Swollen Tongue and Nasal Passages

Hi Nicole,

You didn't say how long you've been trying these alternative therapies. I am an acupuncturist, and it sounds as though your symptoms are pretty severe. (This may be the understatement of the century! :)) The first comment posted suggested antihistamines. These are often very effective in the short term, but are not a good long-term solution to an allergy problem. Keep in mind that if you do use Western pharmaceutical drugs or OTC drugs, they are masking the problem, not solving it. If you do use these kinds of products, it's very important to continue working on the underlying causes, which your ND and LAc will be able to help you with. And it likely will be a long-term course of treatment. Ask your alternative care providers if a detoxification program might help you, if it hasn't been suggested already. (They may be working around to this, so if you don't feel like jumping the gun that's fine too.)

About the swollen tongue, you are probably right in assuming that it correlates with the swelling in your sinuses. Tongues (and other tissues) get swollen because of poor fluid circulation that either exists because of lack of strength in the body or because of other gunk (we call it dampness, and it's created by a weak Spleen, or inefficient digestion in Western terms) that can get in the way of normal fluid circulation. This swelling is actually probably occurring throughout your entire body and affecting all organs and tissues. It's going to take some time to be able to resolve this, but it sounds like you're on the right track, and just stick with it! Best of luck!!!

Jennifer

Hi Nicole,
In acupuncture we look at all aspects of the body, the tongue being one aspect. We use this as a diagnostic tool in determining what acupuncture points we should use. Having a swollen tongue in chinese medicine means a few things. We would say you have spleen qi deficiency. This does not mean that you have something wrong with your spleen. It just means that the energy of the spleen is not working at full force. The spleen in chinese medicine is associated with digestion. Your acupuncturist may have you working on not eating foods that are cold (ice cream), raw (uncooked veggies), deep fat fried, alcohol, or dairy. These all can impact the energy of the spleen. Again, there is nothing wrong with your spleen, this is just medical terminology of acupuncturists. Please ask your acupuncturist what she means when she is saying your tongue is swollen or puffy. My tongue is often thin and pale, indicating that I am liver blood deficient. Again there is nothing wrong with my liver or my blood, just the energies of them are not as full as they could be. We acupuncturist love to ask you questions that you may find odd, like how your bowel movements are, and we like to look at your tongue and take your pulses. The tongue is just one diagnostic tool that we use in acupuncture. If you hear anything that your acupuncturist says that you find odd please ask them to clarify. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have as well.

Hi Nicole,

Angel On The Run here, (K.) I am sensitive to many things too, as for the sinus/nasal, I cut back on any dairy product. Your best bet is to go to a Naturalpathic doctor, I do. I live in Beaverton Oregon and I go to a Naturalpathic College, it's called NCNM, Natural College for Natural Medicine, they treat mental illness also. They're students/interns finishing school and are assisted by doctors. They're wonderful people, I love them, they spend a lot of time with me they treat me with supplements not pharmaceuticals as they only wear down the immune system. And the best part is it's very affordable, hope this helps, take care and God Bless you.

check with your medical doctor to have your adnoids and tonsils checked out (sorry for the spelling)I went through this up to eleven yrs old not breathing out my nose much gasping for deep breaths of air,I had headaches too,it stopped my sisters hearing for awhile too we both had ours removed, she has good hearing now and I can breath out my nose, I still am supposed to take one allergy pill daily for the sinus, take care. S.,

Look for a N.A.E.T. person. Google the web site and punch in you zip code to find one near you. My chiropractor does it and takes insurance in the Tri-Cities. All of my kids and husbands allergies are gone. NO SHOTS! Since you seem to use the natural ways, you will love this.

A swollen tongue? Have you seen a doctor about the tongue issue? It could be that you have a food allergy, not an environmental one. If you were getting allergy shots did the allergist run the full screen on you checking foods? The headaches could be migrains and often they are allergy based, like wine, chocolate, cheese, etc. Do you have an ionizer or air purifier in your home to help with airborne allergens? Find out what you're specifically allergic to on all levels so you can take the steps necessary to mitigate their impact. The allergy shots are short term treatment for a long term impact. You wouldn't be getting the shots all the time. Again, talk to an allergist, talk to your primary care physician. The swollen tongue is often a reaction to something ingested, something you ate. And that would explain the headaches as well. Best of luck.

I would ask your acupuncturist about it. As I understand, in Chinese medicine the tongue can say a lot about your overall health and a swollen tongue (you wouldn't notice it really) is a sign of imbalance.

I recomend seeing an allergist (MD). I also have lots of allergies. I also have headaches that I associate with having had several whip lash injuries and exposure to pollens and dust. I take the original Sudafed daily which helps keep my nasal passages clear and reduces the post nasal drip so that my throat isn't as sore as it was. I don't sneeze or have runny nose/eyes either. In fact my eyes are dry and itchy. The allergist tested me with skin pricks several years ago. This confirmed allergies and helped me know what to avoid. I also have food allergies which cause an upset stomach, itchy ears, sometimes hives. The Sudafed doesn't help with those allergy symptoms. And last time I checked there still wasn't a treatment other than avoiding the foods.

A doctor has to prescribe the original Sudafed. There are several more anti-histamines on the market now but they are more expensive and Sudafed seems to work nearly as well and costs less. My 8 yo granddaughter takes Zyrtec which is a great help to her. Sudafed didn't help her. She was with me Friday night and is allegic to dog dander. (I have her mother's dog.) Apparently she hadn't taken her pill that morning. She began to sneeze, have itchy eyes with a lot of tearing and a runny nose. All of those symptoms were gone within 30-40 minutes after she swallowed the Zyrtec. Zyrtec is now an OTC medicine.

My granddaughter also has a lot of post nasal drip and Zyrtec doesn't completely get rid of it but the Zyrtec helps.

I've also found that using a saline spray in my nose helps to clear out some of the congestion.

I've never been told that I have a swollen tongue. How does your acupuncturist know it's swollen and not just normally on the large side? I do get sores on my tongue which can be related to food allergies and/or herpes. I think the allergy reduces my system's ability to fend off a virus. Herpes is said to last a week or more. I've had the sores go away in a couple of days when I paid attention to what I was eating. So, I think difficulties with the tongue can be related to allergies.

Allergies can make us so miserable. I ran out of Sudafed and didn't take any for a couple of weeks. I felt the difference in a negative way.

You didn't ask about what might help with headaches but I'll tell you what helps mine. Laying down with a heating pad sometimes helps. I take Ibuprofen which sometimes helps. I increase my water intake and/or eat a substantial meal. I've had physical therapy numerous times and it never seemed to help. Finally my doctor prescribed a muscle relaxant and when my headache goes on for days and my neck is sore and nothing else has helped I take one pill. I'd like to take the relaxant sooner but at the same time I'm concerned about relying on it too often. i.e. become addicted. The headache is gone within a couple of hours.

My mother had chronic low blood pressure and she didn't have headaches.

I hope that you find a way to be more comfortable. The only thing worse than an ongoing headache is ongoing dizziness.