Most vapers have experienced an episode of vaper’s tongues without knowing what it is. Remember those days your favorite e-liquid doesn’t taste bland in your mouth? This is caused by vaper’s tongue.
Also known as vaper’s fatigue, vaper’s tongue occurs when someone loses their ability to taste the flavor of their e-juice after continuous vaping. While this is not permanent, it can last for a few weeks if left unresolved. It can also happen to anyone, irrespective of the brand of vape you love or how long you have been vaping.
You most likely have more questions about the vaper’s tongue, including what causes it and how you can resolve it promptly. Not to worry, this article comes with all the answers and more. All you have to do is read on.
- How Do You Know You Have A Vaper’s Tongue?
- What Causes Vaper’s Tongue?
- How Do You Clear Your Vaper’s Tongue?
- Vaper’s tongue isn’t the end of the World
How Do You Know You Have A Vaper’s Tongue?
Diagnosing a vaper’s tongue is relatively straightforward. If you cannot taste your favorite e-juice flavor or your tongue feels numb most of the day, you are most likely dealing with a vaper’s tongue. Other common indications include your vape flavor tasting unusual or every e-liquid tasting bland on your tongue.
What Causes Vaper’s Tongue?
The first step to preventing or fixing a vaper’s tongue situation is understanding its root cause. That is why we have identified a few common causes below.
Dehydration
Vaping puts your body at risk of dehydration. Dehydration starts from simple symptoms like dry mouth, throat, and mucosal passages. Vaping e-juices absorb moisture in your mouth, covering the tongue with a white substance. This means saliva is not readily produced, making it impossible for your taste buds to receive flavor signals from your e-juice.
Olfactory Fatigue
Olfactory fatigue means overwhelming your palate with flavor. This happens when you vape an overly-sweetened or overly-flavored e-liquid. This is because your tongue keeps processing the same intense flavor over time, causing a loss of tasting ability. It also happens when you are using vaping multiple e-liquid flavors in a day. You can avoid this by sticking to a flavor or two all day.
Impaired Taste Buds
Every human has an average of 10,000 taste buds on their tongue, designed to identify and process five tastes – umami, bitter, sour, salty, and sweet. However, we all register the signals differently. When your taste buds are impaired, you temporarily lose your ability to taste. Your ability to taste returns after a few days, considering new taste buds are regenerated every one or two weeks, except in older people. Causes of damaged taste buds include burns, alcohol, smoking, poor oral hygiene, spicy or sour foods, and certain medications.
Certain Illnesses
Some sicknesses can also limit the power of your taste buds and reduce your taste sensations. For example, people with stuffy noses may struggle to taste their e-liquids correctly. The same goes for people dealing with strep throat, respiratory infections, tooth and gum diseases, and other dental issues.
Poor dental hygiene
Your mouth is at risk of dental issues if your oral hygiene is poor or non-existent. For instance, a dirty mouth is the breeding ground for bacteria that cause mouth ulcers, tooth decay, and more. In addition, research has shown that taking proper care of your mouth, especially in older people, is essential to maintaining optimal taste buds.
How Do You Clear Your Vaper’s Tongue?
Now that we have identified the causes of vaper’s tongue, let’s see how you can avoid or treat it.
Prioritize hydration
Dehydration is a side-effect of vaping in most cases. So, if you want to avoid dry mouth and tastebuds, stay hydrated as much as possible. Drink more water and avoid activities and foods/drinks that dehydrate you.
Switch your vape juices
We all have our favorite vape juice, and it can be tricky to drop it for something else. However, changing your vape juice often will prevent the vaper’s tongue. You can also correct your vaper’s tongue by switching to an entirely new flavor. For example, if you are used to vaping tobacco, try a completely different flavor if you discover you suffer from vaper’s tongues.
Quit smoking cigarettes
Quitting cigarettes will improve your health in the long run. But more importantly, it ensures the taste of your vape kit remains unchanged. Switching from smoking cigarettes to vaping also benefits your mental health, considering it helps reduce anxiety and tension. You also get to spend less to meet your nicotine requirements.
Avoid chain vaping
Chain vaping occurs when you do not take your time between vaping. Even if you need a nicotine fix repeatedly, it is advisable to slow it down to prevent damage to your sense of taste. Once you notice losing your ability to taste, take a break from vaping for a few hours or even days. This will accelerate the recovery of your sense of taste.
Take your oral hygiene seriously
Pay attention to your oral hygiene. It is key to having a great smile, preventing bad breath, and avoiding tooth problems. But more importantly, good oral hygiene will help preserve your taste buds. Note that this is more of a preventive measure than a corrective measure.
So, take oral hygiene tips like brushing and flossing regularly seriously. It is also recommended to scrape your tongue and gargle with warm salt water a few times to ease swollen taste buds.
Vaper’s tongue isn’t the end of the World
The answer is yes if you have been asking if vaping affects your tongue. Vaper’s tongue is one of the ways vaping affects your tongue. While other reasons or causes are associated with the condition, vaping is more prominent.
Vaper’s tongue is not a life-threatening situation. However, depending on the severity, it impairs your vaping experience for a few days or weeks. Fortunately, you can reduce its effects and speed up your recovery by adopting the tips in this article.
If your vaper’s tongue or oral discomfort persists after trying the suggestions above, we strongly recommend consulting your physician. Sometimes, a vaper’s tongue may be allergic to one or more ingredients or flavoring in your e-liquids.
Do you enjoy reading this article? We have several other informative articles on our blog. At Black Note, we aim to educate new and existing vaping community members on how to get the best out of their vaping experience.
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