(I’ve Got) The Swollen Uvula Blues
Posted on October 29, 2006 @ 1:12 pm
Ugh. I woke up early this morning with a sore throat and a swollen uvula (also known as “that dangly thing in the back of my throat”). It’s so swollen, in fact, that I can actually feel it sitting there on the back of my tongue.
Does this happen to anyone else, or am I just a freak of nature? Either way, it’s at once both disgusting and disturbing.
It’s disgusturbing.
Image via Flickr user aileron.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Life in a Nutshell |
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Haven’t had a swollen uvula before, but there seem to be pockets in the back of my mouth that food gets caught in. I’m constantly digging them out with my tongue and they can be in there for months one end. I even sneezed a couple weeks ago while eating peanuts, and one of the peanuts got wedged in there. I’m still waiting for it to come out.
I’m not sure if other people get this too, but I’d file it under disgusturbing as well.
Ouch
I’ve had that before. It’s annoying and quite painful.
Trying to mentally digest *that word* made me spew up a little in the back of my brain - good work!
I love the word uvula. Here from Dutchy’s for C&C Monday.
I saw your uvula…and it made me kinda hot.
Happy Click & Comment Monday. Here from DutchBitch’s blog and I hope you feel better soon.
Meow!
I would just like to say that this post made me sick. My throat is all sore and scratchy now and I can’t stop coughing and none of that really happened until after I read this. I do not appreciate that at all. blah
Oh you said uvula. Never mind what I thought you said.
LOL @ disgusturbing. I love that!!
Seriously, I’ve never had that happen before, but when I get wicked bad sore throats, a couple Advil, a nice mug of hot tea and some chloroseptic (but only the red kind) usually provide some relief for me.
Hope you feeling right as rain soon!
I have never heard of that thing doing anything good or bad….Lucky you! And I’m with DB, I thought you said something else too….Then you would have really been a freak of nature!
I’ve never had a swollen uvula. However, I swear by cherry flavor Chloroseptic (I agree the grape is nasty).
Unfortunately for me, I’ve had that gross, food getting stuck in the back of the throat thing several times, and this morning I woke up with my first swollen uvula!!! I’m doubly blessed, I guess…
I read on another site to gargle with salt water and a little turmeric powder, or mix the turmeric with honey and lick it from the spoon. Sounds great and I love home remedies, BUT I don’t happen to have turmeric in the house.
So far I’m just gargling with salt water, and now that I have read a little more about it the panic, at least, has subsided, if not the swelling. I was ready to torture myself and go to one of those 24/7, see anyone, no appt. type of places, as it’s Sunday.
I actually have this right now. I get it for a couple of reasons…1. Strep throat or another infection or 2. because it is made of a connective tissue and I have fibromyalgia and inflammed connective tissues. When that flares up I am more likely to have a swollen uvula. Gargle with warm salt water or a perozide mix (see bottle for mixing instructions) to help, but basically it sucks! Any other ideas?
No my name is NOT Steve-O but anywho I have a freakisly swollen uvula sittin there on my tongue. My dad had it once so i know gargling salt water is uber nasty but it works.
Naa… your not a freak it happens to me every so often.
I have this right now. From what I can tell it is best to drink room temp water, gargle with salt water, take some ibuprofen, and try not to breathe through your mouth. Might be related to snoring or could be a viral infection or dehydration.
I had the swollen uvula yesterday due to strep throat. It was hard to breath and I couldn’t swallow anything. It was very freaky. I thought I had some freaky disease until I read about it online. Thank God for the internet…I thought I was dying or something:(
Holy Cow… I woke up a 4:30 am this morning laughing. Must of been dreaming of something funny. Anyhoo, after I got finished laughing I noticed the “thing” hanging in the back of my throat was bothering me. I could barely breathe. I ran to a mirror, and looked… Holy cow, I thought I swallowed my thumb. Man, I’m glad it was only that “thing” hanging called your “uvula”. I swear its as big as my thumb right now.. I think I have about 1700 water bottles sitting here next to me. Man this sucks. (Cough, Cough)…..(OUCH)
I have had a swollen uvula for almost a week now. I thought it was just that food stuff caught in the back of my throat until I looked in and saw that big monster hanging! It’s my first and I have to thank everyone on line for helping me chill out and not panic that I have uvular cancer! I started the salt water tumeric gargle and I’m lining up the bottles of water. The gargle tasted pretty good with the tumeric. Thanks to all of you.
I have a swollen uvula right now. Feels like a large ball of snot in the back of my throat. When I woke up this morning I tried like hell to cough it up until I realized it was going nowhere. I’m drinking coffee which seems to be helping with the size issue for some reason. This “snot ball” has also provided an excuse for me to play hookey from work today thanks to my acting skills an a squeamish wife. Thank you swollen uvula
Well I have to repeat what some one already said.. thank god for the internet. I woke up this morning thinking I had snot in the back of my throat and a sore throat on top of that. Some times when I lay on my back when I am sleeping I will get snot laying in the back of my throat and it makes it sore so that is all I thought it was at first. but I couldn’t caugh it loose and than I felt it on my tongue.. so I thought wow this is really wierd, this never happened before so I got out the flash light to see what was going on. well needless to say here I am writing how my uvula is swelled and laying on my tongue. it is really gross and I keep trying to swallow it..lol.. you know I am usually not one to cry like a girl about why me why me.. but come on.. I just went through a bout with gillion barre syndrome last summer, about 1 in a 100,000 people get that a year and now this.. lol.. that was bad enough.. I was off work for almost 3 months with that.. if felt like I had frost bite on my hands and feet up to my elbows and knees, I couldn’t walk or use my hands.. and now this.. lol.. I used to think that your body is a temple and it will treat you how you treat it.. but I have slowly come to the conclusion that that statement is a bunch of poop.. I have never smoked cigerettes or even pot. not once EVER!.. I have only drank about 4 times in my life, I eat healthy and exercise.. I am 36 years old and in pretty good shape.. but I have friends I work with that are my age, they smoke drink and use drugs all the time and are much healthier than I am.. what the heck.. I mean come on.. WHAT THE HECK?? LOL something doesn’t seem right whit this.. ok.. I know I know.. want some cheese with that wine.. Im done.. thanks for being there for me to vent.. god I hope this goes away today.. I don’t think I can deal with this for a week.. have a great day all.. Tony
Got Uvulitis? Wow … who would have thought that the little bastard in the back of your throat actually did something. I fell out of bed this morning with a uvula about 2inches long … a far cry greater than the .3 to .5 inch length. Needless to say … swallowing any part of my own body tissue is quite disturbing. After a 90 second coughing fit … 2 cups of salt water later and about a gallon of room temp water, here I sit to share it with the rest of the world … to all those before and all those to come … I don’t care what they say … this isn’t natural .. no matter how common. Hope for the 2-8hr version but get some chloroseptic for the week long thing … and see a MD for it … cuz damn!
Hello again.. just wanted to do a follow up.. I went to the doc and he gave me a shot of steroids, it cleared it right up..
I HAVE THE SWOLLEN DANGLY THING BLUES, IT FEELS LIKE I CAN SWALLOW THE DAMN THING THIS SHITS WACK, IT HAPPENS TO US ALL
Hi, I woke up with a swollen uvula one day and it really freaked me out. The thing was huge, about 2” and it just sat on top of my tongue. I did some research and it turns out that one of the reasons is dehydration or a very dry mouth. In other words, I drank my face off the night before which explained it. Since then it has happen a couple of times but not as bad. Now, I just make sure to drink plenty of water before I eat my late night burgers at the drive through
or take some pedialite before you crash.
I have this too! I keep choking on it when I swallow and this is not the first time this has happened. IT suuuucks!
I woke up this morning, 5:30AM, from a dream that I was choking. The back of my mouth was bone dry. Just like a lot of you I tried to cough out a ball of phlegm that turned out to be my uvula. I even tried to dig it out. I got real anxious and started to get dressed to drive myself to the hospital. I just want somebody to take out the ball of phlegm (again my uvula). My wife woke up and called 911. She is hysterical talking on the phone giving directions to the 911 operator. She thought I was having a heart attack or stroke. About ten minutes later, a couple of police cars and an ambulance show up. My wife then called my mother who lives in the same town. My mother shows up hysterically crying because of all of the emergency vehicles. Who knows what the neighbors are thinking at this point. I get to ride in an ambulance (who knows how much that is going to cost). I get to the hospital but nobody is removing the phlegm ball. They give me some nice drugs to calm me down and do a bunch of tests give me some prescriptions. I leave the hospital feeling pretty good but my unula is still swollen. It is now about 10:30 and I am afraid to go to sleep even though I am exhausted from the circus that took place. I am afraid I am going to choke again tonight. Doctors said I have sleep apnea and could be irritating the back of my throat. The drugs have shrunk my uvula slightly but being unable to breathe freely and the fear of that sucks. I feel for people who suffer from asthma.
