Sometimes numbness of the tongue and lips can be a short-term phenomenon that passes very quickly and does not cause any problems. But still, in some cases, this condition may indicate the presence of serious disorders in the body. The reasons for this condition can be very diverse.

How does tongue numbness happen?

Numbness of the tongue (paresthesia) manifests itself in different ways. Sometimes there is a slight and imperceptible tingling, which causes almost no discomfort. In some cases, there is a strong tingling, “goosebumps”, such a symptom as loss of sensitivity progresses. It often happens that in parallel with the numbness of the tongue, numbness of the lips also occurs.

In any case, it will not be possible to find out the reasons for the occurrence of such a state on your own. Only with a thorough examination by specialists can you find the source of this pathology and get proper treatment.

Causes of paresthesia

The main causes of numbness of the tongue:

• This condition can be caused by various spinal problems often this applies to the cervical region. In addition, frequent, discomfort in the neck, numbness of the fingers, and decreased vision may indicate cervical osteochondrosis. It is also necessary to trace in what position the numbness occurs, as this can help to find out the exact causes of the disease.
• Thyroid dysfunction often provoke a similar symptom. To find out, you need to be examined by an endocrinologist.
• Often excessive taking antibiotics causes numbness of the tongue
• A disease such as diabetes leads to dryness of the oral mucosa and becomes the reason for the development of such a pathological condition. Patients often observe, in addition to a violation of the sensitivity of the tongue and numbness of the lips, especially the upper one. The reasons for this are low blood glucose or improper use of the insulin preparation.
• Vascular diseases,stroke and heart attack may also affect the development of paresthesia of the tongue. Therefore, do not forget that numbness can be associated with serious ailments.
• When removing or treating teeth, the dentist can touch the nerve, which sometimes disturbs the sensitivity of the tongue. In this case, you should not worry, these symptoms quickly pass.
• Strong stress and regular worries often become a reason for the development of the above phenomenon
• Vitamin B 12 deficiency causes various disorders and malfunctions in the body, including numbness of the tongue
• In addition to these factors, affect the numbness of the tongue and lips maybe toothpaste, which includes low-quality substances or chewing gum. In this case, it is necessary to abandon the use of paste and chewing gum.

Numbness of the tip of the tongue and lips

Often numbness affects the tip of the tongue and lips, causing discomfort, the reasons for this:

• Side effect of certain medications in particular antibiotics. By damaging the nerve endings, they can cause numbness of both the entire tongue and its tip and lips.
• Some oral diseases and speech. Often such a disease is glossalgia. It often occurs in women after 40 years of age, causes illness, problems with the digestive system, endocrine disorders, etc.
• Age features. For the most part, this applies to women during menopause. This period in the fairer sex is associated with various failures and restructuring in the body, the mucous membrane is disturbed and this often affects the sensitivity of the tip of the tongue, and sometimes the lips.
• Various allergic reactions. It is known that it is characterized by edema, impaired sensitivity, shortness of breath, numbness of the lips and tongue is often observed.
• Often, numbness of the lips is associated with various mental disorders. In parallel, a rapid heartbeat, lack of air, reddening of the face, and a sense of anxiety develop.
• Severe numbness of the lips can also lead to high blood pressure, there may also be loss of sensation in the lower extremities. In this case, you need to take medications that affect the pressure reduction or, in more complex cases, call a medical team.
• Side effects during pregnancy associated with increased pressure and swelling.
• Poisoning, alcohol and tobacco abuse, exposure.

In addition, numbness of the tip of the tongue and lips can also be observed in some diseases:

• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Hyperthyroidism
• Neuritis
• Syphilis
• Multiple sclerosis
• brain tumors
• Malignant tumors of the spinal cord
• Bell's palsy
• Separate types of migraine.

In addition to the listed diseases, this phenomenon is diagnosed with tumors of the nasopharynx, multiple sclerosis, herpes zoster on the face, with some viral infections, etc.

Diagnosis of these pathologies is possible only in medical centers; it is by no means possible to treat such diseases on your own.

