Swelling under the tongue

[glmpdv]

Hey guys,
I'm kinda worried here...

This wasn't happening when I started smoking pipe (btw, I don't smoke anything but pipe), but now, everytime I smoke, I get a really bad swelling under my tongue on the upcoming days, sometimes with a hard and soft palate irritation...
I'm not sure if this is common, why it's happening, and what to do to avoid this... I don't really want to stop smoke, but if I don't find a solution, I will have no choice but stop.
Any thoughts?

 

[sablebrush52]

I'm not a doctor. Asking health advice from a bunch of strangers on the web may not be your best strategy. Personally, I would see my doctor. What you describe is not normal in my experience.

 

[woodsroad]

This is sounding like an allergic reaction, and thus, not to be ignored.
Try all of the usual pipe smoking hygiene tips to avoid tongue-bite and overheated steam in the mouth, such as keeping tobacco on the dry side, sipping not slurping when you draw, use the lighter and not hard draws to relight...and try rinsing your mouth with Biotene PBF after smoking.
Failing all that, you may indeed be having an allergic reaction. Don't fool around with it. Seek the advice of doctor. A pipe-smoking doctor, if you can find one.

 

[andrew]

What blends are you smoking? Are they new or the same ones? I find with heavily cased aromatics it will burn my mouth really easily, and I used to get a sore mouth from over puffing and my tongue would be sore from smoking too fast. Also if your tobacco is too moist it will create steam which really burns your mouth too. I'd say give it a rest and see if it goes down. I find it's kind of like building a callous almost, at the beginning if I smoked too much and my mouth was already sore it would get worse, kind of like when you start playing the guitar, you have to stop for a bit and let your fingers heal and toughen up.

 

[dochudson]

tongue burn I can buy but the swelling under the tongue is what would concern me.. are you allergic to anything in particular, like bee strings? the tobacco's you have tried might give a clue.

 

[glmpdv]

I'm not allergic to anything, as far as I know.

And what 'keeping the tobacco on the dry side' means?
I'm smoking Cap.Black White and Mac Baren's Original Choice.

 

[andrew]

I'm smoking Cap.Black White and Mac Baren's Original Choice.

Sounds like the macbaren bite. And try some quality aro's, captain black burns really hot I find from all the added chemicals. Get some other tobacco's, give it a rest and when your mouth feels normal try again.

 

[woodsroad]

"And what 'keeping the tobacco on the dry side' means?"
Don't smoke wet tobacco. It shouldn't be crumbling-dry, but wet tobacco means steam. And it also means less flavor. Keep it on the dry side and sip slowly. Your tongue will thank you for the flavor, and for the lack of steam.
Try some good pipe tobaccos that do not have humectants. Russ's Hearth and Home blends (From P&C) would be an excellent choice. High in quality, no goop.
But if these symptoms persist, despite trying what folks are suggesting, do not keep smoking. Stop and seek the help of someone other than some guy on the internet.

 

[glmpdv]

What's the best way to 'dry' the tobacco?

 

[andrew]

Captain black white just won't dry because there's so many chemicals added to it. Otherwise you just leave the lid off a tin or spread it out thin on a plate, but if it's really humid where you are then you'll have to put it under a heat source like a light or some people even microwave it (I've never tried this so can't comment on it). You can get captain black to a dryer state but I've had aro's over a year that didn't dry out.

 

[woodsroad]

The stuff that you are smoking has humectants on it, like propylene glycol. PG is hygroscopic, that is, it draws in moisture from the air, and keeps tobacco artificially moist.
Quality pipe tobacco will ship at the correct moisture level, without the aid of humectants. You will need to pay a bit more attention to keeping it from drying out completely (such as transferring it to a canning jar and keeping the lid closed tightly), but right now, in the humid summer, that isn't a big concern. At least for most parts of the US.
So I'd suggest that you try some new tobaccos that do not have PG, but that do have a similar makeup, leaf-wise, to what you are now smoking. A low-bite blend heavy on burley. I'm not an expert on all of the H&H line, perhaps someone else could chime in with a recommendation? Russ?

 

[andrew]

Personally I'd just order a bunch of 1 ounce samples of McClellend's aro's, they're top quality aro's, they'll dry out to the point of crispy. At about 3$ an ounce you can't go wrong.
http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/mcclelland/bulk/index.cfm
Just try what you think you'll like, it's about the only way to get to know what you like.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If you liked the Capt Black, try Lane's 1Q. It's usually the pipe smoker's introductory aromatic. It will dry better, but you'll lose a lot of flavor if you let an aromatic go too dry, because the topping will evaporate. I may be wrong, but most of us that dry our tobaccos out to crunchy usually smoke Virginias or VaPer blends. I do anyway.
But to the OP question, either take a break and go see your dentist or doctor, or just try a less chemical laden blend. I experienced some oddness as my mouth adjusted to blends, aromatics, latakias, etc... Usually Virginias don't appeal to new smokers, because the flavor is very subtle, and it usually reminds people of cigarettes. But, I found that my mouth adapted to it quickly, and I swam like a duck, diving to the bottom and never... wait... that's a song, ha ha. Anyways, good luck and welcome to the forums.

Just message me your insurance information and copay ::

 

[carlweis]

Man I hope your tongue is doing better, I found when I first started smoking I was smoking the same thing you are. It did a damn number on my tongue. It felt like it was raw meat. First that cpt black sucks seemed to never stay lit for me, 2nd I have found 1 Mac Baren product that doesnt tongue bite. And that is the H&H Mature Virginia. I mostly stay with Dunhill or McClellans because it always stays lit and tastes good. CAO is a decent brand to try if you like flavors. I just bought a can of Dan Tobacco Sweet Vanilla Honeydew made in Germany, and it a great tobacco. Also What pipes are you smoking out of? I've got a number of pipes that I love and found some to be super at smoking certain blends others not so much. Hit up some antique stores and you will be surprised to find some half decent pipes for next to nothing. I found a prestine Peterson Donagal for 45 dollars. Both my Meers were like 40 bucks.

 

[glmpdv]

Thanks for helping, guys...
I really want to try new tobaccos, but I live in Budapest, and it's really hard to find different tobaccos other than those Mac Baren, Cap Black or Borkum Riff...
And btw, there's nothing wrong with the tongue itself, it's "just" the soft palate and lingual frenulum, mostly.

 

[redstar]

Go and see your doctor or dentist, but in my experience thi sort of thing is due to tonguebite and goes away when you lay off the pipe for a bit.
I'm surprised Budapest doesn't have a tobacconist with more choice, but perhaps you could order something from Germany, Austria or the Czech Republic? I quite like smoking aromatics at first, but they tended to bite me. I now lean more towards Virginias and tend to have fewer issues.

 

[andrew]

Sounds like you burnt your mouth, that happens at first easily. Order online both 4noggins.com and cupojoes.com are excellent companies that ship worldwide

 

[buffalopat]

Not a doctor myself. But this is not something to play with. Yes it could be something as simple as mouth burn, but then it again it may be something else. The location you are describing could be an issue with salivary glands or ducts, or something even worse. Definitely get checked out.

 

[glmpdv]

Well, after the first time this happened, I waited until I got totally healed (10 days).
I'm smoking with a Savinelli's Broomhilda (Churchwarden) and a local producer's sherlock holmes replica (both made of briar).

 

[andrew]

Holy shit bro I work in a hospital u shud totally call 911 this sounds serious.