Allergy!

Over the many years I’ve been alive, I’ve discovered and dealt with many allergies — from the milk formula I had as a baby, to a period in my prepubescent years where my parents had to put me on a prophylactic medicine because they couldn’t figure out what I was allergic to, to learning I could never fearlessly eat shrimp, crab, or lobster again. In medical-speak, I’m “atopic”, which means my body reacts to small allergens in a big way. They’ve always been rather temporary incident, however, and I’m thankful to God that I’ve never had to undergo desensitization because the things I’m allergic to are easily avoidable.

The past two weeks, though, I’ve had to deal with a new allergy. It’s not one that has me scratching at hives, or struggling to breathe, as in previous instances. It’s not even an allergy that’s immediately visible.

Not many of you know that I grind my teeth while I sleep. To keep my teeth from grinding down to a pulp (eww!), my dentist had a mouthguard custom-made for me. In order to keep it from becoming a harbor for bacteria (another eww!), the manufacturers treated it with an antibacterial agent.

The first month I had that mouthguard, I had nightmares regarding teeth falling out, but I reasoned that it had something to do with my brain adjusting to having something in my mouth while I slept. Now that I think about it, though, it might have been my subconscious telling me there was something wrong with that mouthguard; my body had started reacting in small ways to the material it was made of and/or the antibacterial agent it was treated with, until it finally could take no more.

Two Mondays ago, I woke up with swelling in my gums and my mouth’s inner lining, and my tongue felt burnt. I initially thought it had come from using a strong breath spray. It was so bad that I couldn’t chew or swallow anything solid without pain. I stopped using my mouthguard and waited for my mouth to heal, which it did by last Sunday. In the back of my mind, though, I had a nagging suspicion that the swelling had something to do with my mouthguard, since all the areas that had swollen had been in contact with it.

Last Tuesday evening, I put the mouthguard back in for the first time. Four hours later, when I woke up early Wednesday morning, the swelling was back. I knew then that it was an allergy. It was so bad that I had to take two corticosteroid tablets, and people thought I’d undergone collagen lip injections. (LOL!) And then began another cycle of being unable to eat. But since the second allergic reaction happened so close to the first one, it was even worse this time around. Even drinking water to moisten my tongue brought tears to my eyes, and talking was definitely out of the question. It got to the point where I actually began wondering if my mouth would ever return to normal.

I woke up this morning with the pain lessened just a bit, so I know the worst is over — and I’m never using that mouthguard again!

You may wonder, why would God allow me to go through the whole painful experience twice in a row? And why couldn’t this allergy be dealt with as painlessly as the previous ones?

Well, I do believe it was no coincidence. I work with words for a living, but sometimes I don’t realize how powerful speech is. Due to my enforced silence, I’ve realized a new economy of words. I’ve learned how much of my side of a conversation could be pointless or unproductive or just hampers other people from speaking their minds. I’ve also learned to listen more, and that it’s okay not to have to entertain people with “witty” yet fruitless conversation that, at its worst, is a series of sarcastic put-downs. Let’s not waste words, but instead use them to encourage, inform, and empower each other.

If I learn this lesson well, my pain for the past two weeks will not be for nothing. Ü

8 thoughts on “Allergy!

  • December 5, 2018 at 7:11 pm
    Permalink

    I’ve found your post because my mouth guard causes makes the skin where it sits sore and peel like burns from hot food, not quite as bad as your reaction, my dentist tells me it can’t possibly be the guard….but it happens when i use it and not when i don’t. It’s clear to me something is going on.
    So, grind my teeth down to the pulp, which I’m doing, or damage the gums/skin with the guard!

    Reply
  • December 8, 2019 at 1:28 am
    Permalink

    Because I was grinding my teeth down too much due to stress, my dentist recommended that I wear a bite guard at night. So I had one made at my dentist’s office and began using it. It did help me to not grind my teeth and I found it comfortable to sleep with, but after a few weeks of using it (on lower teeth), I noticed that the mouth area under my tongue and the tip of my tongue had a burning sensation and was very sensitive. I couldn’t think of anything that I had been eating or drinking that might cause this, so I began to suspicion that I was having a reaction to the chemicals in the bite guard. So I did an experiment and did not use the bite guard for a couple of weeks and my mouth started feeling better. Then I used the bite guard again for a few nights and the burning sensation came back. I did some research on the internet and found that other people have had this problem. I am apparently allergic to the chemicals the bite guard is made of. Don’t know what I am going to do about my grinding now.

    Reply
    • April 4, 2021 at 3:08 pm
      Permalink

      So did you ever find a solution to the teeth issue. Because I haven’t.

      Reply
      • April 8, 2021 at 4:55 am
        Permalink

        Hi Pam,

        No, I never got a replacement for the mouthguard because that was already the option that had the least number of reported reactions. I’ve just tried to manage my stress (which partly causes the grinding).

        Reply
    • April 4, 2021 at 3:15 pm
      Permalink

      I can relate and wonder, did you find a solution to the grinding issue. My mom says I was allergic to being born. I’ve struggled and suffered with allergies to what feels like everything. I looks forward the hearing from you.

      Reply
  • February 3, 2021 at 4:17 pm
    Permalink

    I’m having the same reaction. I’ve used a mouth guard for years. All of a sudden I have this burning mouth and tongue sensation. I’ve had it for two months. I stopped using my mouth guard. The burning is still there. I called my dr after a month and he prescribed medicine for thrush. I’ve been using it for 3 weeks feeling is still there. He tells me to continue the medicine. Should I suggest something for allergic reaction?

    Reply
    • February 5, 2021 at 5:46 am
      Permalink

      You can certainly ask the doctor about whether or not it’s an allergic reaction, but mine stopped once I stopped using the mouth guard. It might be something else, so you’ll need to work with your doctor to rule things out. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *