Geographic Tongue Remedy

[Abre22]

I have had geographic tongue most of my 56 years. A dentist made a recommendation which has been very helpful in treating the discomfort. I keep liquid Pepto Bismol and liquid Benadryl on hand. At the first sign of patches and pain I take a swig of each, gargle and swish it around in my mouth, then spit it out. It really works instantly in minimizing the pain and seems to help "heal" my tongue more quickly than doing nothing at all. I do this as often as necessary during the day, it provides very soothing relief. Hope this helps somebody with this weird and annoying problem.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Thanks for that interesting comment, Abre.

Just one thing, could you let us know what the ingredients are of the liquid Benadryl? This is a product which varies around the world and the version in Ukraine might not be the same as ours.

Have you ever had your thyroid tested?

Have you ever been tested for vitamin B12?

Rod

[Abre22]

I haven't specifically had my thyroid or B12 tested, just figured a problem or deficiency would have shown up in previous physicals. I have no other symptoms that I know of that would indicate a problem, but now that I have read this blog I will certainly investigate.

Here are the ingredients in Benadryl, I use the cherry flavored Children's, quite common and over-the-counter in the U.S. Hope this helps...

Active Ingredient :

Diphenhydramine HCl

Purpose:

Antihistamine

[Stourie in reply to Abre22]

Hi there, could you please tell me what geographic tongue is please?

Jo xx

[Abre22]

Joanna, sorry my comments ended up on this UK Thyroid Support blog. It appears that some folks believe there may be a connection between geographic tongue and a thyroid problem. I don't know about that, but I can tell you that geographic tongue is a patchy and painful tongue condition, sort of looks like the craters in the moon. In my experience, it comes and goes. I haven't been able to blame it on spicy food, alcohol, thyroid, or anything else. Each time I've mentioned it over the years to either doctors or dentists I get the same "it's nothing to worry about" response which I find both frustrating and potentially inaccurate, Besides being kind of fugly and irritating I have just grown used to the "condition" for lack of a better description. If you had it you'd know, believe me...