Burning Mouth Syndrome

In the vast majority of cases is the result of a deficiency of several key nutrients

Although this syndrome is not common, if you suffer from it you could care less how common it is, as you understand just how painful it can be.

However, in most all cases it can be treated, and if it is what is referred to as the secondary form, a deficiency of several nutrients is one of the major causes, and this is where the connection begins.

What exactly is it?

In connecting burning mouth syndrome and vitamins, it is very helpful to understand exactly what it is, the symptoms, the two types, as well as the potential causes and exactly which vitamins can help and why they help.

This syndrome is best described as a chronic burning sensation in your mouth that can be extremely painful as it can affect several areas of your mouth separately, or in some cases, your entire mouth.

These areas include your tongue, lips, gums, as well as the roof of your mouth, but it can also affect the insides of your cheek area.

If it is severe enough, it can literally affect your entire mouth and the pain can become so severe it will feel like you have scalded your mouth. However, there is one major difference; this scalding sensation just keeps coming.

Burning mouth syndrome is also referred to by other names including scalded mouth syndrome as well as burning lip or burning tongue syndrome, as these are the major symptoms, but they are not the only ones.

Symptoms and Patterns:

In further connecting burning mouth syndrome and vitamins, it is also helpful to understand all of the potential symptoms. The first and most obvious of the symptoms will be a very slow development of a burning like sensation that when it first begins, you will have no idea of what is actually happening.

However, it may also hit so fast and hard that one day your mouth will be totally normal and the next it will fill like you have just placed scaling hot water in your mouth by accident, as it can be that severe. In most all cases, it will be gradual but once it hits, it will begin to attack you every day.

There will be some days when you first wake up that there will be very little pain, but as the day continues, it will become increasingly more painful. There may also be periods of time when it will disappear just as quickly as it appeared, and just when you think it has gone forever, it will suddenly reappear.

This is one of the major reasons this syndrome is so very difficult to understand by the medical community, but there are still some other patterns that may develop. In some people, this pain may come and go and then become less painful with each occurrence, while there will be others where it can literally continue to attack you for several years.

The next series of symptoms that you may feel will be a tingling or numbness very similar to what you would experience from a pain numbing injection from your dentist; however, there was no shot.

Your mouth may also become very dry which will in turn make your extremely thirsty, and you may also experience a very sore mouth, again very similar to the feeling that you would have with extensive dental work.

There are also some cases where you may experience sudden taste changes where anything that you eat or drink will taste very bitter or almost metallic like in nature, or you may lose your sense of taste altogether.

Types and Potential Causes:

The connection between burning mouth syndrome and vitamins continues with the two type as well as some of the possible causes. The first type is referred to as primary, and with this form there is no known cause.

However, it is speculated that it may be the result of problems with both your taste as well as your sensory nerves originating in your nervous system, but that is all it is, as there is no evidence to support this.

The second form, which is by far and away the most common is referred to as secondary and is the result of an underlying medical condition. There are several potential causes of this form, but the major cause is believed to be the result a nutrient deficiency that includes the minerals iron and zinc, as well as several of the B class of vitamins including B-1, B-2, B-6, B-9, and B-12.

Other potential causes include dry mouth, oral yeast infections or thrush, as well as nerve damage to the nerves that control the sense of taste and pain in your tongue. Reflux of your stomach acids, certain medications, as well as diabetes may also be the underlying cause.

Burning Mouth Syndrome and Vitamins:

The connection between burning mouth syndrome and vitamins begins with B-1, also known as thiamin, as this nutrient helps to fuel your body by converting blood sugar into energy. However, it is also essential in the overall health of your brain cells, and a deficiency of it can very easily kill them, which in turn stops them from sending messages to your nerves.

B-2 or riboflavin is necessary for B-1 as well as B-6 to undergo their chemical changes in your body, and if you are deficient of this nutrient, it affects both of them from preforming their assigned tasks.

Vitamin B-6 is considered by most medical experts as critical to your body as water and oxygen are, as it is absolutely essential in several biological processes such as fat and protein metabolism.

It is also essential in making chemicals called neurotransmitters, which allow your brain cells to communicate with each other. It is believed that an interruption of this process affects your nerves, which may cause both forms of this syndrome.

However, the real power players with burning mouth syndrome and vitamins seem to be B-12, as well as zinc and iron. There is no other nutrient deficiency that can basically short circuit your body faster than B-12 for one very simple reason; it is vital in the production of myelin.

Myelin is a fatty sheath like substance that insulates all of the nerve fibers in your body, and without this protective covering, your electrical impulses cannot move through your body. If they are interrupted, it could very easily trigger this syndrome.

The mineral iron helps to form hemoglobin, which is the substance that helps all of your red blood cells to transport oxygen out of your lungs to the rest of your body, and if you are deficient of this nutrient, it impairs your immune system.

Zinc helps your body to create new skin cells as well as sperm cells, but it is also vital in the production of collagen, which are the connective tissues that protect your mucous linings of your mouth.

Summary:

The connection between burning mouth syndrome and vitamins is very strong, and a deficiency of these nutrients is one of the leading, if not the leading, causes of this syndrome. If you suffer from it and have not utilized them in your fight to stop it, maybe it is time you tested them for yourself.

Natural Treatments for Burning Mouth Syndrome

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