This is round two of the swollen uvula for me. First time scared me to death - woke up, thought it was phlegm, tried to hack it out. Didn’t work. Grabbed flashlight, ran to mirror, gasped in horror. Same story as those above. Thank GOD for these message boards b/c they are the only thing that kept me from freaking and running to the ER. Several weeks ago, same thing happened after a night of drinking and sleeping on my back - presumably with my mouth open. The swelling has gone down, but it still feels “full” at the top of my uvula. I’m going to go to the doctor this week and try to get some RX to, hopefully, clear of the rest of it. For those of you that may be freaking out, don’t worry - pretty normal. However, once it happens, apparantly you are more likely to have to deal with it later. Hang in there guys.
yeah i got the whole swollen uvula thing today too…and considering its the first day of vacation and i’m in a motel room bathroom, yaaayyy!!!!
This the second time in a week I’ve woke up with this…I had the same experience trying to cough up my own uvula! (Not natural!) I had my husband look in my throat and he said “I dont see anything but, “DANG!, that little hanging thing is huge!” I was sure that it was phlegm, so I just dismissed what he said until I woke up with it again today… I looked and it was huge and I could see it touching the back of my tounge—-GROSS!!! I have to say that I must have something to do with dryness, we live in Florida and it is usually very humid but we have been having to run the heat the last couple of nights—its got to have something to do with it. I’m going to try the salt water gargle and see if that helps.
My fiance woke up this morning at 7am complaining of a dry throat and not being able to swallow. He grabbed a flashlight and told me to come a look at his throat. I asked him what the thing was laying on the his tonuge and he said it was his uvula. OMG, it was like 2″ long and so wide that I could not see the back of his throat at all. He said his throat wasn’t really sore except right near his uvula. I told him to gargle with Listerine and drink a bunch of water. We believe he has been suffering from sleep apnea for a while now but he hasn’t seen a doctor about it. The other night he woke up trying to breathe and choking due to acid reflex. I have found a lot information on the web regarding snoring and how this can all be related. It’s been about 3 hours and he said the swelling has gone down a bit but it’s still larger then normal. I think the sleep apnea and snoring could be related to the dry mouth and swelling but who knows. We live in Florida and like the last post, it’s been cold here the last couple of nights and we had the heat on last night for about an hour and then turned the a/c back on while we slept. I try to get him to do some of the remidies mentioned here and see how that goes. Also, I think I’ll try to talk him into seeing a MD for a check-up.
I have been suffering off and on with this for about 6 weeks. I went to an ent doctor who immediately said it was probably from sleep apnea and excessive snoring. I spenjt 2 nights in a sleep center and the 2nd night with a breathing machine and it made a huge difference. I will get one soon. My uvula is still causing problmes. I am on prentizone and it does work. When I stop taking it, the uvula gets larege again. Myu ENT doctor said it may need to be removed. Has anyone ever experienced that?
OK this morning I woke up and my uvula felt ewww. Like most ppl I thought it was phlem so I tried to get it out. NEways I ended up spittin out lots of blood cuz there was no phlem it was the uvula. I called up my doctor friend n she explained to me that its a symtom of an infection such as strep throat, pink eye, ear infection etc….and this fungus will grow on ur uvula cuz I guess it likes to swing back n forth…haha..ok…she perscribed some anti fungus thingy for me to gargle for 10 days! n it costs like $100 with insurance helping out…we are up in Iraq doing all kinds of things we shouldnt…we need to first figure out this whole uvula thing cmon seriously.
I can’t believe you people are taking this condition so lightly. I came across this website while researching “uvulitis” because my son just spent the last three days in the hospital because of it. He received steroid treatment, antibiotics and oxygen. And he couldn’t talk or eat, although he could drink. The doctors had no definitive idea why it happened, but suggested either an allergic reaction or possibly an insect bite (which I think may be the reason, as he’d eaten sushi-raw fish-a couple of days prior). I hadn’t heard that excessive alcohol consumption could cause it, but that too may be a good possibility as my son is 24 and that’s what 20-somethings do. Anyway, if you get the condition, it’s probably a good idea to get it checked out by a professional to prevent making the situation worse.
I am on my fourth turn of this uvula stuff. Basically it has happened once a year since the first time. Like all the others I woke up in the middle of the night not being able to breath and thinking there was a cough drop in my mouth, and I kept sucking on it. ugh yeah my uvula !@!@ So to say the least I had my husband get up and look in my throat to see what was stuck in there.he kept saying nothing I kept saying keep looking cuz I keep sucking on something (as I am gaging each time) I was saying I can’t breath lets go to the ER !!@! Needles to say I made the pain worse by sucking on my own UVULA it was that long!!! Finally we got on the internet and searched about it and I felt better. I wish I would have found this site the First time it happened to me. But right now I am on my 4th turn. I have been laughing hysterically at all the stories of people running to the mirror with a flashlight and everything. The best was the one who actually rode in the ambulance. Yikes hopefully you have good insurance. Ohhhhhhh most importantly I wanted to let you all know that Cepocal cough drops were perscribed to me while I was in the hospital trying to stop my twins from coming too early and after the 2nd day I woke up with ……….. you guess it a freaking long uvula.They work really well. good luck to you all and at least the next time this happenes to us we will not call the ambulance.
Okay, here’s the deal. Same story as all the rest. Only thing is I went out and got totally plastered the night before. So much so that I was puking my guts out. I woke up the next morning with a massive headache. I was mixing tequila, wine and beer. The next day I had never felt worse. Then like the others i felt the presence of something in my throat. Knowing that it wasn’t food - I thought it must be inflammation of the UVULA - or UVULITIS as it is known.
I hear that antihistamines and steroid based medications help.
having a swollen uvula SUX!!!! i woke up this morning and it felt like i had a huge hocker to spit out and my damn uvula is resting on my tongue!! it was the grossest thing ever! i could hardly talk or swallow and i was drooling everywhere….having a swollen uvula sux!!!
Hmm, so sitting here and reading all of your pain, I know understand why i have a thumb hanging from my throat. Bring on the water!!!!
well i am feeling a little better i just went thru all these response to that thing in the back of my throat,and i feel better i thought i would have to have it removed at that 24 hr. place but i will drink lots of water and see what happens thank you all for writting in here it helps.
I happen to have a swollen uvula right now. I’ve been getting them a lot lately. Reading all these comments is helping a lot. I’d try the salt water thing but I’m pregnant so I think it’ll just make me puke right after the swollen uvula does. Drinking lots of water makes sense though and I think it’s time to put a humidifier in my room when I sleep, I’m always waking up with a dry mouth. Glad to see I’m not alone in this. Oh and I’ve gotten it so much that my friend actually found and bought me a shirt that says, “I have a swollen uvula”. Lol. Don’t think I’ll actually wear it anywhere seeing as though some people are very misunderstood to what a uvula actually is.
Hi. My name is Sean and I have a swollen uvula. It is bugging the crap out of me but thats about the worst of it. I was freaking out! But after a little research, the panic left. The cause: copious amounts of beer, an early morning puke, followed by sleeping with my mouth wide open. I know, sounds sexy. Anyway, yeah its annoying as hell. But this site is amazingly hilarious!
Two nights ago I went drinking with some friends. It was an all-night affair with a lot of mixing of drinks and little hydration. The next day I had a total of three fevers. One would break and, after a few minutes, the next one would start. I literally spent most of the day in bed, having crazy fever dreams. The next day (today) I woke up feeling 100% except for a funny feeling in the back of my throat. I looked in the mirror and sure enough, there was a much larger uvula present than usual. I’ve been gargling salt water, drinking room-temperature water and downing cough drops like a madman. I would take ibuprofen or acetaminophen but they’re illegal in the country I live in now. Hopefully I only have the eight-hour version.
It *is* freaky as hell, isn’t it?
I’ve got this now, its horrid, feels like you want to hork it up and spit it out, but it hurt to hork, and you cant spit it out cuz its attached.
I have had this a couple times, but this is the worst. It has lasted about a week, and I can’t eat anything. I am throwing a barbecue tomorrow, I really hope it is gone by then. I just tried the turmeric & salt water gargle, and it set off my gag reflex but seems to have made the swelling go down a bit.
Oh my god can i possibly feel any worse???
