It has happened to the most of us. That tasty hot chocolate or that fresh slice of hot pizza, we try to eat it a bit too early and ZAP! we burn our tongues. The more sad part is , we can't seem to enjoy the rest of the meal or drink immediately after. Why does this happen?

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What exactly is going on when our tongue gets burnt?

You see our tongue has on top of it many taste buds. This can be either 5000 or in some people up to 10,000 taste buds (it lowers with age). When you drink something really hot you end up destroying your taste buds. You can also end up damaging them if you eat something super spicy.

Image: self illustrated

Though this may sound bad, it actually isn't that bad because your taste buds are constantly being replaced and repaired by your body. Still it can take some time before they are replaced and working in top condition (depends on how badly they were damaged it may take 8 days - 10 days).

Fun fact: Most people burn their tongues eating pizza with cheese, since most cheese have a high heat retaining capacity. Though the pizza feels warm on the outside the cheese inside is at a much higher temperature. So be careful biting in.

Here are some tips what you should do in case you end up burning your tongue :

1. Immediately take something cold like water or a fruit that is close to you and keep it in your mouth for some time. This will help avoid further damage or burn to the tongue.

2. Put powdered sugar on your tongue and press it to the roof of your mouth. This helps relieve the pain.

3. If the tongue still hurts after say 30 minutes, it is best advised to seek medical help as soon as possible.