The quality of a person’s eating and their satiety depend greatly on their sense of taste. People who feel they have had a good dining experience can attribute this to their taste buds. Sore or swollen taste buds take this experience away from people, making eating difficult and even causing loss of appetite.
Sore Taste Buds
- Taste buds are papillae on the tongue and are responsible for a person’s sense of taste.
- The tongue is literally covered with taste buds that can distinguish sweet, salty, sour, and even bitter tastes in food.
- Taste buds can become inflamed, sore, or swollen for many reasons.
- When this happens, a person’s sense of taste is greatly affected and diminished.
- People with sore tongues or taste buds have difficulty eating and if left untreated they develop a loss of appetite.
Sore Taste Buds Causes
The causes of sore or swollen taste buds are quite common and usually revolve around a person’s lifestyle.
- Exposure to tobacco smoke
- Exposure to insecticides
- Exposure to certain supplements and herbs such as gymnema leaves.
- Eating very hot and very spicy foods
- Eating very salty foods
- Cuts on the taste buds by the teeth by accidental biting
- Exposure to acidic foods such as lemons, limes, grapefruit and even certain sauces.
- Eating overcooked or hot food.
Other disease-related causes:
- Endocrine disorders including hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, dental problems, and hypoadrenalism.
- Stomach infection
- Allergy
- Mouth or tongue ulcers
- Oral yeast/thrush infection
- Mineral and vitamin deficiencies
- Laryngectomy or the removal of all or part of the larynx
Sore Taste Buds Home Remedies for Treatment
Treatment of the soreness on taste buds depends on the underlying cause. General and conservative measures for relief of the discomfort can include:
- Avoid eating too hot foods.
- Avoid eating spicy or acidic foods.
- Quit smoking
- Avoid ingesting insecticides, poisons, and other corrosive solutions.
- Gargle using a small amount of salt in warm water.
- Apply baking soda on the swollen taste buds to reduce the swelling.
- Apply ice on the swollen buds for immediate relief.
- Gargle with tea tree oil which is effective against conditions causes by bacteria, virus or even fungi.
- Rinsing the mouth with honey facilitates healing of the taste buds.
- A combination of garlic, pepper, and ginger into a soup will help against infection in inflamed taste buds.
- Application of glycerin on the tongue can help reduce swelling due to an infected cut or bite.