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8 Reasons Why The Roof Of Your Mouth Is Itchy

An itchy roof of the mouth (palate) sensation isn’t normal. Anytime the roof of mouth itchy feelings pop up, the first thing to come to most people’s minds is an allergic reaction. For example, you might have a food allergy to something like shellfish or peanuts, and itchiness or hives is one of the first signs you’ve been exposed.

Or, you just have really bad seasonal allergies/hay fever and it makes your entire body start to itch. But there are actually other common factors that can make the roof of mouth itchy. Knowing what to look for can help you reverse the irritation and prevent recurring infections.

Common Symptoms

As straightforward as it sounds, itchy roof of mouth sensations feels just like that: the roof of your mouth is itchy. You may or may not have other areas of your body that itch and tingle as well. It could even feel like a tiny pinprick or tingles across different areas of your mouth and face, such as inside of your cheeks, in the back of your throat, and over your lips.

In fact, there’s actually a condition known as “oral allergy syndrome” or OAS, that’s been recognized by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and it highly impacts people who are allergic to specific types of fruits or pollen. OAS is also known as “pollen fruit syndrome” or PFS, which can cause an itchy roof of the mouth.[1]

You’ll probably feel symptoms such as itchiness, a rash, burning, pinpricks, or tingling in the roof of your mouth. An itchy roof of the mouth is not to be confused with “burning mouth syndrome” which is an entirely different subject that we’ll have to save for another day!

Common Causes 

Understanding the most common causes of what makes your roof of mouth itchy will help you use the process of elimination to deal with the symptoms (and keep them from coming back.)

1) Allergy 

Allergic reactions can cause itchy, tingling sensations in different areas of the body. If the roof of your mouth is itchy all of a sudden, an allergy is probably the most likely cause.[2]

Symptoms

Experiencing an allergic reaction can cause symptoms of itchiness, trouble breathing, hives, sneezing, or even nasal congestion.

Treatment

An antihistamine (allergy medication such as Benadryl) is great for minor allergic reactions. However, if the itchy feeling starts to affect your airway, head to the nearest emergency room and use an Epi-pen if one is available.

2) Cold Sores 

“Fever blisters” or cold sores are caused by a specific strain of herpes virus (similar to chickenpox and shingles.) They typically cause a tingling, burning, or pinprick sensation once they start to develop.

Symptoms

Cold sores tend to first appear as an itchy, tingling sensation in the area where they’re about to form. A few days later, a small area of blisters will develop and turn into a larger, circular crevice in the skin.

Treatment

Typically, cold sores run their course in about 10-14 days. However, if you’re prone to frequent fever blisters, your dentist can prescribe a special medication that will shorten their life span. Laser therapy is also helpful!

3) Anaphylaxis 

The most severe allergic reaction is one that causes anaphylaxis. That is swelling and blockage of your airway, which can result in death. If you’re starting to notice that the roof of your mouth is itchy and you know you have serious allergies, you need to act fast.[3]

Symptoms

Anaphylaxis makes it difficult to breathe. You can also experience dizziness, hives (a rash all over your body), rapid heartbeat, nausea, or complete loss of consciousness.

Treatment

Immediate action is necessary. If possible, locate and administer an Epi-pen from a nearby emergency kit. Call 911. Head directly to the emergency room.

4) Yeast Infection 

This fungal infection is common in people who wear removable appliances like dentures and partials, individuals with autoimmune disorders or have vitamin deficiencies. It can also occur when natural oral flora is imbalanced, which is fairly common after taking antibiotics.

Symptoms

An itchy roof of the mouth, lips, cheeks, tongue, or back of the throat. The white residue wipes off of the tissues. White accumulation around the corners of the mouth.

Treatment

Improved oral hygiene, cleaning removable prosthetics, probiotics, and anti-fungal medication (such as nystatin.)

5) Itchy Mouth After Eating (Food Allergies) 

Having a food allergy is one of the most common causes of developing an itchy roof of mouth. If you feel like your mouth is tingly or itchy when eating a new food, it could be that you’re having an allergic reaction.

Symptoms

A food-induced allergy will almost immediately cause oral symptoms such as swelling to the lips, itchy roof of mouth, or in severe cases even restriction in the airway.

Treatment

Depending on the severity of your food allergy, you may only need an over-the-counter antihistamine (Benadryl) and to avoid the food in the future. But if you’re known to have severe food allergies, keep an Epi-pen on hand and wear a medical ID bracelet so that someone can call 911.