Particular attention should be paid to vascular problems, as they become the main cause of death in the world. In addition to impaired coordination and speech, in a patient with a stroke attack, numbness of the lips and tongue is almost always determined, sometimes paralysis of one part of the face. If any of the above symptoms are observed, you should immediately call an ambulance.. Before her arrival, lay the patient on a high pillow, provide air access, and do not use any drugs on her own.

Treatment

If numbness of the lips and tongue is observed with cervical osteochondrosis, its treatment is carried out with the help of medications, and also include massage and physiotherapy exercises. With regards to this condition with neuritis, the therapeutic course includes: glucocorticoids, vasodilators, vitamins. When such a phenomenon is observed in viral diseases, the treatment of the underlying pathology is mandatory.

Multiple sclerosis, which causes numbness of the lips and tongue, is treated with hormone therapy, immunomodulators, and some other drugs. Such therapy allows you to cope with this disease and remove numbness.

Allergies can also cause the above condition. In this case, the allergen is determined, for the most part, foods, some drugs can cause an allergic reaction. In parallel with this, antihistamines are prescribed.

It must be remembered that almost always numbness of the lips and tongue appears against the background of any ailments, therefore, it is initially necessary to treat the underlying disease.

Numbness of the tongue and lips at first glance seems to be a frivolous problem. But, having learned why this can happen, and if it concerns certain diseases, you should seek medical help, where they will help you make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment.

Modern medicine has come a long way in recent decades. Many diseases that threaten the life and health of people are treatable, successfully diagnosed and eliminated with appropriate drugs. However, not all diseases are so simple. What to do if the tongue goes numb? What can this be talking about and how to get rid of it?

Symptoms of tongue numbness

Numbness as a phenomenon in the scientific literature is called, which means "loss of sensitivity." Surprisingly, people experience their language in different ways:

• someone has "goosebumps";
• someone is worried about tingling at the tip;
• someone completely loses sensitivity;
• sometimes, along with the tongue, the lips also go numb.

Most often, these symptoms are harmless and a person may not even pay much attention to them, but sometimes paresthesia gives people inconvenience and discomfort. In such cases, it is imperative to go to the doctor's office to identify the exact cause, which is sometimes quite difficult.

Causes of tongue paresthesia

1. In some cases, paresthesia of the tongue is observed in a person after visiting the dentist, due to an anesthetic drug. The thing is that the roots of the teeth and the nerve endings of the tongue are located very close, so the doctor can accidentally press down or even seriously damage the nerve of the tongue. In the first case, numbness usually disappears after a couple of days, while in the second case, the period can reach several months.
2. An allergic reaction of the body to taking any antibiotics or medications. This reason is considered one of the most harmless, because in almost 100% of cases, sensitivity returns after a couple of days. But still, if you are faced with the problem of numbness, you must definitely consult with your doctor so that he replaces the drug or stops the course of taking the medicine.
3. Burning with excessively hot or cold food, or accidental ingestion of alkali or acid into the stomach.
4. on food, drinks, toothpaste, brush or tooth powder, chewing gum, alcohol.
5. is another reason. Being a disease of the endocrine system that controls the amount of the hormone insulin, diabetes disrupts the normal functioning of various types of metabolism (from carbohydrate to water-salt), which leads to dry mouth, constant thirst, trembling in the hands and partial loss of sensation of the tongue.
   
