Remedies for a Burnt Tongue

Burning your tongue is one of the easiest ways to hurt your mouth. Just drinking a cup of hot chocolate can singe your taste buds and make your tongue feel painful, and with a more severe burn you may not even be able to taste as well for a few days. Thankfully, the mouth heals quickly and, if the burn is minor, your tongue should be feeling better soon. However, there are a few remedies you can use to relieve the pain.

Drink Cold Liquids Or Eat Cold Food

Drinking or eating something cold will soothe your tongue and help the burning sensation go away. Simply drinking cold water is the easiest thing you can do to start feeling better. Cold milk can also do the trick. Some sources recommend yogurt as a healthy, cold food to consume. Let the yogurt sit on your tongue for a few minutes before swallowing. Additionally, children with burnt tongues might be able to have a little fun soothing their tongue by eating a popsicle.

Sprinkle Sugar Or Honey On The Tongue

While drinking or eating cold water or food is a more obvious way to soothe a burnt tongue, sprinkling sugar is another unique alternative. After the sugar dissolves, you should feel the pain relief almost immediately. Plus, it’s tasty. Another good, delicious remedy is eating a spoonful of honey. As with sugar, you should let the honey rest on your tongue for a few moments. However, do remember that children under a year old should not consume honey.

Gargle Salt Water

Gargling cool, salt water will not only soothe the tongue, but it will also prevent infection. While most minor burns on the tongue will heal without complications, infection is always a possibility in the body when something is damaged. Salt water generally cleans wounds, and a burnt tongue is essentially a wound until it heals. Make sure you repeat the gargling a few times, especially if the pain persists.

Take Pain Medication

If the other natural remedies don’t work and you need to resort to medication, take a few ibuprofen or acetaminophen pills. Like salt water, the pills will reduce both pain and inflammation. Children may be able to take children’s ibuprofen, which is liquid or chewable.

Starting with natural remedies is more ideal, especially with children, if the pain is minor. Avoid citrus, soda and other beverages that are acidic — those will aggravate the tongue and make it more painful. If the tongue pain is pervasive or severe, visit a doctor immediately. Otherwise, your tongue should return to normal soon. Next time, be careful with that hot chocolate!