6) Oral Thrush

Usually we think of oral thrush as a condition that affects babies. However, it’s essentially the same thing as a yeast infection.[4]

Symptoms

Thrush can cause white residue inside of the mouth, raw-looking oral tissues, and itchy roof of mouth. Babies may be irritable and not want to eat well.

Treatment

Discuss antifungal treatment with your dentist, doctor, or pediatrician. Wipe baby’s mouth after every feeding with a clean, damp cloth.

7) Viral Infection 

Certain types of viruses can cause itchy, burning sensations. Whether you have the virus that causes cold sores or one that’s affecting your overall body, your mouth and upper respiratory tract can easily be affected.

Symptoms

In addition to irritation or burning roof of mouth, you might also notice other common viral symptoms such as sneezing, a runny nose, sore throat, or swollen lymph nodes.

Treatment

Viruses such as the common cold typically run their course. However, the flu or other types of viruses may require prescription antiviral meds. Rest, stay hydrated, and listen to your body.

8) Anxiety 

Although less common, anxiety can cause sensations of tingling or burning around the lips and mouth.

Symptoms

Anxiety affects everyone differently. You might have increased respiration, perspiration, and heart rate. Or you could feel dizzy and lightheaded. For some people, tingling in the mouth or other parts of the body is normal.

Treatment

Talk with a licensed mental health professional about a customized plan to help you cope with anxiety as it relates to your unique situation.

Preventing Itchy Roof Of Mouth

If you find that the roof of mouth itchy sensation is something that flares up frequently, it’s important to address the cause before a more serious condition (such as anaphylaxis or death) becomes a factor. Your doctor may recommend allergy testing to determine the exact types of foods or pollens that you’re allergic to, so that you can eliminate them from your diet. Or they could have you stick to a very strict meal plan, gradually adding foods back into your diet so that you can identify exactly which ones are bothering you.

If your roof of mouth itchy feeling is because of an infection such as yeast or thrush, after you’re treated with antibiotics, you’ll need to adjust your oral care routine. This includes rigorous cleaning of any removable appliances – such as dentures or retainers – changing out your toothbrush and cleaning your mouth out regularly throughout the day.

Autoimmune disorders make some people more prone to getting thrush or itchy mouth symptoms. So always be sure to communicate with your dentist and doctor to find the right regimen that keeps your natural oral flora in the perfect balance. For example, if you’re taking antibiotics, your dentist may also recommend an oral probiotic to maintain a healthy number of “good” bacteria.

Relieving Itchy Mouth At Home

First off, use a process of elimination to determine what’s causing your itchy roof of mouth. If you require medical care, speak to a doctor. Otherwise, there are some tips your dentist offers to help minimize irritation and itchiness so that it doesn’t bother you so much.

• as long as you’re cleared to do so, consider taking an anti-histamine or similar allergy medication to prevent chronic flare-ups
• practice good oral hygiene to minimize bacterial or yeast infections
• have your doctor or dentist call in an antifungal medication (such as nystatin)
• keep an Epi-pen on hand for emergencies
• rinse your mouth regularly with a non-alcoholic mouthwash
• ask your dentist about prescribing “miracle mouthwash” for when symptoms are moderate to severe
• maintain a restrictive diet if you’re known to have specific types of food allergies
• take an oral probiotic each day or eat foods rich in probiotics, such as yogurt
• if tingling/burning is anxiety-induced, practice good self-care, meditation, and mindfulness exercises

Overcoming A Itchy Roof Of Mouth

There are at least a dozen different things that can give you an itchy roof of mouth (palate). They range from allergic reactions to food and oral infections such as thrush, to anxiety attacks and virus-related cold sores. Understanding how roof of mouth itchy-sensations work, how often they flare up, and the extent of their severity can help you determine the best route of treatment.

If the symptoms are minor to moderate, talk with your dentist or physician to determine the underlying cause and how to prevent it from coming back. You might need to adjust your home care routine or take a prescription medication. Bottom line, if you think you’re experiencing an allergic reaction to something you ate, use an Epi-pen and head to the nearest emergency room. 

