Sore tongue with dry mouth 🙁

[1Stella]

Hi everyone

Just wondered if any of you lovely people have suffered with a really sore and sensitive tongue as part of your Scleroderma? I always have a dry mouth regardless of how much I drink, but at the moment my tongue is particularly dry and the tip is so very sore. Biotene gel doesn’t last at all long. Have any of you tried Salivex pastilles and if so were they helpful? Many thanks - wishing you all a peaceful Christmas and a healthy New Year.

Sarah x

[LucyJean]

Hi there, Sorry to hear you are suffering! A sore mouth can make most meals a misery, especially when it is your tongue! I agree, the gels are an all or nothing phenomena...you put them in and it is too much, then 5 secs later, it is gone! However, Biotene do a whole range of products that you mind find are helpful including toothpastes and mouthwashes.

There are a lot of products out there for dry mouth...some better than others...they require a bit of a trial and error approach. You GP has access to pretty much all of them. There are pages worth in the BNF (British National Formulary...the GP drug bible). Basically they come in a variety of formats...gels, sprays and pastilles. Lots of people find the pastilles helpful as they stick around a bit longer. Just using sugar free sweets might help some people, and chewing gum can be useful too.

Make sure you are not using a mouthwash with alcohol base to it, as it can dry the mouth. Drinking tea can dry the mouth because of the tannin in it. Swill rather than drink sips of water.

Check your diet. Make sure you have a good range of B vitamins. Zinc and iron deficiencies can also have an impact.

Ask your GP to review your medications list as many of them can cause dry mouth!

Hope that helps a little bit.

All my best

Lucy xxx

[foxglove]

I use Oralieve dry mouth gel and find it very helpful I buy on line ..Salivex no use for me Or any others I have tried but we're all different - it is indeed trial and error. Another thing I find helps is Murray mints sweets

[1Stella in reply to foxglove]

Thank you foxglove for your reply - I guess it is very much trial and error with these things. Always useful to know what works for others as a good place to start - do thanks. Wishing you all the best xx

Sarah

[AJOC4]

I have scleroderma. I have dry mouth and the roof of my mouth and my tongue are regularly sore. I find Anbesol gel helps with the pain. The soreness lasts quite a long time and always returns too. It's difficult to eat anything but soft food because it hurts. I also suffer with swallowing food and nausea as well.