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Sometimes, without knowing the temperature of the hot coffee or hot water, we burn our taste-buds by sudden take of hot drinks. This causes our taste-buds in the tip of the tongue burn and for the next two days we can't really enjoy the taste of other food.

Is there a quick remedy for this so that the burn reduces within few hours? Well, ice pack doesn't help. Is there anything else?

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  • 3
    When you burn or scald yourself you have to be very very quick to douse the area with cold water, to prevent the heat from travelling further inwards.
    – Weather Vane
    Mar 9, 2020 at 11:42
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    Instead of remedy as the damage has been done, some quick relief is to cool the area quickly—as in suck ice chips or a popsicle™ to soothe the pain. Good reason to have one handy in the freezer.
    – Stan
    Mar 10, 2020 at 1:01
  • Lifehacks is not the right place to ask for medical advice
    – Caius Jard
    Oct 30, 2020 at 19:34
  • Note for Weather Vane and Stan, the standard medical advice from various healthcare providers for treatment of burns is to use cool water, not cold or frozen temperatures.. Questions about healthcare issues should be closed with a note to seek advice from the local healthcare provider, not random unqualified internet strangers with no ability to assess the condition
    – Caius Jard
    Oct 31, 2020 at 7:59
  • I doubt there is a good answer to your question. Instead I would concentrate on not burning my tongue in the first place. With liquids, like coffee, soup, etc., I sometimes put ice cubes in. Solids, I cut into smaller pieces so they have more surface area and cool more quickly. But the bottom line is that you have to develop patience and care when you do anything, so you don't injure yourself in the first place.
    – Edward Doolittle
    Jun 18, 2021 at 7:42

3 Answers 3

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When your tongue is really burnt, below are the first reach techniques to reduce the burn quickly:

  • Constantly touch with your tongue the surface of bottle of cold water, just taken from a refrigerator. (take care that the bottle surface should be clean and tidy)
  • Lick a piece of butter , so that butter instantly accept the temperature from your tongue by melting itself down. Thus causing less burn.
  • For some, where butter is allergic, good suggestion is ghee or honey wax(if it is edible and reachable in your locality)

Post applying these techniques, please

  • Avoid taking warm or hot drinks and food for a while. This provides tongue enough cooling window to heal the burnt part.
  • Also, try to avoid spicy food as it increases the body temperature and can affect the situation of your tongue.
  • Better suggestion is to have the food which does not ask too much work from your taste buds.

These simple techniques can reduce the discomfort. As tongue heals fast, just keep it cool.

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  • Do not apply butter, oil or greasy substances to a burn/scald. Do not use very cold water on a burn/scald. webmd.com/first-aid/thermal-heat-or-fire-burns-treatment#1
    – Caius Jard
    Oct 30, 2020 at 19:33
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    @Caius Jard: The same link says to cover the part with bandage, I wonder will you be doing that for toungue. The link already classifies burn into various types and so it depends. Moreover, the points I shared are commonly used out in my country side and have personally tried out.
    – MANEESH MOHAN
    Oct 31, 2020 at 3:15
  • I've linked a respected, regularly-reviewed-by-a-trained-medical-professional, medical advice site that directly contradicts your advice. You are not a medical professional. All the old wives treatments in your country do not amount to the equivalent of professional medical advice. Lifehacks is not the place to give out medical advice. If someone has a medical problem, refer them to their healthcare provider; do not presume to be a doctor and give advice to a patient you cannot examine and know nothing about
    – Caius Jard
    Oct 31, 2020 at 7:51
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I have put regular white granulated sugar on my tongue when I have burned it.

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I've found that a few minutes rinsing with baking soda and water soothes the tongue.

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