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“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal the patient with food.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”— Thomas A. Edison🌿“No illness which can be treated by diet should be treated by any other means.”— Maimonides (commonly attributed)🌿“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”— Ayurvedic proverb🌿“Medicine and food share a common origin.”— Traditional Chinese medicine saying🌿“Food is medicine is not only an idea whose time has come; it is absolutely essential.”— Dr Dariush Mozaffarian🌿“Nature is the true healer. The physician is only nature's assistant.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“All that man needs for health and healing has been provided in nature; the challenge of science is to find it.”— Attributed to Paracelsus🌿“Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws.”— Leonardo da Vinci🌿“The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”— Attributed to Voltaire🌿“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”— Benjamin Franklin🌿“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise — not too little and not too much — we would have found the safest way to health.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“Eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise.”— Hippocrates, On Regimen🌿“Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life.”— WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion🌿“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”— Sir William Osler🌿“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being — not merely the absence of disease.”— WHO Constitution🌿“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”— Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin🌿“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”— Michael Pollan🌿“Do not eat anything your great-grandmother would not recognise as food.”— Michael Pollan🌿“Diet-related diseases produce crushing health and economic burdens.”— Dr Dariush Mozaffarian🌿“One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.”— Sir William Osler🌿“Good food is a right, not a privilege.”— Alice Waters🌿“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal the patient with food.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”— Thomas A. Edison🌿“No illness which can be treated by diet should be treated by any other means.”— Maimonides (commonly attributed)🌿“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use; when diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”— Ayurvedic proverb🌿“Medicine and food share a common origin.”— Traditional Chinese medicine saying🌿“Food is medicine is not only an idea whose time has come; it is absolutely essential.”— Dr Dariush Mozaffarian🌿“Nature is the true healer. The physician is only nature's assistant.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“All that man needs for health and healing has been provided in nature; the challenge of science is to find it.”— Attributed to Paracelsus🌿“Vitality and beauty are gifts of Nature for those who live according to its laws.”— Leonardo da Vinci🌿“The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”— Attributed to Voltaire🌿“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”— Benjamin Franklin🌿“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise — not too little and not too much — we would have found the safest way to health.”— Attributed to Hippocrates🌿“Eating alone will not keep a man well; he must also take exercise.”— Hippocrates, On Regimen🌿“Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life.”— WHO Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion🌿“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”— Sir William Osler🌿“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being — not merely the absence of disease.”— WHO Constitution🌿“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”— Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin🌿“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”— Michael Pollan🌿“Do not eat anything your great-grandmother would not recognise as food.”— Michael Pollan🌿“Diet-related diseases produce crushing health and economic burdens.”— Dr Dariush Mozaffarian🌿“One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.”— Sir William Osler🌿“Good food is a right, not a privilege.”— Alice Waters🌿
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Farmicine Healthcare
Home remedy · Oral & Dental

Burning Mouth / Sore Tongue (supportive)

For: a burning, scalded or tingling feeling of the tongue, lips or mouth, sometimes a sore tongue or altered taste, without an obvious ulcer, often building through the day

Some research
See a doctor if: A mouth ulcer, or a white or red patch or lump lasting more than 2-3 weeks, numbness, difficulty swallowing, or burning with other symptoms - see a doctor or dentist without delay.

Kitchen remedies

Sip cool water and suck ice chips for relief; avoid spicy, acidic and very hot foods, alcohol and tobacco; plain cool curd; a soothing cool rinse; a varied diet to cover possible iron, B-vitamin or zinc shortfalls; keep the mouth moist if it tends to be dry (see the dry-mouth advisory)

Featured herbs

Yashtimadhu / Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) [uncommon-revival, mucosa soother], Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) [cool rinse], Coconut (Cocos nucifera) [oil-swish / cooling], Rose water (Rosa centifolia) [cool rinse], Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) [freshening]

How to prepare

Cool the mouth with sips of water or ice chips and keep off spicy, sour and very hot foods for a while. Swish a cool aloe or rose-water rinse, or do a gentle coconut-oil swish. Eat a varied diet rich in iron, B-vitamins and zinc (greens, dals, nuts, curd) and keep the mouth moist.

Cautions

A lasting burning mouth can be linked to nutrient shortfalls, a dry mouth, diabetes, thrush, or some medicines - the cause should be sought. Stopping tobacco and limiting alcohol helps.

Related remedies

Mouth UlcersBad Breath (Halitosis)Toothache (temporary relief)Gum Problems & Bleeding GumsCold Sores / Mouth Herpes (supportive)Oral Thrush / Mouth Candida (mild)Tooth Sensitivity (supportive)Gum Care & Oral Hygiene (traditional)
When to see a doctor. Home remedies are for minor, self-limiting complaints in adults. They are not a substitute for medical care, and herbs can interact with medicines. Not for children under the ages stated, in pregnancy, or with chronic conditions without a doctor's advice.