Numb tongue facts

Introduction to numb tongue

When a person has a numb tongue it is usually a symptom of a nerve giving some kind of sensory components to the tongue is damaged.

When people are having some kind of numb feeling in their body, they usually report it in their hands and feet, but people who have numbness in their tongues will also lose the ability to taste foods and beverages.

Also, when numbness is experiences in the tongue, then the person will also have serious problems when trying to talk and the speech is usually much slower and words are slurred together.

This also leads to a lot of embarrassment when trying to communicate with people in most cases.

Symptoms

One of the most common symptoms of a numb tongue is a sensation of so-called “pins and needles” on the tongue. The tingling sensation can at times lead to the development of a bad taste in the mouth.

Unfortunately, no matter how strong or tasty the food is that a person is eating, when they have a numb tongue then there will hardly be able to taste it, if at all.

What’s worse, the food will leave a nasty taste in the mouth as well. Causes

One common cause of a numb tongue is paresthesia, which is an uncomfortable condition that affects the skin and can also affect the tongue. The taste sensation in the tongue is controlled by sensory nerves and when these nerves are strained they will get injured an cause paresthesia, which can last for several days or several months depend on how severely the nerves were damaged.

When numbness of the tongue causes a lack of ability to taste food it can also lead to a condition called burning mouth syndrome, which obviously, causes a burning sensation in the mouth, especially the tongue, lips and gums.

It is usually caused by a lack of vitamin B12 or a hormonal imbalance.

Anesthesia can also cause tongue numbness and speech problems, along with a considerable amount of pain. This happens when a person is given anesthesia when removing a tooth. The dentist will inject the anesthesia in the gums or the tooth, but the numbness can often spread to the tongue and impair the person’s ability to talk and taste foods.

Many medications, such as antibiotics, can also cause tongue numbness, especially, those that are given to treat bacterial infections. They can trigger allergic reactions and lead to blisters forming on the tongue that can cause numbness.