A "burning" oral disease! This article tells you the truth

The summer is hot, and the long-lasting battle with high temperatures has officially begun. If you stand in the sun for a while, your skin will feel burning. If you walk on the road and encounter the sun, you must speed up your pace.

However, do you know that there is an oral disease whose symptoms are like being baked by the sun, or being burned by eating spicy hot pot or chili peppers, or drinking boiling water. The surface of the tongue is burning, which is very uncomfortable. Aunt Liu, 56, has been troubled by this burning sensation on the tongue in recent years. The key is that Aunt Liu has never been exposed to these stimuli!

What is going on?

At first, Aunt Liu thought it was "heat", but after taking heat-clearing medicine for several weeks, there was no relief. She went to several local hospitals, but the specific cause could not be found. She had no symptoms of fever, and she looked in the mirror and found nothing abnormal in her mouth.

But every day, this feeling of tongue "on fire" always accompanies Aunt Liu, which seriously affects her life. Aunt Liu is worried that she has some "unknown terminal illness"?

The psychological burden makes Aunt Liu worried every day. She can't concentrate and often suffers from insomnia at night. She can only fall asleep by taking sleeping pills. She is not energetic every day and is not in good shape.

In fact, this is a typical manifestation of " burning mouth syndrome ", with the main complaint being burning pain or abnormal sensation in the oral mucosa (mainly the surface of the tongue); no organic lesions were found in the tongue and oral mucosa examination; there were no organic lesions in the whole body (such as anemia, diabetes, connective tissue disease, etc.), etc.

It is not an ordinary "getting angry", it may be caused by the following factors: ① social and psychological factors (anxiety and depression), ② neuropathological factors (peripheral small nerve fiber lesions, central nervous system lesions), ③ endocrine factors (sex hormone imbalance), etc.

It refers to a group of symptoms that occur in the oral mucosa, especially the tongue mucosa, with spontaneous, persistent, and recurrent burning pain in the oral mucosa as the main manifestation, often accompanied by numbness, tingling, or taste loss and other sensory abnormalities, so it is also called glossodynia, tongue paresthesia, or oral mucosal paresthesia. It mainly affects menopausal and postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 , and is often accompanied by mental tension, anxiety, depression, and even cancer phobia, worrying that there is something bad in the mouth. Therefore, patients with burning mouth syndrome often stick out their tongues in front of the mirror for self-examination, especially mistaking normal structures in the mouth for "cauliflower-like tumors."

Why is the pain still there even though I look in the mirror and nothing seems to be happening? What is going on? I believe that those who have experienced similar symptoms or are suffering from this kind of trouble will have the above questions. Often, some people are afraid to see a doctor, sticking out their tongue in front of the mirror to check themselves every day, and when they see related posts online, they will think about it and worry about cancer; while some people also want to go to the hospital for a check-up, but they don’t know which department to go to?

If you encounter this situation, it is recommended to go to the oral mucosal disease department as soon as possible!

① Keep your body and mind happy, avoid tension and anxiety, do something interesting (such as playing chess/taking a walk), and try to distract yourself.

② Develop good oral habits and avoid frequently looking in the mirror and sticking out your tongue for self-examination. Frequent tongue sticking out can also cause tongue muscle fatigue.

③ Develop good living habits, maintain a regular schedule, avoid staying up late, and ensure adequate sleep.

④ Develop good eating habits, avoid spicy, sour, hot, astringent foods, eat a light, nutritionally balanced diet, and eat more fruits and vegetables.

⑤ Participate in physical exercise appropriately to enhance physical fitness (such as square dance/Tai Chi).

⑥ Symptomatic treatment, supplemented by psychological support. Patients with more severe symptoms can undergo multidisciplinary combined treatment.

Patients with mild burning pain can be observed and take care to avoid external stimulation.

Patients with severe burning pain are advised to see a stomatologist or oral mucosa specialist as soon as possible to get a clear diagnosis. Under the guidance of a professional doctor, they can be given topical medications, nerve nutrition drugs, acupuncture, laser treatment, etc.

If the patient has obvious mental and psychological factors, psychological intervention by the psychiatric department may be considered;

If there are endocrine disorders, neuropathological changes or diabetes, further treatment should be sought from relevant specialists.

If the pain is severe and cannot be relieved by conventional treatment, you can ask the pain department for joint treatment.