An Epileptic’s Guide to Tongue Injuries

One of the common injuries that people with Epilepsy face are wounds to their tongue as a convulsive seizure can sometimes lead to gnashing of the mouth. In this article, I’ll provide some pointers on how to provide some home care remedies that can truly help.

First, let’s cover the elephant in the room while also raising Epilepsy Awareness.

That’s an old wives’ tale. One’s tongue is firmly attached to one’s mouth. The greatest chance that one has to injure their tongue is if one bites it or if a witness inserts something into the mouth to “prevent” injury. Ironically, the prevention often causes far more damage than the witness was trying to prevent.

If you witness a person have a seizure, don’t put anything in their mouth.

Check Here For More Information on Seizure First Aid.

So what are we actually trying to solve?

Though I am not a medical professional, I can give suggestions that have worked best for me.

Bleeding

To prevent further bleeding, cotton balls or gauze are your best bet. Place the material near the wound and place pressure until the bleeding subsides. If it doesn’t after several minutes, you probably should go see a medical professional. You might need stitches or it might be infected.

Infection

A wound to the tongue, specifically a bad bite wound, should take several hours, days, or a week to recover. If you find that your recovery is taking longer than that, the wound might be already infected, and you should see a medical professional.

Other signs of infection are:

• The tongue is hot
• Pus
• Change in color (especially yellow)

Eating

We’re not going to lie, eating with a tongue wound is just not fun. That’s why I put this section under the above list. Anything I can do to curb your appetite will probably be appreciated in the long run.

When preparing food stay with the cool, soft stuff. Though gross sounding, room-temperature plain mashed potatoes, is filling and easy to get down without disturbing the wound. Frozen bananas are a great snack between meals.

One thing to think of is that although ice-cream seems like a no-brainer go-to food when your tongue is hurt, more and more ice-cream brands are adding stuff to your favorite flavors. Trust me, the world will end when you bite down on a hard-chocolate chip perfectly placed on the bite wound.

Another go-to food, smoothies, has another challenge: Strawberries. Their seeds can easily get trapped into a wound. Just be careful regarding any particulates.

Before sitting down to eat, spread Ambesol Gel on the wound. Though it doesn’t numb the wound entirely, it will take the edge away so you can eat your food quickly. I suggest buying multiple tubes and placing them throughout your home and work.

Cleaning

Can I still brush my teeth? — YES, PLEASE! Be gentle around the wound. The main ingredients in over the counter toothpaste are not likely to cause further damage. Plus, we all like having sparkling white teeth and especially no morning breath.

In my opinion, the best way to clean a tongue wound is a simple salt-water wash. Mix just a teaspoon of non-iodized salt into 8oz of water. Sip the water into your mouth making sure that it makes contact with the wound. Swish it around for about ten seconds and then spit it out. It isn’t the worst thing in the world if you drink it, but it isn’t great for you either. Plus, the whole point is to clean the wound, so you really don’t want to be drinking the waste. You’re going to want to perform the wash at least after each meal but as much as several times during the day.

Prevention

If you find yourself waking up in the morning with a sore tongue, you might be suffering from nocturnal seizures. You should see a medical professional for further treatment.

If you have nocturnal seizures, definitely look into sleeping with a dental (or “night”) guard. The guard doesn’t necessarily prevent bites, but it does dampen the effects of them when they happen. Because it is a plastic covering on to your normal teeth it dulls out the edges. Rather than getting punctures, one gets a solid pinch which is easier to deal with.

Helpful?

Was this article helpful? Did I miss anything? We know we have plenty of Epilepsy veterans out there. What works best for you? We would love to hear your comments down below or on Twitter at @BrainAblaze.

About the Author

David Clifford is the host of The Brain Ablaze Epilepsy Podcast. In fact, you can hear his whole story in Episode 4: Our Host. When he’s not contributing to Brain Ablaze, you can often find him chasing after his toddler daughter.