*A swollen Uvula can be alarming:
Have you ever woke up in the morning and you knew something was wrong but you didn’t know just what? Your throat is so sore you can hardly bear to swallow and you take a look inside your mouth and you see this “monstrous thing” hanging down in the back of your throat which looks like some sort of a monster…well that is your “Uvula” which is nothing more than a piece of tissue and muscle covered in a mucous membrane. If this has never happened to you before, look out, it probably will before your life is over and it can be extremely painful when it does and it can be frightening too.
This will likely happen when a person has tonsillitis, viral and/or bacterial infection of the throat, or an allergy and many people have experienced this terrible swollen Uvula from none of these symptoms what so ever. I’ve had it many times and it can be a pain in the neck especially if you have something important to attend to on that particular day. It is believed that this problem exists or is started by a dry throat, this usually happens when you’re lying on your back sleeping and inhaling and exhaling. Which could be an indicator it comes from dehydration.
*Here are some of the things I’ve done to get the swollen Uvula to go down so I can at least speak properly:
- (1) Gargle with a glass of hot water and plain table salt. Repeat a couple times…followed by a cup of hot tea or hot coffee. This helps me more than anything I can do.
- (2) Chew on ice chips, this will help to relieve the swelling.
- (3) Take a couple Tylenol tablets for colds or for a sinus drainage in case you’re coming down with a sinus infection, tonsillitis or a cold.
- (4) Suck on a couple eucalyptus cough drops…this is an excellent helper. These type cough drops has helped me through many sinus infections, swollen Uvula’s, and cold infections.
- (5) If you have a good throat spray, spray it several times but wait about an hour between the sprays.
- (6) Seek a doctor’s advice if you do not see any results during the day.
I’ve found that after a full day and following the above directions, my Uvula returns to its normal size and I feel fine the next day. I definitely would not go too long before having it checked by a doctor if the condition lasts until the next day. Don’t become alarmed if the Uvula does not go down quickly the doctor may have to use a steroid to decrease the swelling. You may have to miss a few day from work to allow it to heal. Another thing I would like to mention, this swollen Uvula can be so large that it is affecting your breathing, if this should happen, seek a doctor’s visit immediately.
SWOLLEN (ELONGATED) UVULA CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Here is Larry’s personal experience with swollen uvula, maybe this possible solution can help you treat this condition.
I experienced what I would rather call elongated uvula as opposed to swollen uvula because it was due to a stretching process and not an infection. I was sleeping on a camping mattress without a pillow and was so tired that I didn’t notice that my head slipped off of the mattress. My airway was restricted enough to cause my uvula to be caught in my throat. Breathing put a full 6 to 8 hours of constant pressure on it. When I awoke I could feel it in my throat and see it in a mirror. It never went back into place. I have the same problem to this day 15 plus years past that day that I see described on various sites. Temporary restricted breathing that happens just as I am falling asleep. This wakes me, then I have to start over again. This only happens when I sleep on my back which is the position that put me into this situation in the first place. Home remedies that I see for this don’t seem to work at this late date.
Here is a possible solution that I would like to put out provided that there are those out there that know this to be a safe research area. If alum can be used as a quick heal for shaving nicks then, if made into a light paste that can be quickly absorbed when carefully applied directly it might shrink the uvula without shrinking any other parts of the throat. If it took 8 hours to elongate it might take an 8 hour period of occasional application throughout the day to get it to recede back into place. Obviously this has to be done during waking hours not just due to periodic application but also to make sure the alum doesn’t create digestive problems, any other medical problems or defeats the purpose due to the uvula being kept in the stretched position when reverting to old sleeping habits. If the treatment duration isn’t long enough to work before bedtime, you may be able to start again in the morning. I for example do not experience this problem if I can get through a whole sleep cycle on either my right or left side. If alum is not safe for this procedure perhaps there is a suitable alternative. I would hope that there would be an additive that would allow the main ingredient to be quickly absorbed at the point of application so it will not get leaked into the throat. I welcome any competent researchers to take this on.
