresh lemon squeezed into it.

My last dosage will be Saturday. I'm hosting a dinner-type party this Friday and am praying that my symptoms will have abated by then... so basically:

1. If you've had this, how many days before you actually had NO symptoms left? The Diflucan hurts my stomach, but I'm eating ok and have not lost weight.

2. Is there anything else I could be doing to speed this up? I've greatly increased my sleep/relaxing time, but am still doing moderate exercise (walking 3-4 miles a few times a week).

3. If I eat sugar/bread the last day of my dosage, will I sabotage the whole thing and re-infect myself? I promised my group a fabulous, sugar- and bread-laden brunch this Saturday, and am celebrating Valentine's with the gentleman caller this Saturday. It would KILL ME to not ingest any sugar. Well, kill is a strong word, but I would be seriously unhappy about it.

4. How soon can I kiss my significant other? As soon as the symptoms abate, or what? The doctor said kissing's fine as long as he's not "halfway down my throat" but I am wary.

Other factors: myself and the bf are tested HIV negative as recently as this week; I do not have any autoimmune diseases; I don't have any trouble or pain swallowing or white spots on the back of my throat; the front half of my tongue is pink and doesn't hurt and I have no fever, just a sort of general malaise feeling. Thank you!

What is the name for my speaking...style?

zardoz — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:25:37 -0800

There is a characteristic to my speech in which my lips are often pursed tightly together when I speak. It's not a lisp, nor is it a tongue thrust. My wife says it's because I have a long tongue, so the opposite of a lisp. Anyone know if this even has a name? Just to be clear: this is not a problem in any way, and at least my wife finds it quite charming(!) It's rather difficult to describe, especially since I can't see myself talking most of the time. My mother and her sister (my aunt) do this as well, so it's likely an inherited thing. I'm trying to think of famous people who do this and am drawing a blank. Ring any bells?

Oh my god it burns -- but not in the right place...

Anonymous — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:54:31 -0800

My tongue tingles when I have the urge to urinate. Is this normal? Really folks, this is a serious question. I'm a relatively healthy woman in my early 20's and I've been experiencing this phenomenon for as long as I can remember. I asked a doctor about this once many years ago and my concerns were more or less blown off. I haven't really wanted to bring it up again for fear of seeming like a hypochondriac. Is there something horribly wrong with my nervous system or is this within the range of normal?

Tongue spasms. Horrible pain. Help!

wowbobwow — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:08:57 -0800

I regularly sprain my tongue. It happens often enough (and is painful enough) to make me curious about how and why this happens, and if it can be prevented. I have never met anyone else who experiences this. I have frequent episodes where it feels like my tongue spasms or is sprained. Pain is sudden and sharp, and it always on the left side, running from my ear down to my neck, and makes it impossible to speak. It makes my mouth and eyes water and pain lasts about five minutes after the spasm. One trigger is yawning, but the other day it happened when I was pulling a heavy book cart. Is this epilepsy, or a neuro problem? I am not low on potassium and don't get dehydrated, which I know can cause muscle sprains, generally. Can't find any info on the web. If I can't do anything about it I'd still like to know what is happening, because it's the weirdest thing.

What do I do with beef tongue?

schroedinger — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:58:42 -0800

Help with all things beef tongue. I bought a tongue from the farmer's market and am clueless how to handle it. I read this thread and need more detail. Peeling? What do you mean, it needs to be peeled? How? Can I overcook it? Should I eat it in a stew, or some other way? What are your favorite tongue recipes? I should note I haven't actually taken it out of the packaging, as I've seen pictures of what it should look like online and need more time to build my strength. So it may or may not be peeled, though I'm guessing not.

Advice for good piercing shops in NYC!

heartofglass — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:28:07 -0800

Any recommendations for good piercers in NYC? So I have (almost) decided I want to get my tongue pierced!

I'm just a little bit scared about what I have been reading (bad experiences of infections, etc) but am sure that if it is a professional, clean place the chances of it happening are a bit smaller...

Does anyone have a good recommendation of a good body piercing shop in NYC? Any piece of advice about tongue piercing also welcome. Thanks!

How do doctors remove a person's tongue?

Bookhouse — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:13:27 -0800

What is the procudeure for a total glossectomy? (It's for a piece of fiction; I don't know anyone undergoing the procedure). I've done a lot of googling but can't find the exact method that doctors use for cutting out a person's tongue. (The story takes place around 1999, if that changes things).

Sublingual Grapefruit Seed Extract Incident

pranalaxmi — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:04:00 -0800

I used straight, undiluted Grapefruit Seed Extract under my tongue and now I have sublingual inflammation and a burning sensation on the tip of my tongue like I've sipped tea that is too hot. It all started when I was beginning to feel a potential cold coming on from a dry raspy throat thing. I've put B-12 and zince lozenges under my tongue before without issues. On this occasion, I squeezed a fair amount of GSE under my tongue and chugged some water. Then I had a zinc lozenge or two while watching the Series in my hotel room. I feel like an idiot, because right there on the bottle of the GSE it warns of direct contact irritation if applied to skin or mouth. This seems like an allergic reaction. So far I've heard things like: take a Benedryl and suck on some ice. I'm wondering if my symptoms will worsen or just go away. Advice?

