July 16, 2010 Tongue Pain

JULY 16, 2010
"Sometimes we'll take a few steps backward. That's OK too. Sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes it's part of going forward." from Codependent No More by Melody Beattie

Two other quotes that are related:

"CHOICE is the strongest principle of growth." - George Elliot
"PROCRASTINATION' is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -Don Marquis

We all need teachers. Life is our teacher. I might even say and I do believe that God is our teacher. God teaches us the lessons we need to learn. I do not think that God would put anything in our paths that we could not handle. I even believe that in time of death. I learned yesterday that two patients had passed on - with a difference in age of 60 years- 35 and 95 years, respectively. I pondered and thought about each of them. Different people, different ages, and different disease consequences. It is a step backward for me to reflect on my experience with each of them. It is necessary to show me life is so vital, beautiful and even cruel at times. I can look at their lives today with a smile. For one I have been part of their lives. I hopefully added something to their lives, as I know they added something to mine.

Again, yesterday a patient admitted that she didn't do the new dietary lifestyle perfectly. Well for one there is no perfection. It is progress. I asked, "Are you eating less chocolate?" The answer was yes. "Are you eating less bread and feeling less bloated?" Again, the answer was yes. So I am relieved and I try to make her see that this is progress. It is a lesson. Hopefully I have helped her see that. If I help one person in a given day. I smile and I am happy.

I cannot be in despair if I cannot help or reach everyone. I am a single person. I also must remember to help myself. This next week will be a reflection as I ponder my position as volunteer physician in Fire Island.

In my meditation, the gift of understanding has reached a deeper place within my heart.
Sorry I had to ramble, but I needed to.


Yesterday we discussed halitosis. Today we continue our focus on the mouth. I have many people who complain about a burning mouth or tongue. It is a common complaint. Do you want a tongue twister for the medical term for TONGUE PAIN? It is Glossodynia. Can you say that three times? I usually find the trigger for the pain and try to eliminate the problem. The most common cause is Food Allergies.

How many times in this blog have we talked about food allergies? If you reread the March 2010 blogs it is mentioned a lot. There are dramatic results if you find out what you are allergic to and eliminate those offenders from your diet. Remember you will need to get blood tests for the allergies using the IgG (delayed) not the IgE (immediate) test.

Other causes include your mouthwash or toothpaste. Try plain baking soda--it is not irritating. You might have pain right after a dental procedure especially the removal of mercury. Remember this month with the mercury blog? A filling that has been in since childhood will have lots of methl mercury vapor under it--so the removal will allow mercury into the system which can be the cause. Talk to your dentist and educate him/her.

Self smoking or second hand smoking can be a cause of your tongue pain. Even the canker sores in the blog two days ago (July 14,2010) can be a cause. For those older individuals,check your dentures. Even your appliances for TMJ and teeth grinding can be a cause.

There are even some medications and few herbs that can cause pain . I do know that Oil or Oregano taken without dilution can cause pain. I get a pain when I take Blue Verbena for the calming effect.

Mary Anne (Mary Ann, Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She is the author of seven novels, including The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876). Most of them are set in provincial England and well known for their realism and psychological insight. A woman takes a male pen name -- I wonder how many others like her/him are out there. Well not Samuel Clemens--Mark Twain.

Until tomorrow...