I have a soft swelling under my tongue. It's painless. I'd like to know if it's likely to be a blocked saliva duct.To give you a bit of history, I've been drinking for 10 days and haven't eaten for this amount of time, so I know I've compromised my immune system and likely very dehydrated. I had a sore throat a couple of days ago but it seems to have gone now.
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Female Person's Age: 43 Already Tried: Calling my doctor but she didn't really give me any answers. Also researched on the internet.
Thank you for your question. I'll do my best to answer it for you.
I don't think it is a blocked saliva duct, when the saliva cannot exit a blocked duct, it backs up into gland, causing pain and swelling of the gland. The most common symptoms are pain and swelling of the gland at mealtime unlike your case.
in such case the pain can be sudden and just after starting a meal .swelling soon follows. the pain and swelling ease over about 1-3 hours after a meal.
But I must mention that in some cases stones do not cause any symptoms.
In such case an X-ray or CT scan should be the best way to find the cause of swelling. also salivary function tests ,eye tests and blood test can be helpfull.
dehydration is one of the main factor that contribute the condition and also decrease of food intake that lowers the demand for saliva.
In most of cases small stones might pass out of the duct without treatment .If not a doctor might be remove a stone by pressing on it if the stone is close to the opening duct.
I highly recommend you drink a rehydration drink, water, juice, or sports drink to replace fluids and minerals. Drink 2L of cool liquid a day.Drinking at least 10 glasses of liquid a day can increase the salivation and solve the problem.
I hope you are feeling better soon. If you have any more questions, I will be pleased to answer them.
It seems to have gone down which is a bit weird. What do you think it could have been in that case? Oh and thank you for your answer. Much appreciated.
I think it is just a mild swelling of sub
sc tissues.
I personally don't think it is dangerous.
you should wait a couple of days and then to decide.
If it was a blocked salivary duct It could swelling due to bacterial or viral infection that cause the difficulty in saliva flow(that you don't have!). Also, it could be condition called mucocele, which is harmless cyst that may appear not only under the tongue but also on gums, palate or inner lips. But since you mentioned that you have no pain when swallowing (eating), it's not blocked salivary duct due to salivary duct stone or sialolithiasis. This condition occurs when calcium concretions form within the duct or salivary gland. These stones may partially or completely block the salivary flow from these glands and this usually causes pain and swelling in the affected gland. This pain occurs especially when eating and swallowing because saliva flow is most stimulated at this time.Having salivary gland stones also mean that patient may suffer from xerostomia or dry mouth due to diminished saliva.Keep in mind that salivary stones are just uncomfortable but not dangerous.
If you have any more questions, I will be pleased to answer them.
Thanks. It still seems to be hugely reduced so I think I'll be ok. Just need to sort myself out physically and mentally now.
I hope you feel better soon and heal fast.If you have any more questions, I will be pleased to answer them.
Experience: Doctor of Dental Medicine, MClin Dent Prosthodontics