White tongue

Noodles — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 11:31:16 -0800

My tongue is white and has a thin white film and there is a bitter taste in my mouth. I use a scraper, floss and brush regularly and use mouthwash and h2O2. How do I get it to turn pink.

Tongue Biting: Why, and How to Stop?

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:55:38 -0800

How can I stop biting my tongue? I mean literally biting my tongue until it bleeds. Why do I do this? I've done this all my life, but I remember biting my inner cheeks when I was much younger; I think I switched to biting my tongue when I was around 10-15 years old.

I'll do it absentmindedly: while driving, watching a movie, and then five minutes later I'll notice that my tongue really hurts and I know that I've been doing it again.

Sometimes I'll focus on it, trying to find that perfect spot on my tongue for my teeth to grab. I'm not really conscious of the fact that I'm biting my tongue again but it's more like I'm just intensely focused on the precision of the practice.

Sometimes I'm able to catch myself doing it, and I stop. Sometimes I catch myself doing it and I just try harder to find that spot to bite. I'll do this until my tongue bleeds, until hot coffee and spicy salsa causes great pain in my mouth.

Is it a form of OCD? Is it a form of cutting/self mutilation? What's the best way to finally stop doing this to myself?

I have black hairy tongue! Yikes! Advice?

cortex — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:10:24 -0800

Following some dental adventures, I seem to have some lingua villosa nigra, aka "black [hairy] tongue". Reportedly harmless, but is there anything (a) I should know or worry about, and (b) I can do to quash it on the double? I've found some documentation online [e.g. 1, 2, 3] which seems to match up with what I'm experiencing well: it's painless and otherwise asymptomatic, and I've been using a crazy powerful mouthwash for the last week as prescribed by my oral surgeon after an extraction last Tuesday.

My oral hygiene the last week is impeccable, and I haven't been flirting with any of the other commonly mentioned personal-habit causes other than a cup of coffee every other day. The bio-wasteland my mouthwash has brought on seems like the culprit.

I've set up an appointment with the mouth man for tomorrow evening, which will hopefully confirm that this is what's going on, but I'm curious what specific experiences folks have had with this, and if there's anything particularly helpful to do to de-funk my mouth besides the apparently standard advice of gentle tongue-brushing and mild peroxide rinses.

What is my (whistling) malfunction?

timepiece — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 07:47:15 -0800

Why can't I produce the classic taxi whistle (you know, two fingers in mouth, very loud)? And I've just spent quite a while in the attempt, following these directions. Last night, after seeing this question and the link to Google Answers therein, I spent quite a while attempting to produce this whistle. No go.

So, why not? There are two basic possibilities, I guess:
1 - despite detailed instructions, I'm not doing it right
2 - my particular anatomy does not enable me to do this
2a - my tongue is ... larger than average, and my orthodontist says I'm a "tongue thruster". Relevant?
2b - My tongue is currently pierced. Although, I remember trying this years ago, and couldn't do it then either (the directions may have been lacking at the time). During the initial healing period, I was unable to whistle at all, but once the longer barbell was replaced with a shorter one, my regular whistling ability returned.

So, ability or anatomy? Is it possible to be physically incapable of producing this sound in this manner?

TongueFilter: Why does my tongue burn so easily?

stance — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:15:44 -0800

TongueFilter: Why does my tongue burn so easily? It's possible that my tongue was always this sensitive, but I've only really realized its peculiarity in recent years.

An easy, tested example is coffee:

The supposed "sweet spot" for cappuccino is between 150–170˚F, which I use as guided wisdom when frothing milk for friends, but I stop steaming my own around 130, and even then must wait a minute or two, or be careful to slurp slowly, before indulging. 130ish has burnt me before.

I, envious, watch strangers sip their ordered coffees immediately after they're served; my tongue cringes with muscle memory when I see others drink right after the pot brews; and me? I sit 5–10 minutes, sometimes forgetting, then finding that my drink isn't even hot for my taste. And while I hear that volatile espresso is best soon after it falls into its little cup, I have to wait and wonder just how much better it tasted minutes ago.

This is an annoyance, I suppose, more than anything else. When I cook, I can't (safely) taste to adjust the seasoning, and if I am impatient and try my soup, I can end up blisterfully regretting it for days.

Is my tongue as sensitive as I think it is? Is there anything I can do to better brace the heat?

Can you put superglue on your tongue?

doomtop — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 17:35:18 -0800

Can you put superglue on your tongue? I have a cut on the tip of my tongue. A big chunk of my tongue is missing. It starts with like a dead taste bud, but I scrape it with my teeth. It's an obsessive kind of thing. I keep scraping my tongue on my teeth and the cut gets worse.

