Tongue is considered to be the strongest muscle in human being. It is an important organ in our mouth and there are various functions of tongue. Tongue helps to swallow food, it helps in detecting the taste of food and without the tongue we may not be able to speak.
The upper surface of tongue consists of innumerable papillae; they are tiny taste buds to detect different tastes such as sweet, salty or sour. These tiny papillae are pink in color due to rich vascular supply. There are several reasons for bumps on your tongue, especially bumps on tongue that hurt.
What Causes Bumps On The Tongue?
One of the common causes of hurting bumps on your tongue is trauma. Tongue is an active organ and it often gets nipped by your teeth while eating or even while talking. Hot food and drinks can scald your tongue resulting into small or large painful bump on your tongue.
Certain medicines and toothpastes which contain chemicals may adversely affect the tongue and form bumps on tongue.
Apthous ulcer or stomatitis as it called can result into a bump on the tongue. Apthous ulcer can be present on the inner side of cheek, on the lips and on the floor of the mouth.
Herpes simplex infection can cause painful bumps on tongue even if your diet is bland and without spices. The condition can occur anywhere in the mouth. There is tingling sensation 2 days prior to appearance of painful bumps. The bumps last for a week or more.
Candidiasis is a fungal infection of the mouth. It causes small white bumps on the tongue as well as on the cheeks, lips and on the hard and soft palate in the mouth. In this condition the bumps can be scrapped with a toothbrush or a tongue cleaner, however the fungus infection will not get cured; it will come back after some days.
Red Bumps On Tongue That Hurt
Red bumps on tongue that hurt can be due to inflamed tongue papillae, caused by eating something very hot, or drinking hot beverages. Painful red bumps on tongue can be due to smoking. A cancer sore can also appear as red bump on the tongue. The cause of canker sore is unknown although it has been associated with increased stress.
Leukoplakia is a condition which causes white patches on the tongue and inside the mouth. The patches appear similar to candida infection, but like candida they cannot be scraped. Though not a harmful condition, leukoplakia can be a pre-cancerous condition.
There are certain foods and medicines that can cause allergies and bumps on tongue that can hurt in some hypersensitive individuals.
Certain medical conditions such as anemia and diabetes can cause painful bumps on the tongue.
Treatment For Painful Bumps On Tongue
- In most of the cases the bumps on the tongue that hurt are not always harmful.
- Proper medication and home remedies can treat these painful bumps on the tongue.
- For treating herpes simplex bumps, your physician may prescribe anti viral medications.
- Saline water mouthwash is a simple home remedy for hurting bumps on the tongue.
- If the reason for painful bumps on the tongue is canker sore, apply baking soda on the bump.
- Besides, eat diet rich in iron and folic acid and other vitamins. Green leafy vegetables, cabbage, broccoli, meat and other nutritious foods help to relieve the recurrent painful bump on the tongue.