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Hi B,
I am a follower of you for years and joined here a few months back. But got busy with life and forgot about it and never got a chance to introduce myself. I will do that in a separate post.I just turned 40 but have a feeling that I have laundry list of issues all the time. 🙂 I am in Canada at the moment, btw.
currently, I am going through a irritated mouth. It feels as if you use the wrong toothpaste but I have not. The tip of my tongue feels scalded as well. And my throat feels dry and irritated while eating,, I have chronic mild to moderate gastritis and docs put me on PPIs for most of my symptoms. I am not sure if it is acid reflux( I just felt mild acidity a day before this started). I have been drinking a lot of fluids and eating bland food.. but it’s been three days and no improvement. What can I do ? Thank you in advance .
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8 Replies
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Hey ,
There can be several reasons why your mouth feels irritated or your tongue feels scalded and your suspicion is right: acid reflux/gastritis is one of them. Keeping an open mind is important since there can be other reasons like allergies, post nasal drip and infections for example.
Some other lifestyle factors could also cause an irritated mouth. For example acidic foods & (soft) drinks, dental materials and overuse of mouthwashes. Some people push their tongue against their teeth, bite the tip of their tongue or grind and clench their teeth. All these things can cause or contribute to these symptoms as well.
Gastritis/Acid Reflux
Since you mentioned you have gastritis and acid reflux symptoms, I will zoom in on this part. Here are some common causes:
• H. Pylori overgrowth. H. Pylori is a bacteria that most people have and it normally lives in small numbers in or on the lining of the stomach. When the stomach becomes less acidic, H. pylori can start growing and cause some damage causing inflammation in the stomach (gastritis). In the gut health masterclass we have a video about how to reduce an H. Pylori overgrowth – just click here.
• Stress reduces the secretion of digestive juices like stomach acid. You can see that living and eating in a stressful state can be the root cause of gastritis. With low stomach acid, you could also experience acid reflux. The reduced acidity of the stomach can lead to acid leaching into the oesophagus, where the tissue is much more sensitive to the acid.
• Food sensitivities can also cause acid reflux. If you as well experience a post-nasal drip, then eliminating dairy might be a good starting point.
• Nutrient deficiencies can also be at play. PPI’s reduce stomach acid, but stomach acid is needed to digest iron & vitamin B12 as well. These nutrients, when you lack them, can also cause a scalded tongue or an irritated mouth. Other nutrient deficiencies that could play a role are zinc, folate and vitamin B6. Usually, with nutrient deficiencies, the presence of these symptoms is not developing over a night. But at the very least it would be a good idea to check your iron & vitamin B12 serum levels when you are using PPI’s for a longer while.
• Hiatal hernia. When your stomach is pushed through the diaphragm we talk about a ‘Hiatal Hernia’. This can also cause the stomach to produce less stomach acid and can be at the base of developing gastritis as well.
• Hypothyroidism can slow down stomach acid production causing low stomach acid as well.In the library, there is a handout about acid reflux which you can find here. I recommend you take a look at it. Much of the advice above you will find in a summarized version over there with many practical tips on what you can do to reduce symptoms of gastritis and acid reflux.
When your tongue is scalded because of acid, the tongue is damaged and will need to heal first. This can take a couple of days in many cases, but it could take up to 1-2 weeks in more severe cases. But here are some tips that could help you reduce the irritated feeling in your mouth or reduce the scalded tongue.
• Salt water solutions can cleanse your mouth and help when bacteria are causing an infection following a tongue burn. Take care not to overdo it, though. Too much salt can irritate the injury. Dissolve about 1/8 a teaspoon in eight ounces of water, rinse and then spit out the saltwater mix.
• Cool drinks, cool foods or sucking on ice could help reduce some of the pain your feel in your mouth.
• Coat your tongue with milk. Many people use milk to reduce the heat when they have eaten spicy foods. Milk can also soothe a burned tongue.
• Coat your tongue with manuka honey. Honey has antibacterial properties. Keeping your mouth free of bacteria can prevent infection while your tongue is healing.I hope these tips can provide you with some relief!
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Hi – welcome to B Better! We’re glad you’ve reached out for help. Daniel provided a great summary of possible root causes and solutions to ease a burning mouth.
You might also want to consider swishing your mouth with the pH balancing mouth rinse that Dr. Roze provided us in the resources.
Do you have any clarifying or additional questions we can help you with?
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Thank you Daniel and B . I am doing cold milk, honey , oil pulling, coconut water . I am also on acid inhibitors as per the doc . However , the tip of the tongue scalding and the difficulty in swallowing in the throat hasn’t come down. I will continue to do these and let you know. Thank you very much !
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I’ve had a client suck on a B12 lozenge daily for a few months, (Seeking Health brand) which helped ease her burning mouth. One of the possible causes as Daniel had mentioned for burning mouth/tongue is exactly that but please do investigate the other possible causes mentioned above and let us know if you need further guidance on how to do that/which tests to get.
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Thank you B. I will look for B12 lozenges. For now I have started supplementing B12 with Jamieson brand .
After reading Daniel’s comment on low acid leading to reflux, I wonder if there is a way for me to check that. I have been given PPIs of different potency since last 20 years SOS . It has been between 5days- 3 weeks course . I had endoscopy multiple times due to gastritis and the last test said chronic mild to moderate gastritis. Have had episode of unbearable stomach pain 3 years back and thats when this was diagnosed with GERD. H pylori has been tested 3 years back and came back negative .
I eat mindfully. Don’t smoke or drink. I rarely drink(2/3 in a year) carbonated drinks (soft drinks). So , the only reason the doctors gave us stress or anxiety which I am working on as well.
Is there a way I can check my stomach acid to see if it was low acid that caused the issues all the time? Please suggest.
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, @Bernadette Abraham – the doc prescribed this gargle for my burning mouth and throat . But I am not comfortable using it after reading the side effects and this doesn’t seem to actually to solve the cause but to relieve symptoms .. please let me know your thoughts
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I don’t have any experience with this product but I did look it up and it seems to be an oral anti-inflammatory medication. So yes, you are correct, it is for symptom-management and will not be addressing the root cause.
All drugs and medications have side effects. There is a time and place for them, and the benefits have to outweigh the risks. If you are in extreme pain, it might offer you the relief you need to buy you time to figure out the root cause. If not, perhaps you can try the other more natural solutions we suggested first.
I would also encourage you to find a homeopath or naturopathic doctor who can help you dig deeper and investigate all the possible causes Daniel and I shared with you.
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oh my!! No one should be on PPIs for that long. These medications should be used for short-term pain relief only.
I’m glad you’re here with us so we can help you get to the root cause and hopefully help you reverse this symptom!! Correct, acid reflux is more often than not, caused by hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid). Please start by watching this video on the causes of hypochlorhydria inside the Gut Health Masterclass.
And then watch this video for a simple at-home baking soda challenge that you can do to test for low stomach acid. Let us know if you do it and share your results.
Next, we’ll discuss what tests to get done to start confirming/ruling out the possible causes of hypochlorhydria.
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