Allergic rhinitis during pregnancy: description of the disease, causes, symptoms, cost of treatment in Moscow

Allergic rhinitis during pregnancy is not uncommon, as the woman's body begins to react more violently to any irritants due to the peculiarities of the hormonal background and some disturbances in the functioning of the nasal mucosa. Most often, before pregnancy, the woman did not have a negative reaction to substances that become irritants when carrying a child. The disease usually debuts abruptly and unexpectedly. Since the condition of a woman with such a phenomenon worsens, it is imperative that when rhinitis appears, it is necessary to seek medical help. It is strictly forbidden to treat the disease on your own due to the fact that serious harm to the fetus can be caused by errors in therapy. Any treatment should be coordinated with the gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy. nine0003

Rhinitis of an allergic nature during pregnancy is primarily due to hormonal changes and features of the immune system. In this case, an unpleasant phenomenon can occur both from the very first day after conception, and after a few months of gestation. According to medical statistics, every third woman suffers from such a disorder during pregnancy. In most cases, after childbirth, rhinitis goes away, and what was an allergen again begins to be normally tolerated by the body. If allergic rhinitis develops during pregnancy, treatment should be mandatory. nine0003

There is usually only one allergen during pregnancy. Intolerance to two or more substances, if it was not previously, is considered an exceptional phenomenon. The most harmless is an allergy to cold, in which rhinitis develops only on the street during the cold season and completely disappears indoors. This form of the disease is not so dangerous, as it is present sporadically and for a short time. With it, the risk of complications is extremely small, and it does not greatly disturb the general condition.

Major irritants

Doctors were able to determine which irritants most often provoke allergic rhinitis. This greatly helps in the treatment of the disease, as it simplifies the process of determining the allergen, the effect of which should be minimized as much as possible.

Allergic rhinitis develops at the moment when an irritant enters the mucous membrane. Due to its presence, inflammation of the mucosa occurs and, as a result, its swelling. The body, in order to get rid of the allergen, begins to secrete a large amount of especially liquid mucus, which should wash it out. Due to the fact that the allergen is constantly supplied with air, it cannot be removed naturally. As a result, it is impossible to solve the problem of allergic rhinitis without drugs. nine0003

The main allergens that can cause problems in pregnant women are:

• pollen of plants and their seeds - they are the cause of rhinitis in the warm season. With these irritants, health may remain unsatisfactory until the very end of the growing season of plants;

• smoke from cigarettes or wood - such irritants usually begin to cause damage to health if a woman lives in an area with unfavorable environmental conditions; nine0003

• Dust - it is not the dust itself that causes allergies, but the dust mites that live in it. Because of this, a negative reaction of the body also occurs when using down pillows and blankets, in which there are ideal conditions for the life of dust mites;

• air fresheners and deodorants - they contain a large number of aggressive chemical components that can cause allergies even in non-pregnant women, and when carrying a child, they almost always provoke a runny nose; nine0003

• animal hair and bird feathers - sometimes during pregnancy, an allergy to pets can develop, although there were no negative consequences from their stay in the house before. To solve the problem, the animal, which has become a source of irritants, must be isolated from the woman in another room until the birth of the child and minimize her contact with him.

Whatever the cause of the disease, it is necessary to carry out treatment with the involvement of a specialist. Self-medication during pregnancy is extremely dangerous and can lead to irreversible negative consequences. nine0003

Quite often, before an allergic rhinitis occurs, a woman has a simple catarrhal rhinitis. During pregnancy, it is this form of the disease that often becomes the impetus for the development of a pathological process, in which something will no longer be tolerated by the body.

At what time is the disease especially dangerous

Depending on how pregnant a woman is, allergic rhinitis poses a greater or lesser danger. The most serious problem is the problem that occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy. At this moment, all systems and organs of the unborn child are laid, and with a lack of oxygen in the blood, especially severe congenital malformations or intrauterine death of the fetus can occur. When a woman in the first trimester does not pay attention to her well-being and does not treat allergic rhinitis, the risk of miscarriage increases many times due to respiratory failure at night. If allergic rhinitis is present in pregnant women, only a doctor will determine how to treat it. nine0003

In the second and third trimester, the lack of oxygen in the mother's blood also does not benefit the child. However, due to the enlarged belly, a woman can only sleep on her side (otherwise she is uncomfortable), respiratory disorders are not so strong and threaten deformities to a lesser extent. At the same time, if you do not start treatment, the symptoms of rhinitis will increase and nasal congestion will constantly disturb. This is already dangerous for the child and can even cause premature birth against the background of general hypoxia of the mother and fetus. nine0003

Forecast

In the event that attention was paid to allergic rhinitis in pregnant women in a timely manner, the prognosis is positive. The violation can be effectively dealt with with the help of drugs allowed during this period, and then the risk of harm to the mother and fetus when an allergy appears will be eliminated. The doctor, if necessary, will adjust the treatment and will be able to build it so that there are no negative side effects of therapy.