Docs on monday really sore throat sent away bein told iv a viral infection, back to docs weds much worse, iv got tonsilitus, get up at 2am thinkin the roof of my mouth had collapsed only to find iv got this huge swollen uvula sitting there on my tounge…i cant talk for gaggin & am terrified im gona swallow it AARRGGHH!!!
Gona try salt water now!!
I got up this morning again with a swollen uvula. A couple things I am noticing. Last 2 times this happened I ate fish. Also I think stress plays a big part in this. If I get real stressed out…bring on the swollen uvula. Gargle and lots of water seem to help. Better tonight.
Also the white stink bombs in the back of the throat are called
tonsilotius. Debris from your mouth and food is what causes this.
They get stuck in the little pockets in the back of the throat.
Won’t hurt anything just cause bad breath and uncomfortable sometimes.
I’ve had this for a few years now and for a long time my doctors treated me for an allergy. For me it always happens during the night although I tend to get either a sore or scratchy throat before the swelling comes. Reading a lot of the posts seem to indicate it may be related to snoring and an dry mmouth both of which I relate to. I do snore like hell and would love to do something about it, at least finding this forum gives me people to talk to about this as it can be as scary as shit when it happens. At least I have gone beyond the panic stage now and just try to take deep breaths keep calm and drink shed loads of water which seems to help. I think I will have to investigate more on the snoring thing.
Wow, I thought I was the only one who had this problem. I actually started having panic attacks the last time it occurred because I felt like I just couldn’t breathe. One thing I found helps with the swelling and the pain is Children’s Ibuprofen. Yeah, it’s kind of expensive, but it’s basically vitamin I in liquid form — no alcohol. The key here is the liquid form — it kinda coats that ugly thing and helps calm it down a little.
yea long floppy uvula…are you kidding me? i woke up and showed my brother and he laughed at me..this sucks, i
So i got HAMMERED drunk last night playing beer pong, took a walk to the park near my house and threw up all the alcohol + the spaghetti i had eaten earlier, and woke up this morning trying to hack up what i thought was the meanest loogy i had ever had or some of the spaghetti from last night. After being completely unsuccessful at getting it out i ran to the mirror and realized it was my uvula. A friend of mine had the same thing and had to have his removed a few weeks back so i didn’t totally panic but I did think I was going to have to get surgery to get it removed :-/… I didn’t tell my parents because I suspected it might have something to do with last night’s craziness and they would have kicked me out of the house and disowned me for drinking, but i did call another one of my friends (who happens to be big drinker) and he told me he gets it often. He gave me some cough drops and a bottle of Chloraseptic spray. Although the spray didn’t do much for me the cough drops helped, but it’s kind of annoying having to have on in your mouth constantly. Salt water seems to help from what i read on here so i think I’ll go try that.
I’m definitely going to cut back on my drinking after this experience.
I have had this disgusting Uvula thing for over a week now - I feel like I am gagging constantly, and when I try to swallow this lump at the back of my throat, I can feel it go down my throat and then most disgustingly slowly creep up again. It is horrendous!!! Even though I do feel my uvula on the back of my tongue, it does not look that swollen though, my problem seems to be that the back of my throat seems to be caving in, or very swollen, thus narrowing my opening. I also have a very sore throat. Does anyone else have these symptoms?
On my 5th bout of this crap and I have to say that it never gets any easier to deal with. I sound like a warbling cat when I speak and have the constant snot feeling in the back of my throat. Thankfully, mine usually last a day or so. I never tried the salt water or tumeric, I just drink hot tea and pop a couple advil. Interesting thing, this time it started when I was awake - completely sober and hadn’t had dinner. The body is and odd, odd thing. We gotta listen to it very closely. Good luck fellow uviiters…..
Like many of you before me I awoke this morning thinking I had the mother of all lugies in the back of my throat. After trying to throw it up I looked in the mirrow and about fell over. My uvula is so swollen it and my tongue are plating pat-a-cake. I’ve had strep throat the last couple of days so I believe that’s what’s causing mine. I think I’m going to try the salt water and cough drops. I hope this goes away soon. It’s so gross.
Wow! You guys make me feel a lot better! I had a canker sore in the back of my throat that was really painful so I took Vicks chloraseptic drops to numb it. I took one and still felt the pain so I took another and next thing I know I have uvalitis! This sucks cuz I would have preferred to get it from drinking. I didn’t even do anything to warrant this! I did use some extra strenght tylenol which really helped the pain of the canker sore and the sweilling.
I woke up this morning….same signs and symptoms as others posted on here…thought I was dealing with stubborn phlegm, then saw the massive thing at back of throat. Feel better already tio know its not just me! Thanks.
yep, i woke up like that this morning actually and found this page cause i was searching for what it means… did u ever find out? cause id like to know too. this isnt the first time ive had a swollen uvula but it has been a long time. My throat started hurting last night but uvula wasnt swollen till this morning. I hate being able to feel it when i swallow =p
Same story here….
Woke up felt a giant slimey beast in the back of my throat, tried to force it out untill I realized it was connected to my mouth, go upstairs into my bathroom grab a flashlight and my uvula is pretty swollen and very red.
It’s not all that bad it’s just incredibly irritating.
I’ve had swollen tonsils for the past 4 months now and the doctors could never figure out what it was, but i’ve never had a swollen uvula nor heard of it before.
My girlfriend actually had to stop me from snipping it with scissors cause it was annoying me so badly.
It’s been one day and the asshole hasen’t gone away yet.
I’m 17 years old so I gotta call my mom and make her take me to the doctor which I don’t feel like doing.
Gayyyyyy.
I think I’m rocking the swollen dangly thing blues too…it’s making me angry!!
A-HA
my huz woke me this morning, laughing. I woke him up thinking he was having a bad dream but he said something about ‘how funny’, and we went back to sleep. Couple hours later he’s in a hot shower trying to loosen whatever glob of goo that seems to have fallen from his sinuses but still feels connected– armed with flashlight I checked…ewww, yep, um babe? You’re trying to swallow your own throat.
He snores terrifically. Will be trying salt water post-haste…
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! i’m out of town … i drank some tea and went to bed early this morning… i woke up… went to spit. and OOOOOHHHHHH GAAAAAWWWWDDD!!!!!!!! What do i do? uhh think man think!!! Call mom?…… naaah uh maybe if i look again everything will be normal…. naaaaah… 911???? naah waaay to embarrassing.. i’m in a frikin’ hotel. Gawd i hate Houston. Why did I ever come here?? Called my doctor… talked to his useless receptionist wanna be nurse. gotta get on a plane in a lil bit… What will i do??? Thank God for the internet… you guys saved at least my sanity… now if i die in the airplane its all you faults!!!
Woke up yesterday morning with horrific sore threat and feeling a big ball of phlegm that wouldn’t come up. No matter how much I coughed or spit, nothing happened. I then thought it must be the dangling uvula and had visions of going to ER and them having to put me under the knife and cut that pesky thing out!
After having great difficulty swallowing and talking properly I decided on ER visit. Doc said it was viral and gave me IV with antibiotic and steroid. Better as day progressed and this morning sore throat again, but don’t feel that ‘thing’ stuck in back of throat. Doc said he had seen much worse but mine looked red and mean!!
I do snore and thought maybe this might have had something to do with it, but got no response one way or the other on that one.
Good luck to all of you who have had it and hope none of us ever has to deal with the nasty thing again! YUCK
yeah, i have that tingling thingy too. I’ve had it for a while now, lets say a month… last week i got sour throat, now I’m coughing like hell. and that little monster is still hanging there. tried to touch it , but i can’t reach it. i don’t know what to do. how do i shorten the dame thing? the weired thing is, it’s not sour or swollen ( maybe it is), but it’s not painful , it’s just hanging there at the back of my tongue. don’t know what to do.
I’ve been being treated for strep throat with antibiotics since late Saturday (had my friendly visit to the local ER). I followed it up with a visit to my PMD which the ER recommended and now I’m on two types of antibiotics..but guess what I started having that lugie in the throat feeling last night and it continues today. So here I am on my third day of my original antibiotics and my second day of my secondary antibiotics and I still feel like I want to honker up this mass sitting above the roof of my mouth. I guess I’ll wait until my doctors office opens and call her again. AAARRRGGGHHH.
Just a quickie for everyone, this may sound silly. I turned off the heating in my bedroom before the summer and havent had this shit now since April, I turned the heating back on two days ago and this morning my dangley bastard was slightly swollen although not as bad as normal.
Just wondered if the dry warm atmosphere in the bedroom had anything to do with it.
Ive thought many times that the dryness in the throat during the night plus snoring etc has somethin to do with it so off goes the heating again and if it keeps this little twat normal i’ll buy extra blankets.
Just thought I’d share the info.
