enlarged circumvallate papillae

Hello everyone,
First I'd like to share with you that I've had the same problem as most of you here. It's those lumps on the back of the tongue called Circumvallate Papillae. With me this started last month, first week of September actually. I felt like something was stuck in my throat and I wasn't getting enough air in my lungs. I wasn't feeling any pain or extreme discomfort.
I have no idea how this started. I'm not really allergic to any thing, and my eating pattern had been the usual. I've always been healthy and rarely ever get sick. In fact I've never even been to a hospital. With all this in mind I got really worried and thought I had a severe infection or perhaps tongue cancer. It scared me big time.

I came across this forum and many other sites on the internet and found little valuable info on how to treat this. I experimented with dieting and food combinations and even took allergy medicine. None of it seemed to work. I also ate some honey for about a week and that didn't help either.

These past 3-4 days I started a new routine. I took some vitamins, the B Complex Vitamin and the chewable Vitamin C. I bought both bottles at GNC, they have them online or at the store.
I took one B Vitamin Complex capsule and 3 Vitamin C chewable tablets (cherry flavor). I also ate some warm soup for a couple of days. I bought the Campbell's Vegetable soup they sell in the local supermarket. The ones that are ready made and you just put in the microwave for about 60 seconds.
In addition to this, I've kept a good oral hygene brushing my teeth daily. Also I bought some Biotene Mouthwash, it's alchohol free and it's incredibly effective. They sell it at Rite Aid or Walgreens. It's usually for people with a dry mouth.
I can honestly tell you as I'm writing this that I've seen dramatical results. The swelling (bumps) have gone down significantly, by more than 50%. I don't have that feeling anymore like something is stuck on my throat. I can breath normally even when I lay on the bed.

I would strongly recommend everyone here to follow this routine. Take daily vitamin B and C, drink warm soup and plenty of water, clean your teeth daily and rinse with Biotene Mouthwash.
This has worked for me and I don't see why it shouldn't work for you as well.

I have had the same problem like most of you. For the past two weeks I have noticed 6 (or 8) bumps on the very back of my tongue. After visiting a doctor, she said these swollen bumps are called Circumvallate Papillae. She also stated that I had drainage in the back of my thought.

Also, my submandibular glands have been swollen too. My mom says they aren't, but of course I am probably being paranoid

The last few days I have been drinking lemon water and it kinda seems that the bumps are going down. I have also started taking probiotics. Do you think probiotics will help or is this something that will go away over a period of time? I thought this would have an impact on my active level and food consumption, but it has not.

Hi there,
I'm back again. It's been almost a month and I feel as if they're almost completely gone from the back of my tounge.
You can barely see them in the mirror now. I've been taking my daily vitamin C consistently ever since my first post here. I stopped taking the B vitamins in capsule form and instead get them in liquid form. Vitamin Water is filled with B vitamins and it's good for your health.
I've also noticed that eating plain yogurt has helped me tremendously in the process. What I've understood from my experience is that this is something that will eventually go away. It was probably caused as a result of an allergic reaction to some food or liquid that was consumed in my body. Perhaps the lack of proper vitamins could've played a role as well. In my case I think it was caused because I drank apple cider vinegar just a week prior to these lumps first appearing. Get your proper vitamins and proteins and in due time your body will heal itself.

Omg! thank god i found this site.... iv being paranoid for almost 4 months about this... i went to the doctor the firts time i saw this bumps... and told that it was a viral infection... then two months later i went back cause they wouldnt go away and i thought that it was throat cancer or even herpes too :$ . i stop smoking (THANK GOD!) and the doctor gave me some antibiotics but they still dint work. and i recently went back with another doctor and she told me that it was enlarged circumvallate papillae and that it was totally normal!!! and that alot of people have it!!!! thanks to this site i found realive. thank you!! XD

My throat has completely cleared, I breath normally again.
Just like I thought, the body needed time to cure itself and that's what happened.

i woke up today unable to swallow. like a hairball was stuck. i drank some orange juice and felt like i was drinking glass. (if i drank glass i would be dead now) there are a tonne of these weirdshaped bumps back there. and red dots on my tongue. the more i brush, the more irritated they are. i was freaking out because i thought they were throat warts or something. i have had smaller bumps back there, but thought they were normal because my pcp never said anything. i am making an appt because it burrrrns. (last night i sprinkled carpet fresh and vacuumed it... it ended up dusting up my apt. my poor dog and i have been hacking our guts out. i think this exacerbated what was already there) i have been sick for a while due to malnutrition. so.... should i see my pcp, or wait?

i got these also when i switched to listerine teeth whitening mouthwash. had a sinus infection around the same time, but i get those every year.... feels like something in the back of my throat. been like that for 8 months. that whitening mouthwash must have different (weaker?) antiseptic properties that caused it. or the peroxide in it.??? i dunno. glad its not something serious :-)

I've had the same issues with the back of my tongue. I also noticed a coating on the back of my tongue and went to my dentist who gave me Nystatin for thrush, aka yeast infection. It's very common and most people don't realize that's whats going on. Probiotics are also prescribed, or eating lots of yogurt.

I'm waiting for my tongue to go back to normal.

Thanks everyone for all your posts. i was brushing my teeth this morning and i felt something at the back of my tongue.. yea, it does feel like you have swallowed a hair or something. i looked into the mirror and i got the shock of my life... i started to goggle in the web to check what was wrong with me. I have come down with a bad cold and sinus attack. but have also started using colgate whitening paste. maybe that is why? really hope it will go away...

just go to walmart and get the daily probiotic pills and take one a day. after about 2 days i was able to breath better, the bumps doesnt get enlarged and feel like they are swelling. u can still see them some but nothing like before. the probiotic if for your immune or digestive system an i think the cause of the swelling is due to acid, gas, or something from our digestive system that irritates them. all i can say it has worked for me an i heard it from someone else here.

I went home this last week and when I got back, i found these bumps in the mirror on the back of my tongue. I was positive it was tongue cancer since I am a heavy smoker but realized from further investigation on the internet that it is not. If anybody has any information about this problem I would greatly appreciate it. I can't seem to find anything about it on the internet.

Try florastor- a probiotic found in cvs

I've had a sore throat since saturday, which literally felt like i was swallowing glass or something, it felt like my tonsils were like very raw. the pain has pretty much gone now... apart from i have got an ulcer on my tonsil, and now these lumps which i'm guessing is enlarged circumvallate papillae. I'm only 15 and its been bugging me, i'm the type that gets pretty paranoid over stuff as well which isn't good. But my god they are so annoying.. has anyone found a quick way to get rid of them ?? Mum's trying to get me to go to the doctors but i don't want to go as after sticking something down my throat they'll just say what it is and that it'll be fine in a few weeks.

So.. any cure ?

I've been scouring the internet for an answer to this problem--these random sores on the back of my tongue and thought they were canker sores, but mine didn't match any of the pictures I found. I recently became sexually active and was freaking out about herpes or some other STD but that just doesn't match either, however I did also start birth control and I'm wondering if hormonal changes could've had any hand in this.

Hello,
Some lumps seen at the back of the tongue are often part of the normal scenery. There are large bumps on the top surface of the back of the tongue called circumvallate papillae located along the "circumvallate line" and contain taste buds that confer the sense of sour and bitter to the back of the tongue.


good luck!!

________________
***edited by moderator*** web addresses not allowed