6. Cervical osteochondrosis is a disease that limits the mobility of the tongue, reducing the sensitivity of its nerves. Sometimes with this disease, a person’s voice even changes, it becomes rougher.
7. Glossalgia is one of the most obvious causes of paresthesia, because it is precisely the disease of the tongue itself, which is also accompanied by discomfort and pain, burning and tingling in the oral cavity.
8. age aspect. Since the hormonal background is disturbed in women in adulthood (especially with menopause), the mucous membrane often becomes thinner and the processes of epithelium renewal slow down, as a result of which the tip of the tongue becomes numb.
9. , depression, restless sleep, irritability (), increased anxiety - all this in rare cases can cause numbness along with headache and dizziness.
10. Pregnancy, most often for a period of 15-16 weeks. So, the woman's body reacts to high blood pressure, swelling.
11. Injuries in the face, neck, jaw, as well as hemorrhages caused by damage to parts of the brain.
12. Anemia - deficiency of iron and vitamin B12, there may be numbness of the fingers and toes, loss of balance when walking.
13. Multiple sclerosis, which can cause numbness in many other parts of the body.
14. , in which a person has an acute headache, nausea, dizziness, numbness of the limbs, lips and tongue. In this case, the person needs to provide emergency assistance, immediately call an ambulance.
15. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, smoking.
16. Heavy metal poisoning (zinc, mercury, lead, tin, cobalt).
17. Overabundance or lack of minerals in the body.
18. Taking steroid hormones, accompanied by a loss of taste sensations. There may also be hair above the upper lip, purple stretch marks in the buttocks or abdomen, and weight gain.
19. Bell's palsy is a violation of the function of the facial nerves, in which there is a loss of sensation in the lips, face, tongue, cheeks. In extreme cases, there is no taste sensation.
20. with aura - a rare disease that occurs in people prone to stress. In such patients, the work of the sense organs is disturbed, they can hear sounds, see stripes or flashes of light before their eyes, feel unpleasant odors, speech problems, numbness of the fingertips, tingling on the tongue are possible.
21. Candidiasis of the oral cavity, in which the patient's tongue is covered with a layer of whitish plaque, when removed, parts of the tongue will begin to bleed. This disease is very difficult to tolerate, because it is painful for a person to even take and chew food.
22. Tumors of the brain. Numbness of the tongue in this case is not the main symptom, but still occurs in a number of cases. Associated symptoms are, first of all, severe headache, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, low body temperature and blood pressure.
23. Insect or snake bites, such as cobras, vipers. Paresthesia can spread to the entire face and limbs, dizziness, drowsiness, and palpitations occur.

What to do?

As already clear from the above, numbness of the tongue is a problem that can have a lot of reasons, so diagnosing patients is very difficult. Often people do not seek help in the early days, because they do not attach much importance to the numbness of the tongue and do not even realize that paresthesia is a side symptom of many serious diseases. This problem cannot be left unresolved.

If you do not know for sure what your paresthesia is connected with (if it is not taking medication, visiting the dentist, anesthesia), then you cannot self-medicate. Numbness of the tongue is not an independent disease, but a symptom of another disease, so there is no way to cure it.

Sometimes people are faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as numbness of the tongue. It may vary in localization, for example, sensitivity may be impaired only in the region of the tip of the tongue or capture larger areas, and in intensity - from a slight decrease in sensitivity to its complete loss. In any case, you should consult a doctor, not self-medicating and not hoping that it will pass by itself.

For what reason can the tongue go numb

There are many reasons for such an unpleasant phenomenon as numbness of the tongue, which doctors call "paresthesia". For example, it can occur after treatment at the dentist, if during the extraction of a tooth or treatment of a deep cavity, the doctor accidentally damages the nerve. In this case, the sensitivity of the tongue will recover on its own after some time. This situation is not dangerous, you just need to be patient and wait for a full recovery.

The speed of recovery of sensitivity directly depends on how severe the nerve damage was.

The tongue may also become numb due to poorly placed dentures or malocclusion. For example, if there are different metals in dentures, galvanic currents can occur that reduce the sensitivity of the tongue. In these cases, after eliminating the causes, the numbness of the tongue passes quite quickly.

However, the cause of tongue numbness may be more serious. For example, it can indicate diseases:

• cervical spine
• thyroid gland
• organs of the nervous and digestive systems

As well as diabetes, some cardiovascular diseases.

Numbness of the tongue can be one of the symptoms of an impending heart attack or stroke. Therefore, in this case, you should immediately seek help from a doctor.

Often a decrease in the sensitivity of the tongue is caused by a side effect of certain medications. For example, a number of painkillers or drugs that ease coughing, sputum discharge.

The tongue can lose sensitivity as a result of various allergic reactions to external stimuli:

• food ingredients, drinks
• medicines
• animal hair, household items, etc.