I went to the ENT today and he insisted I go on steroids. He said “don’t mess with an airway obstruction” he also said my uvula was “massive”. I took the steroids an hour ago. It is still hard to swallow but I am convinced I am on the upswing.
Greetings fellow uvuliters (term coined by another poster):
A symptom I haven’t noticed here yet is this darned lack of energy. I feel like I just can’t muster the strength to do anything much at all. I’ve had a bad cold (or whatever this is) for a week and a half and yesterday awoke with our little friend. I went through the whole thought process of – what on earth is this, etc., then found information and reassurance on the web, mostly from this site. I wasn’t drinking or anything – possibly mine is viral, but I hate going to the doctor. I have Chloroseptic cough drops and keep gargling with the warm salt water. A friend also recommended gargling with apple cider vinegar mixed half with warm water. Another, a saline solution that you shoot up your nose with a baby syringe, while hanging over the side of the bathtub (haven’t tried that yet). The theory on that one being that all this crud is originating in the nasal cavity and dripping down our throats. Nice, huh. My sinuses feel clear, though. I was blowing my nose a lot a few days ago but not now. Before bed I’m using Nyquil…
Isn’t it great describing all this stuff to each other? Well, maybe some of these suggestions will help.
I’ll wait several days before resorting to the doctor…
Yeah I woke up with our little dangly friend this morning. I am just getting over pneumeonia and now this. I went to the walk in clinic this morning and in 10 minutes was seen and heading out with a new perscription of steriods. Can’t say they are helping much though. I am just sleeping and drinking lots of water. Don’t know what would cause this. I live in Canada so it isn’t the dryness. Took the day off work though…..we will see how that goes.
thanks for the ideas though. The salt water has helped more then the meds…go figure.
Ok, so I had an EGD on Thursday to try to find out why I have pain in the liver-region although I’ve already had my gall bladder removed. I insisted to the GI doc that I NEVER have heartburn although he insists that I go on medication for GERD. I don’t snore, but I do have asthma. Anyway, I get the scope done on Thursday, and then come home to sleep off the drugs. When I woke up I was choking to death, and thought I was going to suffocate. So I am groggy and fall back to sleep or whatever, but by that night I finally went to investigate. My uvula was the size of the end of my pinky and I couldnt even see the back of my throat. The thing was so swollen that it was bent in half and lying halfway down the length of my tongue! So I didnt want to call the doc, because he already treats me like an idiot who doesnt know what occurs in her own body. (GERD be damned, I dont have any heartburn I tell you!) So the next day, after not being able to eat or drink anything due to the excruciating fire-ball of pain that comes on swallowing, the surgery center calls me to check up on me. I tell the nurse that I can’t eat or drink and that I am choking on my uvula, and that I kept waking up all night gasping for breath so I was afraid to even fall asleep. She insists that I call the GI doc and let him know about this condition and promises me that this is not in fact a typical side effect of having an EGD performed. So the doctor, who has been all non-chalant up to this point, tells me not to fall asleep unless someone is with me! So now I terrified that I am going to suffocate in my sleep, I am a single mom with no one to monitor my breathing at night, and I am an asthmatic!!! After four days of choking down soy milk and organic smoothies mixed with ice cream, I wanted some real food. So last night I ate a few pieces of meat and part of a corn muffin (all the while with tears in my eyes because I may as well have been washing down razor blades with hydrochloric acid!). Today, the thing is just as painful as on Day 1, but not quite as swollen still. I have been alternating x-strength Tylenol and Motrin for 5 days, and now my ears are starting to “burn” every time I swallow, and my tongue is white and furry. I work and I am in nursing school, plus the two kids. Man, I dont have time for this crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is it time for me to go to the doctor???
omg this sucks. i had this yesterday when i woke up but it went away within the hour. now it is back again. i drank liquor both nights and im wondering if that has anything to do with it. it is sooo annoying. the thought of swallowing it down is nasty. but at this point i’d rather do that then have it rest on my tongue and bug the shit out of me. i tried the salt water and the room temp water and its not helping. im gonna try the listerine and see. i might be makin a trip to the doctor because this is killin me
Vina… Yes! Get your butt to the doctor ASAP!! I’ve heard of a week-long version of this but yours has to be due to some kind of nasty infection…
But I woke up about 6am today unable to breathe. After scaring the hell out of the wife, I confirmed yep. The ol’ punching bag is back with a vengeance! It’s been many many years since I had strep or any kind of viral infection so I doubt it’s that. I did have a couple of beers last night but not that many.
I’m relatively sure mine’s from sleeping on my back and snoring like an ogre. Damn sleep apnea. Although, the wife says she thought I sounded all allergy-y last night. No specific allergy, just the seasonal crap.
Anyway, the salt water gargle helps as well as taking Motrin. (an anti-inflammatory)
To those who have this: if you have it for more than 8-10 hours with no relief or subsiding of symptoms, you need to get to the doc ASAP. I’ve had this several times now over the last 4 or 5 years. It sucks but it’s tolerable. For me the key is to always have the monster loogie down my throat instead of on top of the tongue. It seems to trigger the gag reflex if it’s on the tongue. Good luck fellow uvuliters!!
OMG! I just got back from the ER with the “father of my child” or “boyfriend” or whatever he is after 11 years.. and he’s been diagnosed with uvalitis– put on steroids, antibiotics, and Vicodin (!)
He drinks heavily all the time and has for years but Wednesdays he goes bowling and seems to come more drunk then usual…so there might be something to the alcohol idea..My concern is they told him it’s caused by a virus…if so is it contagious?? I hope my (now) sore throat is mearly psycosycomatic from looking down his throat w/ the flashlight!
I, too, am so glad to find this site! LOL and sympathy to you all.
I had tonsils removed two weeks ago (too old for this junk!), and never had problems with my uvual until last week. HUGE!!! I could finally drink down some broth and swollow jello after surgery, and then the uvula
decides to swell and dangle down my throat… gagging me to death,and there went the first thing I could eat! Two days of that, and the dr prescribes prednisone to shrink the swelling…of course I would have to take it with food and be able to hold it down! And three pills to swollow in succession each time, to boot!Bitter and nasty! Are all drs idiots? I can’t hold down anything! I’m starving! (of course, losing 11 pounds has been the only perk).
Still swollen, still gagging, and cannot sleep with that worm hanging down my throat. When I roll over to try better rest on my sides, even propped up, with my tonsils now gone, the long uvula just rolls on over to hit against the sides of my throat. Still trying to heal from tonsilectomy. Dag, y’all! I need help. Calling dr again when I get off here. Wish me well. Oh, yeah, back to the lady with the white stuff on her tongue… could be a yeast infection… the antibiotic I was given after surgery sent me into a full mouth thick yeast…. more pills to swallow! Gotta get meds for that stuff!
I do have tumeric and will try that this morning…. the salt water alone seems to tenderize my poor ailing uvula and lengthens it more!
God bless us all to better health!
Well here we are again, 3.25am and sat in bed writing this whilst waiting to see how bad this thing swells. it is abuot to swell up, how do i know because i fell asleep on the sofa earlier i woke with a read scratchy throat which is still there and the little bugger has started to swell but not too badly YET. because im now awake while its happening i am tryin to think wot i have eaton that may be a trigger n the only two things apart from norma were cheese and diet coke. the other pointer is that for me it seems to kick in whe i am really tired and last few days inhave been so very very tirng….just thort id share
3.48 n the swellin has started to happen, the left side of my throat where the scatchy feeling has been has started to go so we will have to see where it ends now. Trouble is i was tired before but now cant go to sleep again till it settles so yet another sleepless night in front of me.Not 100% sure if stress and tiredness cause mine as ive had loads of both this week.
I have had this ’scratchy’ feeling on my uvula for months, it wakes me up in the night, it feels really dry and i have to drink gallons of water, i feel as though i just want to put my hand down my throat and scratch it, i do suffer from acute tonisilits a couple of times a year, but i find the disturbed sleep each night very annoying. I cough that much that my eyes water!….is this normal from all of the experiences with people on here?… I was beginning to think i had something very nasty going on in my throat but was too scared to go to my GP
Hey, I am 17 and I woke up this morning and i felt liek i had some snot in te back of my throat, i tried to cough it out and it was coming out, i thought i was choking so i took out a flashlight and saw that my uvela is really swollen, i no it is from a virus i have called cansake a i think. it doesnt hurt as much, and i cant cough without a fear of gagging on it hopefully the pain and swelling will go down greatly by friday because I have a football game!!!!
