How to Sooth a Burnt Tongue

Who has not experienced the numb feeling after either tasting something hot?! Here's a nice tip from wikiHow...

How to Sooth a Burnt Tongue

Ouch! A burn on the tongue can be very painful. Here are some tips to ease the pain. This article assumes the burn is caused by high temperatures, not the "heat" created by capsaicin. For that, see How to Cool Burns from Chili Peppers.

1) Apply something cool immediately. Make sure that contact with the cool item is maintained for at least a full minute. This will help the heat dissipate more quickly so it doesn't do as much damage on your tongue cells. Here are some ideas: ice cubes or crushed ice, a popsicle, frozen fruit, ice cream.


2) Numb the pain. A burnt tongue can be quite uncomfortable. If you have any anesthetic ointment, rub it on the surface of your tongue. Look for products containing benzocaine, which is a topical anesthetic, and are often sold to treat mouth ulcers: Anbesol, Kank+a, Orabase B, Orajel. Anesthetic mouthwash may help as well.

3) Suck on cough drops. Look for cough drops that contain benzocaine and/or menthol. Menthol, like benzocaine, acts as a local anesthetic.

4) Until healing occurs, stay away from acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus fruits and juices, items with vinegar, etc., as well as salty items like potato chips, since these items will irritate the area.