Even chewing gum or toothpaste can cause numbness, for example, if you are allergic to one of the components.

A lack of certain vitamins, such as B12, can also lead to numbness of the tongue. Finally, the sensitivity of the tongue can change markedly due to experiences, increased nervousness, stressful situations, and depression.

The sensations of patients with a violation of the sensitivity of the tongue are very diverse: from slight numbness at the very tip of the tongue, causing only slight discomfort, to complete loss of sensitivity, often accompanied by severe tingling or burning. This burning sensation can also spread to the mucosal area.

In such cases, many patients become hyperexcitable, nervous, experience an obsessive fear of getting cancer (carcinophobia)

There are so many reasons for numbness of the tongue that only a qualified doctor can figure out this problem, it is dangerous for health to make a diagnosis on your own, because you can decide that the problem is not as terrible as it really is, thereby aggravating your condition.

What to do with numbness of the tongue

If you feel that the tongue is numb, you need to undergo a comprehensive examination, including testing for possible allergens. Most likely, you will have to visit such specialists as a dentist, endocrinologist and neurologist. All questions regarding past illnesses in the past year, medications you have taken, your daily routine, diet, oral care procedures, etc. must be answered in detail.

If possible, it is necessary to conduct magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and cervical spine

In any case, treatment should begin with the elimination of all factors that irritate the tongue. If necessary, it is necessary to replace incorrectly placed dentures, correct malocclusion, remove tartar, grind the sharp edges of crowns and fillings, making them smoother and not traumatic. It is necessary to adjust the diet, excluding from it foods that can irritate the tongue (for example, too spicy, salty, with an abundance of spicy seasonings).

Therapeutic treatment includes taking medications that have a sedative effect, improve blood circulation, metabolism, and, if necessary, vitamin complexes. Since impaired language sensitivity is often associated with disorders nervous system well can help:

• massage
• aromatic baths
• orderly daily routine
• exclusion of stressful, unnerving situations

In some cases, sanatorium treatment is indicated. The patient needs to tune in in advance to the fact that the treatment can be quite lengthy, and you will have to strictly follow all the prescriptions of the attending physician.

It is not worth using any folk remedies without consulting a doctor, especially if the cause of numbness is not clear.

Who will take care of our health, if not ourselves? The body of each of us is a multifunctional complex mechanism that is able to inform us of its malfunctions. Distress signals - the symptoms sent during the development of any of the diseases are vital and necessary, because it is thanks to their appearance that it is possible to suspect and cure the disease in a timely manner.

There are symptoms, such as headache or fever, that a person is not particularly worried about. The head can hurt from fatigue, and a high temperature can talk about a common cold. But why the language becomes numb is a question that requires due attention.

Paresthesia is one of the variants of sensory disturbance, in which there is a feeling of numbness, crawling and slight tingling.

Why does the tongue go numb after going to the dentist?

It often happens that after anesthesia, when a tooth of the lower jaw is removed, for some reason, the tongue becomes numb. At the same time, discomfort can persist even a few days after dental procedures. As a rule, this is due to partial damage to the nerve endings of the tongue, located near the root of the extracted tooth.

What to do?

If you are sure that the reason why the tongue goes numb is directly related to going to the dentist, you do not need to do anything. Within a few weeks, the sensitivity of the tongue will fully recover.

Why is the tip of the tongue and the left hand numb?

In people with cardiovascular disease, numbness of the tongue may be accompanied by paresthesia in another part of the body, such as the upper limb. In this case, the appearance of such sensations may be associated with an increase in blood pressure and indicate the development of cerebral circulation. The most life-threatening conditions in which the tongue can go numb are cerebral stroke and myocardial infarction.

What to do?

The presence of cardiovascular pathology significantly increases the risk of stroke. In case of tingling or numbness of the tongue, you should immediately inform your doctor to avoid serious complications.

Why is my tongue numb after brushing my teeth?

A feeling of crawling or numbness in the tongue often occurs after brushing your teeth. Toothpaste contains ingredients that can cause an allergic reaction.

What to do?