I can’t sleep because I keep choking on that yucky thing in the back of my throat. I have had a sore throat for a couple of days (I am suspecting strep). I related to the poster who described swallowing anything felt like she was swallowing razor blades. I am probably dehydrated because it hurts so darn much to swallow! It is 3:30 am, so I guess I will just suffer until the doctor’s office opens at 9:00 am. If I can’t get in, then I will go to our nearest Urgent Care. Thanks for letting me have my little “pity party”! =(
Well like many of you I too am up at the early butt crack of dawn going through another bout of this swollen uvula thing. Couple things I notice that triggers it for me. BTW these started with me around 4 to 5 years ago and I get them often… usually once every 2 months or so. First time freak me out!!! Then I found a board like this that really helped out! Ny are usually caused by sleeping with my mouth open and the ceiling fan on. Sometimes a heater will be it to. Anything that causes my mouth to dry out for long periods of time.
A couple things that help me get the swelling down is to start drinking lots of water, turn off the fan, keep my mouth shut, breath through my nose and not panic and try to swollow which of corse only irritates it more… Salt water has never really helped me before and cough drops help once in a while…
I hope that helps someone out there!
Got this for the first time ever today… my 23rd birthday (unimpressed). It was humorous to how many people had the same reaction that I did! Thinking it was phlegm.. trying to get it out! I honestly thought I would have to have surgery or something after I had seen it in the mirror! Thank god my gf found this site for me. I’ve just tried the salt water/turmeric thing. I’m thinking I’ll go to sleep and hope that it’s gone by the morning.
While there is a lot of helpful posts and a lot of people saying they would go try the gurgling salt water/turmeric thing, there isn’t a lot of follow up! Did it work for a lot of you? If not what eventually did you all do to make it go away, visit the doctor? How long does it generally take for it to go away for the most of you?
Same symptoms here…gargling didn’t work and I’ve had it for a couple days so I went to the doc today and turns out it’s strep…on penicillan now for the next 10 days or so…good news is i’ve only been on it for a few hours and although the dangly ball is still hangin around, the irritation has eased quite a bit…will keep getting better i’m sure…
HI. All. I menat to follow-up with you after my ENT dr. visit (the swollen uvula thing after my tonsillectomy).
He said “Stop gargling! Your uvula is already inflamed and gargling is beating it to death! Drink lots of warm liquids to get the blood flowing to help with healing.” Warm liquiids as in herbal teas. He also took me off the predsnisone that the other dr prescribed because it slows the immune system, thereby slowing healing.
Well, initially, that helped. For 2 days, I thought I had this thing under control. But… it has been hitting the back of my throat for weeks now, but I am not panicing as much. What makes it worse? Strong drinks (for me that would be Coke, Dr. Pepper….even hot chocolate feels good at first,not later. For some, I imagine alcohol and tobacco use is murderous on the throat.) Anyway, I did not gargle with the tumeric, but did add some to my food…I do think it helped a little when I used a Q-tip and put a little directly on the uvula. See, I am willing to try almost anything. A local pharmacist said she thought at this point, cool things would bring down the swelling. Ice cubes, anyone? Hold the carbonated drinks.
Welcome to the world of gross bodily swelling! Eww..
I woke up this morning and my throat was super sore but it wasn’t until this afternoon at work that I noticed the freaky massive uvula dangling there and getting in my way every time I tried to talk, I get home from work, I am trying to explain to my boyfriend what is going on and he is looking at me as if perhaps I have gone crazy! So then there is panic mode.. is it life threatening? is it cancer?
So, I do what any normal person would do under the circumstances.. Go to the doctor? HELL NO! Google it!!!!
And now, here I am, relieved beyond belief that I am not dying, but also that I can show my boyfriend that I am not crazy!!
Good luck fellow disgusturbing uvuliters.
I had no idea what this was or until i found this site, thanks so much! I got antibiotics from my doc so hopefully they will help. He also have me this corsodyl mouthwash which is good if you dont like the salt water.
question though, has anyone had white stuff on their uvula?? that freaks me out the most. hopefully it goes away soon! ive had a lot of painful stuff but damn who knew that little thing could cause so much trouble.
I don’t feel any pity for you dumbasses who get a swollen uvula from drinking. That’s just your own dumb fault. As for me, I’ve been getting swollen uvula ever since I was a kid, usually about 4 times a year, usually when the seasons change. Today is Thanksgiving, and not only am I 5000 miles away from home in a foreign country NOT getting to eat a delicious American Thanksgiving dinner, but on top of that I have a swollen uvula and have to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning to work for 12 hours, followed by 3 more 12 hour shift days until Tuesday.
I used to work at a highschool, and one day my uvulitis came on. I knew the following 2 or 3 days were going to be hell so I told my boss that I would finish out the day at work but that I was calling in sick for the next day. I told my boss that my uvula was swollen and that it was uncomfortable to talk. So, I got the day off. But guess what, when I came back to work my boss told me take a few more days off as he was considering firing me for taking a sick day off because, as he put it, “You only had a swollen uvula”. Pretty much everybody I have ever known doesn’t know what it feels like to have a swollen uvula and how miserable it is. I didn’t give that anal Swiss fucker the pleasure of firing me. I quit and held school materials hostage until I was payed my full salary for the month. I hope that asshole gets a raging swollen uvula someday–so bad that all he can do is just sit there and cry. Then I’ll shove a Swiss bugle up his ass.
If you’re feeling bad folks, just remember, at least you never lost a job because of uvulitis nor had to suffer through it on Thanksgiving.
Enjoy your turkey, fuckers (grrrr)
I don’t feel any pity for you dumbasses who get a swollen uvula from drinking. That’s just your own dumb fault. As for me, I’ve been getting swollen uvula ever since I was a kid, usually about 4 times a year, usually when the seasons change. Today is Thanksgiving, and not only am I 5000 miles away from home in a foreign country NOT getting to eat a delicious American Thanksgiving dinner, but on top of that I have a swollen uvula and have to wake up bright and early tomorrow morning to work for 12 hours, followed by 3 more 12 hour shift days until Tuesday.
I used to work at a highschool, and one day my uvulitis came on. I knew the following 2 or 3 days were going to be hell so I told my boss that I would finish out the day at work but that I was calling in sick for the next day. I told my boss that my uvula was swollen and that it was uncomfortable to talk. So, I got the day off. But guess what, when I came back to work my boss told me take a few more days off as he was considering firing me for taking a sick day off because, as he put it, “You only had a swollen uvula”. Pretty much everybody I have ever known doesn’t know what it feels like to have a swollen uvula and how miserable it is. I didn’t give that anal Swiss fucker the pleasure of firing me. I quit and held school materials hostage until I was payed my full salary for the month. I hope that asshole gets a raging swollen uvula someday–so bad that all he can do is just sit there and cry. Then I’ll shove a Swiss bugle up his ass.
If you’re feeling bad folks, just remember, at least you never lost a job because of uvulitis nor had to suffer through it on Thanksgiving.
Enjoy your turkey, fuckers (grrrr)
I’m one of the idiots that went to the ER this morning at 6:00 a.m. I thought I was dying. Steroids and Benadryll is what they gave me. They think I had an allergic reaction. And yes, I had dry mouth all night and felt dehydrated. I have been drinking water and sucking on Halls all day. so far…not too bad. Slowly getting better
This site cracked me up. As some of the rest of you did, I paniced. Thought I needed to cough up some phlegm and tried to no avail. I even reached in the back of my throat to grab the ball of phlegm out and then realized it was my uvula and then thought. Crap is my uvula coming out. I did look in the mirror , but did not use a flash light. LOL! I was spending the nite with family after a great thanksgiving dinner. They all had to wake up with me, as I was ready to drive to the ER and then decide I first needed to calm down, and realize I wasn’t gasping for air so I was not in need of immmediate medical care. I will say it was quite gross seeing that nasty bugger laying on my tongue.
I had a few drinks, I snore(which my daughter said was louder than normal last night), I have asthma and I’ve had a sore throat and cold or something for two weeks.
So hopefully I’ll go to the doc, in the next few days and see what is the problem , but for now, I will try lots of water and maybe even sleeping with a vaporizer.
Thanks for the laughs, I was almost in tears, but felt so much better that I wasn’t the only one who started to panic.
I was pulling up carpet and taking down drop ceilings in my house and there was a lot of dust and I wasn’t wearing a respirator. Well after the second day of demolishing, my uvula started to swell up and I got extremely fatigued and started to get chills. It started to get better but today I woke up with another swollen episode and it hurts like hell to swallow. It kind of hurts to talk but I can manage it. I tried the salt-water gargle and some warm tea, but they seem not to be working. I’m at work feeling like sheisse and I’m about to run to the store to get some anti-inflammatory , some honey and some ibuprofen.
This sucks.