I'm not sure I can stop scraping it with my teeth. I need an effective way to protect it. I got this stuff called KANKA but it works poorly. It goes on as a liquid and solidifies after a little while. It works to help stop me from scraping it but it isn't very hard or protective and comes off after a short time and so I have to use it frequently, even though the directions say like once every 4 hours. Sometimes it gets in my mouth or throat and it tastes terrible. Almost makes me throw up.

I was trying to repair a broken USB thumb drive using superglue and I got some on my fingers. It sealed solid on my fingers. So I'm wondering...

Could I put superglue on my tongue? To fill the gap of the wound? Then maybe I can't mess with it and maybe it will heal up eventually.

Of course, I'm worried about getting my tongue stuck to my mouth or swallowing superglue, or something bad like that.

Would attempting this be really dangerous??? Can superglue poison me?

I read somewhere it was originally invented for medical purposes, sealing wounds...

What do you think? Anyone know for sure?

This has happened to me before a few times and it takes weeks to heal. Its never been this bad before though... When I kiss my wife she can feel the hole in my tongue.

Help me! : )

Pros & cons of getting my tongue pierced?

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:36:43 -0800

I'm 28 and I'm thinking about getting my tongue pierced. What cultural & medical pros and cons should I be aware of? I work in a web shop which is really casual (I could go to work in shorts and sandals if I wanted to), so I don't see work being an issue. Then again, if I were to get one, I'd probably take it out for the occasional client meeting. That aside, what about the rest of society? I have piercing-positive friends and they'd probably smile at first and then go about the rest of their day. However, does society at large have preconceptions about people with tongue piercings?

On the health side, this article with coverage of the British Dental Association's stance (from 1999, admittedly) kinda scared the hell out of me. Is that mostly scare tactics or is there a significant chance of the side effects like those in the article? More specifically, I've heard anecdotally that tongue piercings can / tend to chip one's teeth. Is that inevitable, preventable, or just bunk?

Advice on this growth on my tongue?

Anonymous — Tue, 16 May 2006 22:56:15 -0800

In the last two weeks, a weird nodule has formed on the bottom of my tongue. I think it's a ranula, but I'm not a doctor and can't say that for certain. I don't have health insurance, but I gotta get rid of this thing before it gets massive and more painful. What kind of doctor do I see to get this removed? How much will something like this (getting a "thing" on your tongue removed) typically cost? (Posted as anon because I'm self-conscious and several people I know read MeFi. It's already starting to depress me, as I'm afraid to talk to people and can't kiss.)

Shoe tongue falls to left! DIY solution?

sirion — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 15:43:04 -0800

The tongue of my left shoe keeps falling over to the left, causing discomfort, ankle bruising, and general grumpiness. What can I do? The shoe is shown here:http://www.shoes.com/product.asp?p=5022765&variant_id=EC1003267&CMP=EMC-EAF

Any ideas?

Tiny Tongue Sores

crapples — Wed, 11 Jan 2006 20:05:19 -0800

Every once in a while I get these very very small white-ish sores on my tongue. They hurt like crazy - especially if I eat sugars or citruses. What are these things and what can I do to get rid of them? PS: I read the post about canker sores - if that's what this is then I'll just go with the advice from that post; however, this seems to be different. The things I'm talking about are very small bumps, white-ish, on the side or tip of the tongue. They pop up every few months and last for 4-5 days.

my tongue defines grime

soundofsuburbia — Wed, 21 Dec 2005 15:35:02 -0800

As Withnail said in "Withnail & I"; "Look at my tongue. A grey yellow sock." The tip of my tongue is allright, but the rest of it is, in fact, a grey yellow sock nowadays. I have no idea how it happened, but I do know that it sucks. I want my healthy, pink tongue back and I want it now! How can I achieve my goal?

A few disclaimers. I Live in Sweden, so I may not have access to the same remedies you have in the US and in Great Britain, for instance. Tongue scrapers are right out as they make me gag, please don't tell me to get used to them. Basically, what I'm looking for is a brew that I can cook up in the comfort of my own home, one that will make my tongue french kissable again in no time.

Can it be done? My love life is in your hands! :)

I bit my tongue!

billybunny — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 08:18:34 -0800

A few days ago, I bit my tongue while eating. A steady care regime of "do nothing and wait for it to fix itself" hasn't worked. How can I help the process along? A few years ago, I had the front molar on the bottom-right side removed. This is right next to where I bit my tongue, so my tongue keeps getting sucked into that little space. Yesterday, I tried filling in that area with gauze; while that helped the healing along slightly, it also prohibited eating or drinking. I wore it to bed, but it didn't work so well there, and I'm back to square one.

Can anyone recommend some OTC oral pain killers, or a method to keep my tongue from finding that little spot?

Bit my tongue

ssmith — Fri, 14 Jan 2005 12:24:24 -0800

Damn you chicken fajitas!
I bit my tongue really badly last night. [more]