Expert: Ask Suz - 11/9/2007

Question
I often suffer from a burning tongue. Sometimes my tongue and mouth are dry. Certain foods like wine, salsa, and condiments are almost unbearable. What is your opinion on this problem? I am female, 64 years of age.

Answer
Hi Linda,
Most of the evidence suggests that this is a minor (but annoying) problem with certain nerves (called sensory nerves) that supply information from the oral tissues, especially the tongue, roof of the mouth and lips, to the brain. This "misinformation" includes telling the brain that the mouth (especially the tongue) feels scalded, that bad tastes are present, or that the texture of the mouth is wrong (usually a "dry" feeling).

Much less frequently, burning tongue symptoms may be caused by oral yeast infection or certain rare types of anemia and these should be ruled out. Here is my suggestion and I'm fairly sure I can help you if you're willing to find this product. Buy a bottle of vitamin B12
Mega "Dots" by Twinlab. These are NOt the same as taking a B12 tablet. These have five thousand micrograms of B12. They will not hurt you. You let one dissolve in your mouth and they taste great.
Take one per day. After one week you should notice the following results: 1) your tongue won't be burning (which tells me you're anemic) and 2) you won't have those tired, rundown feeling days I imagine you've been experiencing that you've attributed to "old age." You Could also get B12 injections from a doctor to "jump start" the correction in your B12 deficiency I think you have then start on the Mega Dots. Good luck Linda and please email me after you've taken these for about ten days, OK? Thanks, Suz