Hi all. I’ve had a swollen uvula for going on three months now. It’s long and sits on my tongue. What’s hard is that it makes swallowing solid food extremely difficult. With regards to that part I don’t even know if it’s the uvula causing it or something else. All I know is swallowing solids is almost impossible for me these days. Anyway, I’m not really sure what caused it or why it isn’t going away. The ENT doctor I went to said I probably have GERD, and prescribed some Prevacid which I’ve been on for somewhere around eleven weeks now. Hasn’t helped a bit. My mouth is dry when it wake up in the morning so I’ve wondered if that’s my problem but it seems strange that it would suddenly start affecting me like this. Anybody else here have it for such a long period of time?
I have to thank all of you for your comments. I laughed and laughed in spite of my swollen uvula. I’m so relieved I’m not the only schlep who thinks she’s dying because of a fat blob at the back of her throat. Here’s to the internet. It’s a great way to commune with fellow hypochondriacs and laugh the uvula blues away!
Count me in as a sufferer….
I managed to pass it off to my boss this morning that it’s tonsilitis, despite knowing it’s not. Still had to come into work anyway!
My uvula looks like something out of a sci-fi horror at the moment.
Mine’s definitely snoring related - I haven’t slept a full night in bed with the wife in a good year or so cos she kicks me out all the time.
So now I’m looking for a way to cut out the snoring. My theory is that I need to stop the alcohol before bedtime, but it’s coming up to Christmas!!
I feel you guys… My uvula is swollen… it feels like a peice food struck on the back of my throat…. I did drink hard lastnight! ;-I So I guess this is what I get!! i’m trying not to think about it but it’s so hard not to… And the bad part of all is I have no one here to make feel better..! So this really sucks!
I feel you guys… My uvula is swollen… it feels like a peice food struck on the back of my throat…. I did drink hard lastnight! ;-I So I guess this is what I get!! i’m trying not to think about it but it’s so hard not to… And the bad part of all is I have no one here to make feel better..! I rarely get sick, so this really sucks!
I have this right now, it’s been sore like a sore throat/nasal infection for the past 2 days but this morning I woke up and on top of being sore it is seriously swollen, and touching the back of my tongue. Guess I’m going to start chugging water and gargling salt water. Dunno what else to do. It’s Christmas Eve, this sucks!
It’s quarter after 2 in the morning and this is the third time that I have had this happen. Not as severely as most of you, it sounds like. I do think that mine is cause by snoring/breathing through the mouth. I guess my snoring is pretty hardcore since I wake up half the time with the boyfriend upside down with a pillow on his head.
I do drink, but not the days before any of my instances have happened. I remember being freakishly hot when I woke up with this… at least for right now and one other time.
I’m glad I have a fridge full of Vitamin Water. I don’t know what else to do besides drink cold stuff and throw back a few Motrin. I really just want to cut the stupid thing off!
Once again, I too am glad there are other people experiencing the same thing… Well, not glad, per-say. Just relieved
I hate this!! I have gotten this twice in the last month and I woke up this morning with it, like many of you I woke up on my back with severe dry mouth as well… not to mention my history of snoring. Anyways, it took about eight hours or so for mine to feel normal again… what I’ve found works for me is to rub the back of your throat with a popsicle and lots of cold fluids, also a decongestant and some aleve may help as well.
Needless to say, I’m now sitting here dreading the thought of going to sleep afraid I may wake up with it again… at the moment my throat is very dry which concerns me that it just may return, all I can do is hope it doesn’t… at any rate, good luck to all fellow uvulitis sufferers.
LOL I have a big uvula. I figured it was sleeping with a fan on and now I see it can be due to snoring. Which my wife made me sleep on the couch today because it was so loud. Needless to say I slept GOOD!!! Then I woke up to realizing I could barely swallow. So I thought maybe I just had some flem or whatever and I could not even get that to come up. Look in the mirror to find my uvula is the size of a freaking acorn! I was talking like Leon Phelps, the ladies man to…so at least I made myself laugh this morning at 5:30am. Now I am at work researching why my uvula is swollen. Cool water seems to do the trick for me, the swelling is down and I can swallow again painlessly. Maybe it was the Bojangles biscuit and fries, with a large sweet tea that helped. I dont know, I’m not a doctor. cya
48 years old, and this is a first for me. It started with a scratchy throat, and a minor cold (I DID plan on going to work today) but I woke up at 3 am with the weirdest sensation that I was almost choking, could barely swallow….one look in the mirror and AHHHH, my uvula is HUGE, like a big reddish worm, fat and laying on my tongue. I sound like I’m under water when I talk…that weird fake gargley talking. I am the queen of snoring, so I’m sure that didn’t help. Between the cold, the SUPER-UVULA, and making ugly faces when I swallow (hurts like a…)I thought staying home would be the thing to do. Luckily I have a four day weekend. My husband thinks its quite…disgusturbing too (had to use the word).
Cold will help reduce swelling so that will be my theme today with beverages.
People, people, people… listen up!
I too woke up with “uvulitis” yesterday and felt miserable all day! This is probably like the 10th time for me. The swelling has gone down a bit, but my uvula is still hanging lower than normal. Mine is also a bit larger than most people, so it doesn’t take much for it the start touching my throat and back of tongue.
I suffer (well, less now than before) from sleep apnea. 90% of the posts I’ve read, people are clueless as to the reason why their uvula is swollen after waking up in the morning. YOU HAVE SLEEP APNEA TOO!
Has anyone ever told you that you snore?
Sleep apnea is super common and effects millions of people. If gone untreated, such as most people here, you’re going to wake up on occasions with a uvulitis, a huge headache, or in the worst cases, not at all. No joke.
The main reason I had uvulitis yesterday morning was because I fell asleep without my CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) on. It’s the device I have to use that blows air through my nostrils that allows me to sleep. It forces me to breath through my nose instead of my mouth. Since I did not have it on, which is my own fault, I was breathing through my mouth and severely irritated my uvula. Without my CPAP, I cannot get a good night’s sleep and will wake up everyday with uvulitis. I wish I didn’t have to use it, but I couldn’t live without it.
There have been several other times that I fell asleep before putting on my mask and this has happened to me. It has also came off accidentally while sleeping and awoke the next day with a very sore uvula. I certainly may be worse than most here, but I guarentee that most have sleep apnea to some degree!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uvula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_apnea
http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/snoring/cpap.cfm
I have one as well…although mine is from a mishap at the dental office. It was a new dentist and a newbie assistant (big mistake). The assistant shoved that suction thing they use in the back of my mouth and I believe it caught on my uvula!! The next day the whole top of my mouth was red or bruised…and my uvula was black on the tip and completely swollen, it looked absolutely awful. I could not even drink water….it hurt to talk/eat/drink anything. As of today (this is almost a week later) it still hurts a lot but now another weird happened: the small blackened portion of my uvula that kind of fell off. I don’t feel any different, I think everything is still functional but I may have to go to my doc again.
CRAZY TIMES lol
From all these comments I can conclude that you can get your uvula swollen if you have some infection, or it is a result of irritation (irritation from sleep apnea or irritation caused by alcohol or throwing up). This was just a hipothesis.
I drank 4 litres of wine, and threw up 5 or six times. In the morning I felt something strange. It was my uvula. But it was not swollen, but just longer and of course lying on my tongue. I think it is caused either because the liquid I threw up was like acid or because I pressed my uvula so hard while I was throwing up that I flattened it.It does not hurt at all but just irritates. You all say your mouth is dry but in my case my throat is dry.
I promise I’ll tell how this thing ended. And I’d like to add that not all people are perfect like Ryan. It’s all life
I AM NOT ALONE! Thank Christ for that. I had pretty much the same experience as everyone - tried to hack up my own uvula thinking it was a gob of snot, ended up vomiting blood, and as I was in the house on my own, had a panic attack and called an ambulance thinking I was choking to death while vomiting blood. Got a telling off by the ambulance ladies when they arrived because clearly it wasn’t that bad. Got antibiotics and told to gargle with aspirin. Seems to be working. Or I’m just getting used to having a massive uvula, I don’t know. At least I can smoke again now! Hurrah.
Did anyone else’s uvula look flat/deflated, but still huge? Or is that just me?
