Who put clorox in my food?

July 7, 2008 8:41 PM

What is causing this? Sometimes I get a strange burning feeling (for lack of a better expression; it's kind of an acid burn sort of sensation) on the roof of my mouth sometimes when I put the first bite of the day in my mouth. It especially seems strong with bread, but has also happened with orange juice, milk and other things that seem to have no relation to each other. It subsides after about 15 minutes. Does anyone know what this is, or have had similar experiences?

It doesn't happen regularly, or even that often, but just now and then, and it's been happening for as long as I can remember (I'm in my early 40s). It doesn't seem threatening in any way, just annoying and puzzling, so I've never gone to a doctor about it. And now, I can't go to a doctor about it, because I live in China, and the doctors around here generally are not too knowledgeable, especially about strange things.

When I feel that sensation, the more I put in my mouth (other than water), the stronger the feeling gets, until it gradually subsides after the fifteen minutes are up.

posted by strangeguitars to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

I have no idea what it could be but I get this too. When it happens, it's always after I've gone a long stretch of time (8+ hours) without eating anything.
posted by Adultivity at 9:16 PM on July 7, 2008

Roof of your mouth, but right at the back? If it's what I'm thinking of - it's muscles. Like maybe a cramp or whatever. I get this only very occasionally but much more commonly in another part of my mouth. When I was a kid I used to bite my fingernails, and was always fishing down the sides of my mouth looking for the piece of fingernail that had wedged its way into.. the bit where your cheek and gums meet. (The top feels like a broad 'burning' but the sides like a small deep stab.) I stopped biting my nails so I had to put a bit more thought into my theory. I've always just dismissed the roof of my mouth thing as the same as my side of the mouth thing?? (If it stretches out (like a foot cramp), there's your answer.)
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 9:42 PM on July 7, 2008

Do you smoke, perchance? I don't have any Science but anecdotally, if I smoke and then go to bed without giving my teeth etc. a good brush, usually whatever I eat or drink first thing in the morning (with the exception of water) causes some unpleasant sensations - close enough to an "acid burn" for me to be able to call it that - for whatever reason. I think maybe the residual nicotine is damaging the delicate fleshy lining of my mouth, causing it to not generate enough saliva and therefore more or less dry up overnight, which might possibly potentially mean that whatever I chow down on upon waking up is, I dunno, irritating it or whatever because I'm not "lubed up" enough. Anyway. You can thank me later for being of absolutely no help whatsoever.
posted by turgid dahlia at 9:54 PM on July 7, 2008

I get that exact same feeling when my food allergies act up. I'm allergic to dairy and citrus.
posted by mynameisluka at 10:28 PM on July 7, 2008

I sometimes get that when I've eaten something that may have left fine abrasions on the roof of my mouth.
posted by mce at 10:47 PM on July 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

No reason why this can't be GERD.
posted by ruwan at 10:47 PM on July 7, 2008

seconding GERD. Ask your physician on your next routine visit.
posted by Wilder at 12:28 AM on July 8, 2008

I get this too with some foods, although I've never isolated a pattern regarding which foods. I guess it's time for me to get one of those big allergy tests done. Who knows what I'll learn?
posted by intermod at 5:31 AM on July 8, 2008

I've gotten this too, usually with bread or OJ but I have no idea what it is. It doesn't happen too often with me though, maybe once every few weeks or so. I also do not have any allergies or acid reflux.

When I feel that sensation, the more I put in my mouth (other than water), the stronger the feeling gets, until it gradually subsides after the fifteen minutes are up.

This is exactly what happens to me too.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:14 AM on July 8, 2008

I too get this. Also with cold, leftover potatoes. Perhaps it's a reaction to starchy stuff. (Does OJ have starch?)
posted by Sparx at 7:03 AM on July 8, 2008

Honey does it to me, only sometimes, though. I always assumed it was a mild food allergy, like how chocolate hurts my throat only when my throat is already irritated by something.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:43 AM on July 8, 2008

I think this is one of those questions for which the answers will vary widely, but I'll put in my two cents: could be oral allergy syndrome.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:48 AM on July 8, 2008

Since it happens with your first bites of food, it's probably coming from your salivary glands.

Your immune system attacks pathogenic organisms with bleach-like substances, and those could account for a clorox-like burning after they accumulate in your salivary glands overnight.

So I would say you may have a chronic salivary gland infection. It might be interesting to see whether a course of antibiotics changes the situation.
posted by jamjam at 11:38 AM on July 8, 2008

At first I thought this is something completely unknown to me but when someone mentioned cold potatoes, I realized that I do get bitter taste from them at first. Come to think of it, from OJ, also. My take is that in these cases, cold potatoes are oxidized on the outside and then you get accustomed to that taste after a minute or so. I always eat potatoes freshly cooked. I never drink bought OJ because once I tried it (the one not from concentrate) vs. freshly made OJ and the difference was so big that I don't consider bought OJ worth paying for (or drinking). It never happens for me with any other food, though, so I think this is a separate thing from what OP asked about.
posted by rainy at 12:27 PM on July 8, 2008