If therapy is not started on time and severe fetal hypoxia is already present, then the prognosis is usually considered difficult, since this condition does not pass without a trace for the unborn child. Also, the prognosis will be unfavorable if the treatment was carried out on its own without the involvement of a specialist. In such a situation, there is a risk of serious consequences for the child, due to the fact that the mother used the wrong drugs. nine0003

Differences from colds

There are certain signs that even allow you to independently understand whether a cold or an allergic cause has a runny nose. The main distinguishing feature is that the snot in case of an allergic disorder is liquid, transparent, more like water. If the disease is cold, then the discharge becomes thick, green or yellow-green. They may also have a strong odor. In addition, with a cold, there is an increase in temperature, but not with an allergic one. nine0003

How to cure allergic rhinitis during pregnancy?

Allergic rhinitis develops as a specific response of the body to an allergen and is accompanied by swelling of the nasal mucosa, runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes. During pregnancy, the situation is aggravated by the fact that it is rather problematic to treat allergic rhinitis during this period. Let's try to figure out what are the causes of the disease and what methods of treatment should be chosen so as not to harm the health of the woman and the unborn child? nine0003

What is the danger?

An additional load on the immune system, hormonal imbalance increases the risk of such terrible complications for a woman as Quincke's edema or anaphylactic shock. There is also a danger to the unborn child. Prolonged nasal breathing difficulties experienced by the mother due to nasopharyngeal edema can cause fetal hypoxia and intrauterine growth retardation. In addition, discomfort, poor health of a woman negatively affects the condition of the child. nine0003

However, the greatest threat comes from improper treatment. Those drugs that have been successfully used before pregnancy can lead to impaired fetal development. Uncontrolled medication is especially dangerous in the first month of pregnancy, when the neural tube and other vital structures of the body are laid. Therefore, the treatment regimen for allergic rhinitis should be selected only by a doctor after a thorough examination of the woman.

Etiology

Allergic rhinitis is caused by the body's hypersensitivity to a provoking agent (allergen). The next contact with the latter triggers a chain of specific immune reactions with the release of substances that form inflammation in the nasal mucosa. Typical precipitating factors are:

• house dust microscopic mites;
• wool, down, pet excrement;
• moulds, especially during sporulation;
• some products;
• household chemicals, perfumery, certain medicines.

It should be noted that in pregnant women the content of estrogen, β-estradiol, growth hormone increases, which increase the reactivity of the immune system. Therefore, the intensity of seizures during gestation can increase significantly. However, a high concentration of estrogen disrupts vascular motility, causing vasomotor rhinitis during pregnancy. It develops in 20-30% of women and disappears after childbirth. Only a plasma test for the presence of class E immunoglobulins, which serve as markers of allergic reactions, can confirm or refute the allergic nature of the disease. nine0003

Symptoms

During an exacerbation of the disease, a woman is disturbed by difficulty in nasal breathing, runny nose, sneezing, itching in the nose and eyes, watery eyes, swelling of the eyelids. Allergic rhinitis in pregnant women is often accompanied by systemic manifestations of the disease:

• dizziness, weakness, hypotension;
• headache;
• sleep disorder;
• increased irritability.

Diagnosis

Examination is carried out by a general practitioner and an allergist-immunologist. When diagnosing, it is important to exclude a respiratory infection, vasomotor rhinitis, drug-induced rhinitis. For this purpose, blood and nasal mucus smears are tested for specific antibodies. For special indications, skin allergy tests are performed. nine0003

Treatment

Treatment of pregnant women with allergic rhinitis is aimed at eliminating the allergen and stopping the symptoms of the disease. In the first trimester, the main methods of therapy are nasal lavage with isotonic solutions and preventive measures aimed at limiting contact with the allergen (regular wet cleaning, airing, frequent bed linen changes, exclusion of potentially dangerous foods from the diet, isolation of pets).

Medicines

Drug therapy is used in severe cases, when the benefits of taking drugs significantly outweigh the risk of toxic effects on the fetus.

Nasal lavage

If the treatment of allergic rhinitis during pregnancy excludes the use of most drugs, the question arises - how to treat the disease? In such a situation, sanitation of the nasal cavities with saline solutions acquires an important therapeutic value. The ingredients of isotonic solutions do not cross the placenta, and therefore do not affect the development of the fetus. Washing with sea solutions cleanses the nasal mucosa from allergens, toxins, infectious agents, without causing dryness of the nasal membranes and without causing hypertension in a pregnant woman. nine0003

To achieve the maximum therapeutic effect, it is necessary to rinse the nose at least 5 times a day, it is better to warm the liquid up to 36-37 °C. When using herbal infusions for the treatment of allergic rhinitis during pregnancy, you should make sure that the plant components in their composition do not have allergenic properties.

Aqualor preparations

Aqualor products are ready-to-use solutions based on natural sea water.

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