Tongue Pimples

What causes painful little bumps on the tongue? What gets rid of them? My southern mom called them lie bumps.?

We've all had them. Those painful little bumps on the tongue, usually on the tip. My old Southern Mother used to called them "lie bumps." Don't know if that's a southern saying or something she made up. I've heard acid foods (tomatoes, sour stuff) can cause them. I'd like to know for sure and how to get rid of them.

Public Comments

1. salty things give em to me :( im not sure theres anything to do but just ignore em till they go away on their own
2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_treat_lie_bumps_on_the_tongue
3. think from what you're describing sounds like mouth ulcers, they can appear anywhere inside the mouth, on the tongue, cheeks or lips. A lot of the time they are caused by stress or maybe you ate something spicy that irritated your tongue and caused them to appear. try bonjela gel to soothe them and don't worry they should clear up after a couple of days :-) hope this helps.
4. Now there is a term I haven't heard since my own southern grandma passed away. Since then though, I have learned what they really are. The fancy name for "lie bumps" is transient lingual papillitis. Basically this condition represents a mild inflammation of some of the tiny bumps on the upper surface of the tongue. These particular bumps contain some of the taste buds of the tongue and because of this, they contain a lot of nerves. Even a little inflammation causes these bumps to hurt much more than their size would indicate. They can occur anywhere on the tongue, but the tip and center do seem particularly suceptible. That's probably because those are the spots most in contact with food. Acidic things, and highly spiced things would most likely be your culprits. Acidic is pretty obvious- it just eats away at your poor taste buds and the surface. Spiced things, especially peppers, contain capsacium. That is what makes them hot to start with, and is a prime ingredient in those athletic rubs that make things warm. So, if it can toast up a sore thigh muscle, you know it's got to be doing some rough stuff on the old tongue. Not much way to get rid of them, except wait them out and be careful what you put in your mouth. In a really severe attack, a doctor can prescribe a viscous lidocaine solution that will numb things up so you can eat in relative comfort. The down side of that is deadening the tongue also leaves you with no taste at all. Good oral hygiene when you have them is a must as well, since you are more easily caught out with a yeast infection - thrush, when the mucosa are irritable. And now you know. Lies aren't necessary, just something irritating to the tongue.