Top Causes of Tongue Numbness

Common tongue numbness symptoms

Numbness is a loss of sensation in a body part. Many people have experienced this sensation upon falling asleep for too long on a crooked arm or typing for too long on a keyboard. However, symptoms of tongue numbness are not as common an occurrence and can be very frightening. Furthermore, the numbness may be associated with other symptoms that may feel strange and disconcerting.

For example, symptoms you may also experience that accompany your tongue numbness include:

• Burning or tingling
• Pins and needles sensation
• Swelling
• Itching
• Weakness
• Facial pain

These symptoms may occur in the tongue or close to the tongue such as around the mouth. These tongue numbness symptoms are often temporary, but unlike being able to find quick relief for symptoms such as hand numbness, tongue numbness may be more difficult to resolve. As a result, it is important to follow up with your doctor and get appropriate care as soon as you notice tongue numbness symptoms.

Why does your tongue feel numb?

Numbness is generally the result of injury, compression or irritation of a nerve or a branch of one of the nerves in the body part effected. The tongue is composed of nerves and small blood vessels that begin higher up in the face and brain. The nerves and vessels branch off in various directions to give blood flow and sensation throughout the tongue.

Furthermore, the tongue is one of the first body parts that comes into contact with the outside world whether it is food, drink or other substances, the tongue is a gateway for protecting the body from harmful elements. As a result, the tongue is very sensitive, and a common defense mechanism it utilizes to protect the body includes numbness.

There are many causes that can affect the nerves and blood vessels in the tongue as well as causes that trigger a protective response from the tongue.

Inflammatory causes:

• Allergic: If your tongue comes into contact with a food, chemical or substance that your immune systems recognizes as harmful, it may swell and become tingly and numb due to the reaction.
• Autoimmune: Many inflammatory diseases or underlying illnesses that result in the body attacking itself can also affect the nerves in the tongue and cause injury that results in numbness. Conditions such as multiple sclerosis and lupus are examples of such autoimmune diseases.
• Infectious: Bacterial infections such as Lyme disease and viral infections such as shingles can cause inflammation and nerve injury that results in numbness and paralysis of the face. This paralysis can spread to also include the tongue and around the mouth.
• Cold sore: A viral sore caused by the herpes simplex virus.

Treating a numb, tingling tongue

Tongue numbness is a symptom that necessitates prompt follow-up with your doctor.

While you wait for you appointment, try these at home remedies in order to combat your tongue numbness symptoms:

• Balanced diet rich in essential vitamins to keep the nerves healthy: Fruits, vegetables, grains and lean proteins can provide your body with the nutrition necessary to keep your nerves healthy.
• Regular exercise: Maintaining an optimal weight with exercise as well as a balanced diet can prevent and also control metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes that can cause your tongue numbness symptoms.
• Avoid foods that may trigger an allergic reaction: Take note of foods that seem related to your symptoms. Common foods that trigger allergies include nuts, fish and wheat. Some people are allergic to common fruits and vegetables such as melons or peaches.

Depending on the cause of your tongue numbness symptoms, your doctor may first suggest the following treatment options.

• Supplementation: If your symptoms are due to vitamin or mineral imbalance, your doctor may prescribe supplements that you can take to help your body get back on track.
• Medications to dilate blood vessels: Medications can widen narrowed blood vessels by dilating them.
• Migraine medication: If your tongue numbness has been a signal for imminent migraines, your doctor can prescribe medication to give you relief from your headaches.

If you experience any symptoms of speech difficulty, facial drooping, or weakness to the point you cannot other body parts call 911 immediately. These could be signs of a stroke. The key signs can be remembered by the acronym FAST (facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, time to call 911).

Furthermore, if you experience tongue numbness in addition to wheezing or trouble breathing, difficulty swallowing, throat tightness or hives also call 911 immediately. These could be signs of a serious allergic reaction.