Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and dive straight into eating something that smells fantastic. This can result in burning our tongues.
No matter the situation when we sear our tongues it is not a fun experience. The heat from the overly hot foods can cause first-degree burns. This damages the membrane lining of your mouth and feels terrible. Burns in your mouth can actually sometimes even be so bad as to become second-degree. A burn in the mouth can actually even blister if bad enough, imagine that.
Pain and swelling is to be expected from a mouth burn and should not be so severe as to need medical attention but you will know if it is bad enough to where you need to consult a doctor. If you are in severe pain and are having trouble breathing do not hesitate to see a doctor.
When you burn your mouth the very first thing you should do is swish it with cold water. This will reduce the heat in your skin and in doing so decrease swelling as well. Do not put ice cubes in your mouth to treat a burn. This is because the ice cubes can get stuck to the burn and then you’re in a whole new pickle. Swishing with cold water for about ten minutes will help a lot.
For the next few days, you should try to maintain a bland diet and keep you mouth much cleaner than usual. Do your best to avoid any spicy or acidic foods as they will irritate the burn. Stick to things like mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and yogurt. They will not hurt the burned areas. Keep the burned area clean as to avoid any sort of infection. Brush your teeth and be gentle. Use a saltwater rinse at least a few times a day and when it comes to pain try some sort of over the counter medication. Nothing too strong as it should not be any sort of severe pain.
The skin in your mouth heals much quicker than the rest of your skin. It only takes about a week for your mouth to heal. You should not be experiencing any pain after about three days. Of course, this varies depending on the severity of the burn itself. If after a week you are for some reason not seeing any improvement please see a doctor.