Diagnosed with sleep apnea,asthma,overweight. But nothing prepared me for waking up coughing and finding a phlegm ball that would not come out.No matter how hard I tried to cough it up and out it would not dislodge itself. For a minute I thought I would not be able to swallow or breathe. Fear took over and I ran to take a shower and hoped the steam would loosen it- all the while thinking I might have to go to the hospital in an ambulance and should get dressed to be ready just in case. I had never heard of or thought about this thing being connected to me. I really thought it was a ball of mucus or phlegm which would not loosen itself. Each time I tried to bring it up it would come further into my mouth but not far enough to disconnect. The computer beckoned me to just type in what was happening and I found a site that started to tell the stories of others who have encountered the same frightening, disgusting experience. Thank God. I too thought I was dying of cancer or I had some unusual thing that the doctors would want to write in the medical journals.I sipped on tea,drank seltzer water and had a bowl of chicken broth. By the end of the day-I had a sore throat and felt the thing shrinking a little. I did have something solid to eat and felt I did not want to give in to this thing. Going to bed was nerve racking because I thought I would be awakened again with this repulsive experience. The water before bed, at the times I got up to pee, and the blowing of my nose during awake time helped. I also do not have the heat on during the night and I additionally leave my bedroom window opened. When the heat is turned on by my daughter in the morning I noticed it wakes me with a dry throat and I think there is something helpful in this information. Drink water, turn heat off at night and open window. If you wake during the night, drink water. If your nose gets congested, sit up and blow your nose. If you use any allergy drops,use them. I do have a special remedy from my ENT doctor which is a little menthol oil, and some other simple ingredients (non prescription). Keep hydrated, both orally and nasally. That is the secret. I hope you only experience this once in your lifetime. That’s enough…………..
Gag lady
I get the swollen uvula about 4 times a year. It normally occurs when: I have went too long without sleep, when my nose is stuffy and I breathe thru my mouth whlie asleep during the heating months, and when I fall asleep in a recliner with my head tilted in an akward position. Therefore, I believe it is caused by excessive dry mouth and/or the combination of the body not being well rested. I have had the steroids and so forth, but it usually heals fine in a day or 2 with nothing. I’m going to get a humidifier for the bedroom for the heating months to see if it helps. If you are ill with a sore throat and/or fever I would say it is bacterial and you need antibiotics. Other than that you are wasting your time with meds unless it is big enough to actually obstruct airway.
mines swullen right now and it blows, im eating lots of icecream and drinking lots of water but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything, i kinda feel like cutting it off…
Wow seems most of you just “woke up one morning”…i just happened to me about half an hr ago and ive been up all day i just randomly felt it there…was thinking i had some food or something but lo and behold my uvula is just pointing towards my tongue…it tastes so strange to lol oh well
I have changed jobs recently and work at night and sleep dudrng the day, I guess that I am encountering a lot of stress lately with the learning the new job, new sleep patterns, and also like alot of other people trying to visit the gym a few times a week to hopefully live longerand healthier. However, I woke up yesterday to a real dry sensation in the back of my throat, I asked my daughter to please get me some water. I drank the water only to realize that I couldn’t get rid on this dry feeling in the back of my throat. I felt like I was going to choke. I go to the bathroom and look in the mirror at the back of my throat and my uvela was swollen and much longer than usual and touching my toungue. I tried to swollow but it kept getting larger then I PANNICKED. I started kind of hyper-ventilating. I told my husband I needed to go the doctor. I freaked,started cying, and had him ride with me because I was afraid I would have a panik attack. I put a cough drop in my mouth on the way. After about an hour I saw the doctor, he looked down by throat, and says humm it seems to look pretty normal now (made me feel like an idiot) an asked me if I wanted a steriod shot. I said yes, I was afraid it would come back when I got home. I also have suffered from strep as a child all of my life and have scars on the back of my throat that cause food to become trapped in the back of my throat. I have to keep it clean also. I think we all sometimes go through life thinking that we are a little different but as life goes on we find out that we are all pretty normal. This website has really helped me. Just remember this phrase when we start feeling a little strange or odd. “I’m not strange, I’m just like you, I like to do what normal people do.” Ha Ha lol
Thanks Shal
this swollen little beast is driving me crazy!! every time i swallow i feel like i’m gonna gag! thank goodness for this site or i would be at the doctor right now paying a thousand bucks (don’t have insurance)!!!!! I even tried to pop it with a needle… doesn’t work! haha! So i took one of my boyfriend’s prescription anti-inflamatory pills and i’m going to sleep.. hopefully to find it normal when i wake up!
it’s been about 45 minutes since i posted last. My boyfriend bought sucrets cough drops and i’ve been eating popcicles and drinking water. the swelling has gone down (not to normal yet) and there is no pain. I can barely feel it back there now! yay! but yeah the sucrets cough drops really numbed it and made it feel better
well mine is swwollen and this is the 2nd time it has happened
Argh. Swollen uvula.. Must think happy thoughts…
Ive had it about 8 times in my life,but this times the worse had far to much to drink friday night, was sick bad, then slept woke up with the uvula swollen but also my tonsils real sore probly the acid in the sick, 4 days later its still there not quite as bad thoe.
Oh my god, I’m not alone. I woke up at about 4 this morning trying to figure out what the hell was going on in my throat. I look in the mirror, and I swear I did a double take followed by an “Oh my god, what the hell?!” I ran to the computer and googled furiously, and here I am. I’m not alone! That was reassuring, I thought I was dieing Hahaha.
Turns out mine is from my bacterial sinus infection. I’m on antibiotics already so I just took those this morning, tylenol for pain, sudafed PE, drank hot tea, gargled with salt water, and had a nice wild berry popsicle. The swelling seems to have gone down a bit. Still hurts, still big, but not as bad.
Get well soon my fellow uvula pals.
Hi all! First of all thanks for this website!
I just woke up this morning after snoring all night and I felt that I have something at the back of my throut so I tried to split it out and I had this freaky feeling….I put my fingers in my mouth and this thing was stuck :o(
I couldn’t spit because my Uvula will stick to my tongue and made me sick but cannot be sick either cos I feel worse.
So after looking on the net I’ve found this website and feel lots better!
I still have it and I’m trying the salt water remedy…hope it works!
Mostly I have had enlarged uvula in the a.m. (three times)
Twice at night. The specialist says that I need to find what it is that I may be ingesting that may cause this allergic reaction. I have taken steriods for immediate results.
Yess, I have had swelling in instances of dry mouth, drinking alcohol, never with cannabis use, but always after drinking REDBULL, not the sugarfree kind, just the regular. I thought the doctor was just pitching me a curveball when he told me to make a log of what I eat and drink, but this is how we come to this conclusion of allergic reactions. I am 35 in great health and who would’ve thought this?! I just recently having this issue and what we may not of had reaction to in the past may change as we age.
If it swells upon waking, NO TALKING, and only swallowing lightly works. Drink, do not chug water ONLY until some swelling subsides. U may feel like you need to swallow snot…go ahead. tThe heat from smoking will irritate it more, so don’t until it shrinks.
AS LONG AS THERE IS NO FEVER this all will help.
If fever is associated with swelling it is not a reaction, but an infection and your uvula is responding to it.
woah dude, here i am looking for ways to fix my gigantic swollen uvula and i find this. my uvula is so huge that i can feel it sitting on my tongue too. it has little white patches on it too. i definately have strep.
argh…thank gawd for this site! i was ready to go to the hospital 2 days ago because i couldn’t figure out why i wasn’t breathing properly. this morning i noticed that my uvula was sticking to my tongue. i keep feeling like i have to swallow and it’s making things worse. going to try to salt water now…thanks guys!
I woke up with a Swollen Uvula as well and I found the cure. Eat ice cream and drink a lot of water.
Well this morning was the third time this has happened to me. The first time was three years ago and I rushed to the ER to find out I had “Uvalitis”. The first time it happened to me I had smoked to cigarettes in a row and my throat felt really irritated. I went to sleep and i woke up not being able to swallow. Since then I have quit smoking. The second time and this morning I think is because I slept with the window open and I breathed in the very cold air all night. This morning I woke up at 4am my throat was dead dry and without looking in the mirror I already knew what was happening. I got a bottle of water, drank about 3 gulps, and forced myself to go back to sleep. When I woke again about 5 hours later it was fine. Thank god because it is so annoying. Take note I am 5′9 and weigh 300 pounds. When I sleep I breath through my mouth and snore like a grizzly. I do feel that that could contribute to my problem.
First day of my holiday in Cornwall I awoke with a very dry throat, Firstly I thought that maybe it was just that my room was dry and I’d slept with my mouth wide open. I got up and prepared to take our little dog for a walk on the beach. Whilst walking I was trying to cough up what I thought was some snot but nothing was comeing up. I got back from the walk and thought I’d check my throat in the bathroom mirror..”Oh Wow” What’s that I thought?.. I had a big, almost transparent white ball where my uvula used to be
After panicing for the next half an hour I started to ask myself a few questions… 1, Did it hurt = No. 2, Was it getting worse or bigger = No. 3, Should I keep panicing and rush to hospital = No.
