When you try to swallow something, do you feel pain or discomfort at the back of your mouth? Well, if you have tried different remedies thinking it to be sore throat or strep throat and still haven’t found any relief, look again. Try flashing a torch to look inside your mouth while standing in front of the mirror. If the fleshy mass of tissue or the small tongue, commonly known as uvula dangling at the back of your mouth appears to be inflamed or swollen, you my dear are suffering from Uvulitis.

What Is The Uvula, You Ask?

Well, our mouth consists of two parts. The first part is the Hard Palate, which is the part just above tongue and the Soft Palate, the continuous structure located just behind the hard palate that forms the beginning of the throat. From this soft palate, you might have noticed a fleshy mass of tissue hanging, that is the Uvula. While the soft palate works to close the nasal passage while you swallow something, the uvula readily helps to push the consumed food downwards.

Although, many people might not know, but the uvula or the little tongue not only helps with the articulation of speech but also facilitates filtering out any external pathogen or bacteria that might contribute to respiratory and digestive anomalies. In some cases, an early diagnosis and treatment might not result in complications, but if it is left untreated for a long time, the inflamed uvula can swell up to such extent that it may touch the tongue and eventually cause gagging or choking sensation and may ultimately lead to problems and difficulties while talking, eating or even breathing.

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What Causes Uvulitis?

Uvulitis is the medical term given to swollen and inflamed uvula. Inflammation of the uvula mainly happens due to external pathogens or microbial infections, such as respiratory tract infections, strep throat, or mononucleosis that may also infect the throat. A person suffering from a common cold infection might also develop uvulitis as due to common cold when the nasal passages are blocked, people tend to breathe through their mouth, thereby increasing the chances of breathing different microorganisms and bacteria.

Apart from bacterial infection, Uvulitis can also occur due to the following factors:

• Allergies or hay fever
• Genetic conditions
• Hereditary angioneurotic edema
• Tonsillectomy or post-surgery recovery
• Dry mouth due to dehydration
• Excessive consumption of alcohol or tobacco
• STD, oral thrush or yeast infection
• Breathing in toxic air
• Any injury to the uvula
• Acid reflux or vomiting

Uvulitis is usually characterized by symptoms like swelling of the tonsils, sore throat, difficulty while breathing or swallowing, excessive salivation, gagging or regurgitation, sensation of something getting stuck at the back of the throat, pain and even fever.

Although, the treatment options are usually chosen depending upon the severity of the condition, and often doctors advise for just gargling with some warm water and salt, if you have mild symptoms, you can go for natural remedies to treat this condition right at home. We bring you a list of easily available remedies right from your kitchen counter.

Home Remedies For Uvulitis

Trio Of Ginger, Honey And Lemon

Imbued with powerful anti-bacterial properties, all three ingredients have already proven to boost immunity and ward off infections naturally. It is one of the best treatments for not only relieving pain and inflammation of the uvula but also getting rid of harmful microorganisms.

Just prepare a cup of hot herbal tea of your choice by boiling with some grated ginger, add a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of lemon zest to it and treat uvulitis right at home.

Tulsi

The holy basil possesses inherent anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties which extensively help shield the body from various microbial infections that might cause the condition and also alleviates the symptoms of uvulitis.

Also Read: Tulsi - Immune Booster For This Monsoon Season

Boil a handful of tulsi leaves in a glass of water. Strain and add a dollop of honey to it. Have it twice a day to get rid of the inflamed uvula.

Turmeric

The abundance of active ingredient curcumin in this magical yellow spice makes it one of the oldest home remedies used for treating cough and cold infections. This curcumin exhibits potent antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory qualities that can readily aid in fighting upper respiratory tract infections and even help combat the bacterial infections that lead to uvulitis.

Also Read: Haldi: Benefits, Uses, Formulation, Ingredients, Dosage And Side Effects

Just sip on to a glass of warm milk imbued with a teaspoon of turmeric or haldi powder to get fast relief.

Garlic

If the uvulitis is caused due to invasion of an external pathogen or an allergen, then look no more as cloves of garlic are there as your ultimate saviour. The main active constituent allicin is rich in antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties and has been found to be a key ingredient in treating inflamed uvula and reduce swelling at a faster pace.

You can either chew on freshly peeled 2-3 garlic cloves in the morning or add minced garlic to your salads to enjoy its benefits.

Wheatgrass Juice

Although it may exude a pungent smell and a weird taste, the fresh juice of wheatgrass has innumerable antibacterial and anti-microbial qualities. Regular intake of it not only gets rid of pain and inflammation due to uvulitis but also manages other underlying symptoms of oral bacterial invasion.

Make a concoction of 1 cup of wheat grass juice, 1 tsp of ginger juice and a dash of cayenne pepper and have it once a day to treat inflamed uvula.