Use your usual toothpaste. Do not be influenced by advertising, experimenting with various pastes for cleansing the oral cavity. Try to buy toothpaste, having previously studied its composition.

Other reasons why the tongue goes numb.

A symptom such as numbness of the tongue can indicate the development of many unrelated diseases. The most common reasons why the tongue began to go numb include:

Osteochondrosis in the cervical spine: paresthesia of the tongue develops against the background of an exacerbation of the disease, when the restrained vertebrae compress the main vessels, provoking a violation of the blood supply;

Long-term use of antibiotics;

Violation of metabolic processes (diabetes mellitus);

Tumor formation in the brain;

Pregnancy: lack of vitamin B12, iron deficiency anemia can also provoke the development of paresthesia in the tongue;

Smoking: Cigarettes contain nicotine, which has a vasoconstrictive effect. For heavy smokers, tongue numbness is a common symptom;

Poisoning with poisons, exposure to radioactive radiation, alcohol poisoning;

Hormonal disorders (pathology of the thyroid gland);

Stress, hard work, emotional overstrain: in this case, the numbness of the tongue is one of the many neurological symptoms, which may include fear of eating solid food, impaired speech, dizziness, etc.;

The presence of vegetovascular dystonia (VVD).

Why is the tongue numb? Action plan to eliminate paresthesia.

The first step in the event of numbness of the tip of the tongue or the entire organ should be a visit to the doctor. Firstly, consulting a specialist will help to exclude some of the diseases in which paresthesia occurs. Secondly, the doctor will draw up an examination plan. The district therapist can easily cope with this task, so you should not disturb the endocrinologist or neuropathologist unnecessarily.

What examinations are necessary for numbness of the tongue?

If you suspect the presence of diabetes, it is enough to pass a general blood test to determine the level of glucose. For people suffering from hypertension, electrocardiography (ECG) and cardiac ultrasound (ultrasound) will not be superfluous. As for cases where, in addition to numbness of the tongue, there is dizziness, impaired coordination, incoherence of speech, etc., a more thorough and expensive examination is needed, which includes magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography of the brain (MRI, CT).

Sometimes we encounter unusual symptoms. For example, with numbness of the tongue. Such a pathology can occur in absolutely each of us and, as a rule, it indicates the presence of diseases or serious disorders in the body. Therefore, in such cases, you should not self-medicate. You need to see a doctor.

Numbness of the tongue appears quite rarely. Therefore, few people take this symptom seriously. Most often in such situations, we wait for everything to pass on its own. But this is wrong. First of all, you need to try to understand why the language began to go numb. In this article, we will tell you in more detail about the symptoms, causes and treatments for numbness of the tongue.

Symptoms of tongue numbness

Sometimes it can be very difficult to recognize the numbness of the tongue. After all, this is a rather specific symptom. Numbness can manifest itself in different ways:

• complete loss of sensation;
• tingling;
• feeling of "goosebumps".

All these symptoms are not dangerous, but very unpleasant for a person. Therefore, when they appear, you need to consult a doctor. After all, as mentioned above, numbness of the tongue does not occur without a reason. And, most likely, violations occurred in the body.

Why is the tongue numb

Numbness of the tongue can occur for various reasons. Very often, a person feels numbness of the tongue after a visit to the dentist. This happens due to the injection of an anesthetic drug. Any painkiller leads to loss of sensitivity. The numbness usually goes away after a few hours. If the tongue is numb for this reason, then you should not worry.

A serious condition such as anemia can lead to tongue numbness. Anemia develops when there is not enough hemoglobin in the blood and the number of red blood cells is reduced. However, you need to know that anemia, as a rule, is not an independent disease. It develops against the background of serious diseases.

Diabetes mellitus and some endocrine diseases cause numbness of the tongue. This symptom appears due to a lack of insulin in the blood. Diabetes and endocrine diseases cause a violation of fat, carbohydrate, mineral and protein metabolism.

Some medications and antibiotics cause side effects such as tongue numbness. This is not dangerous, since immediately after stopping the drug, the sensitivity of the tongue is restored. If you notice that after taking the medication, your tongue began to go numb, you should inform your doctor about this. You will most likely be given another medication that will not cause this side effect.

Very rarely, numbness of the tongue occurs due to an abnormal structure of the cranium. In this case, compression of the glossopharyngeal nerve occurs, which causes a feeling of numbness.

Such a serious disease as osteochondrosis of the spine can cause numbness of the tongue. The disease first affects the intervertebral discs and other parts of the spine. If left untreated, it can affect the nervous system and the entire musculoskeletal system.

The most serious cause of numbness of the tongue is diseases of the cardiovascular system. In this case, you need to conduct a complete examination of the cardiovascular system. Sometimes numbness of the tongue can indicate the development of a stroke.

Dental causes of tongue numbness

Many people have experienced tongue numbness in the dental office. Almost all manipulations with the teeth are performed by the doctor under anesthesia, so that the patient feels comfortable and does not interfere with work. Anesthesia can last from half an hour to several hours. However, after the end of its action, the numbness passes.

If the numbness of the tongue does not go away after a couple of hours, you need to see a doctor. Sometimes numbness may persist after a tooth has been removed. The thing is that the roots of the teeth and the nerve endings are located very close to each other and the dentist during the removal can accidentally touch the nerve and not notice it. If the nerve was simply hurt, but not damaged, then nothing terrible will happen and the sensitivity will return after about three weeks. If the nerve was damaged, then the sensitivity may return only after a couple of months.

If the numbness of the tongue persists for a long time, but it is not a matter of dental problems, then you should definitely contact a neurologist to rule out more serious diseases: stroke, spinal problems, and the like.

Numbness of the tongue with glossalgia

Glossalgia is a disease in which there is pain and discomfort in the tongue. With this disease, there are no visible changes in the body. Such a disease does not occur without a cause. Most often, it is the cause of other serious diseases that were not detected and cured at the time.

Glossalgia can occur due to neurological diseases, due to problems with the liver, after operations in the oral cavity. To get rid of the disease, you need to cure the underlying disease, which provoked the development of glossalgia.

Glossalgia most often affects women over the age of forty. Men are less susceptible to this disease. Glossalgia may occur after damage to the tongue by a foreign object. After damage, blood circulation may be disturbed, and blood will not flow to the mucous membrane of the tongue in full. The edges of the tongue can be damaged by hard food, a prosthesis, an incorrectly installed filling, during tooth extraction, as well as sharp edges of the teeth.

The symptoms of glossalgia are:

• pain;
• dry mouth;
• burning in the tongue;
• fatigue during a conversation;
• pinching and numbness of the tongue.

Unpleasant sensations appear along the edges of the tongue and at its tip. During eating or talking, all the symptoms are aggravated and cause much discomfort to the person. Treatment of glossalgia is prescribed individually. If it was provoked by another disease, then it is treated. If the cause is neurological diseases, then doctors prescribe B vitamins and bromides to the patient.

If the cause of glossalgia is associated with disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, then vitamins and injections of nicotinic acid will help. If the problems are of a dental nature, then you need to visit a dentist and eliminate them.

In case of illness, doctors must prescribe iron supplements and drugs that increase salivation. You can also remove unpleasant symptoms with folk methods:

• Pour a tablespoon of sage with a glass of boiling water and let it brew. In the same way, prepare an infusion of celandine. Then alternately rinse your mouth with two infusions for several weeks.
• Prepare a decoction of oak bark, cool and strain it. Then add a tablespoon of honey to the infusion and rinse your mouth with the resulting remedy for a month several times a day.

Treatment of numbness of the tongue

If the tongue is numb, it is necessary to contact a neurologist. He conducts a complete examination of the body to identify the cause. Also, the doctor carefully examines the patient's tongue. If there is a yellow coating on the tongue, then problems with the gastrointestinal tract are possible, or this may be the first sign of jaundice. A white coating on the tongue or a pale appearance of the tongue can indicate anemia and some infectious diseases, as well as heart failure. As soon as the cause of numbness is established, the doctor prescribes treatment for the underlying disease.