Anyway after calming down a bit, but still checking my new body part every 3 seconds I went about my day. Then after a few hours things started to improve. However even now - 4 weeks after this uvula thingy took place I have noticed that my uvula is longer than it was previously.
i had a swallon uvula for my first time i gargled in salt water and took pills i couldn’t swallow but as i read most of the comments i stopped swallowin as much and now it barely hurts .i could not go to sleep the first nite wit this but i kept breathin wit my mouth open so it made it worst i have to go to the doctor to make sure i hate this sore throat thing
Well I must admit, as with alot of you, I awoke this morning at 5am, mouth and throat bone dry after a night of intoxication and snoring. I muster the courage to make my self swallow a few times, despite the severe pain, only to realize that I was experiencing somthing out of the ordinary. My uvula is so long, I can feel it swing half way onto my tongue every time I exhale through my mouth. I’m a big guy, and suffered from asthma as a youth, but when I get intoxicated, the breathing through my mouth is much worse. I have taken 800 mg of Ibuprofen, and can already feel some relief, even though, the dangler is still three to four times too long. I beleive if I can avoid a repeat of last night’s events, I with soon be fine. Thanks to all who have found this website along with me, because this has shed some light on my current affliction.
oh p.s
Breath through your nose if at all possible.
Thanks again guys.
Woke up this morning with a swollen uvula also! It has happened a few times before - quite frequently when I kept having chronic sinus infections every 2-3 weeks for over a year. This time, no sinus infection - yet. Lately, however I’ve been having wicked acid reflux - so much so that a couple times I’ve woken up choking cause I inhaled some of the nasty stuff. I have a feeling the acid reflux happens EVERY night so I’ve taken to sleeping with 6 pillows to lessen the symptoms until I can get to a Gastro doctor. I have a suspicious feeling that the acid is causing the swelling - esp since I had some wine last night before bed. Not going to make that mistake again… Anyway just a thought that perhaps reflux might cause the problem for some others as well.
I just woke up this morning and had trouble swallowing. I looked in the mirror and my uvula is so swollen that is is just lying on my tounge! I never had this happen before and I was fine before I went to bed. I still feel fine now, my throat doesn’t even hurt. I am probably going to the doctor’s though when they open this morning because this is weird!
I (like most of you who have posted) woke up with the “swollen dangly thang) this morning. I however have gotten used to it as it has been happening to me for a good 10 years. It has something to do with my sleep apnea(sp?). I had to sleep on the couch last night because I got my face bad sunburned and couldn’t wear my C-pap, therefore my snoring woke my wife up,therefore the couch. I imagine I laid on my back all night with my big mouth hung open and snored which is usually the case when this happens. Nothing really helps although the salt water thing seems to make it numb back there so you don
t notice it AS BAD. I have even tried to gargle 80 proof liquor with nothing more than about the same results as the salt water. Don’t bother with the doctor unless you just absolutely are suffocating. It’ll just take some of those green paper things out of your bilfold and still leave you trying to swallow you “dangly thang”… Best thing I’ve found to do is do something to get your mind off of it. Yes it’s still there but it seems (at least in my case) if I’m not constantly sitting here worrying about it and trying to “play” with it, wiggle it with my tongue, or cough it up, that it will finally find a place to sit on the back of your tongue and things will calm. Of course I’m not saying go jogging or cutting firewood. Pass the time with a good movie or do like me and scan the hunting forums for something to talk about.
Later
Matt
I had sinus/turbinate/septoplasty surgery 3 days ago and have to sleep with my mouth open to breathe, so of course I got the swollen uvula yesterday and thought I was going to die until I found this site. Hot salt water has helped some, but knowing it’s normal has helped most. I go to the doc to remove stitches & packing tomorrow, so maybe he’ll give me a “shrink-ray” or something. I’m already taking zyrtec, so I can’t take more antihistamines. I’m off to buy turmeric and honey now, and of course to scare the grocery store people since I am looking like I’ve been whacked in the face with a shovel. BTW, sleeping wit a vaporizer/humidifier near me seems to be starting to help, too.
ps those weird food-collecting holes in back of the throat are called “crypts” and come from many throat infections.
God, I woke up with this Uvula thing after a night with heavy drinking and wonder what the hell it was. The weird thing is that I didn’t feel hungover.
So like many people before me and I’m sure many more to come, I woke up in the morning with an enlarged, inflamed uvula. and reading all these posts has really helped me. I can see how this has happened to me. I have always been a loud snorer and sleep with my mouth open at many times. And to top it all off, the night before i had quite a few drinks and probably was dehydrated. So now, I’m guzzling water like there’s no tomorrow and just tried the salt-water gargle. Now all i have to do is sit and wait to see if the swollen dude starts to go back to his normal self. I never thought about my uvula much before this, and now its all i can think about. Weird isn’t it?
How to cure a swollen uvula:
- Decrease swallowing
- Avoid hot liquids & smoking (*Including water that is too hot when gargling salt water)
- Go to the doctor to see if it’s caused by an infection!
I went to the doctor and mine is caused by Strep Throat and they gave me antibiotics and vicodan. I had it for 3 days with lots of pain but then once I got the anti-biotics, it’s getting better now, finally. I know the antibiotics made me better and it wasn’t that I just started taking pain pills because I already was taking the same painpills before I got more from my doctor. I have only taken one day worth of the antibiotics so far and I woke up this morning feeling 10 times better.
This has been the worst pain I have ever had and I have had 2 slipped discs, had spinal surgery and have been getting strep and migraines my whole life.
Make sure you go to the doctor if your swollen uvula is accompanied by pain!
And you must always finish all antibiotics in the bottle for them to work even if you feel better.
GoodLuck
well, I woke up with my dangly thing all swollen :/ I sleep on my back and snore quite a bit, think i could have sleep apnea or whatever its called, anyway, I also smoke more then a pack a day so I think it might be that too, hard to say though, but either way this site stopped me from thinking i was dying of some horrible disease lol
I just experienced this swollen uvala this week. It now feels ok about 4 days in after suffering with this “thing” stuck in my throat. I almost panicked and went to the emergency room saying my tonsils were on fire and all that stuff. I ended up just using the methods here: took aleeve and other pills, some vicodin and Chloraseptic throat spray. Today it finally feels not swollen but it is still kinda there in the back of my throat poppin up. I personally think it was caused eating some really spicey curry food last week and also I drank alot of beer and vodka that night. Yeah this sucks, lets put it that way. I am still going to the doctor tomorrow or so just to check it out.
Well during a trip to Chicago 3 years ago i got a swollen uvala after a night of drinking gin,woke up 4 hours after goin to bed my throat was coming out of my mouth i panicked lay on the bed with my head over the side to keep my passage clear,got doctor was in hospital in 30 minutes.Igot anti biotic through a drip and was in hospital for the day it went away by night time.On another trip to the states in 2006 i got it again after drinking gin wound up in hospital again,so ive given up gin.Last weekend i got it again,was out drinking wine as i do but took a shot of something sambuka i think and i woke up with my swollen uvala,i did’nt panic took some asprin and lay low for the day it went back to normal after 2 days. Its still very frightening and nobody could help me on any occasion as the medics never heard of my condition so its good to learn others have it and how to deal with it.
So I’ve had this uvula thing for about two weeks. I’m going to the doctor as soon as auditions for idol are over. This is NOT normal.
I have swollen uvula problems for almost 4 years now. It is painful and annoying to wake up like any other day. Getting ready to brush you teeth and when you read to get that phlegm up it won’t come forward. Then the pain comes. For some ppl it will last just a few hours after u realize it swollen, some is for a few days. I just gargle with hot salt water, suck on few ice chips and then the chloraseptic spray. You right everybody it’s not normal. I went to an ENT dr. He told me that If you have sinus problems and you sleep w/the air or fan in your direction. If you tend to sleep on your back that air is pushing back down in your lungs and therefore the air you breath is pressuring against your uvula causing it to swell. That’s one dr. I’m a go get another opinion soon. I pray that this somewhat help and hopeful we can overcome what looks like a damn epidemic. I thought I was the only one too who had this problem. Awwww I gotta uvula family.. That don’t sound right. BYE.
Well you can add my name to the list i guess. I have to say some of these stories are pretty comedic. I have been taking 2 different very strong antibiotics coupled with the fact that i did not have any water yesterday & there you go, the worst case of cotton mouth in history. It felt like my taste buds were ripped off when i initially swallowed, i think my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth when i awoke. I couldnt swallow or breathe very well so i went to check it out in the mirror and what i found staring back at me was the most horrific looking beat up punching bag that i had ever layed eyes on. I also have a problem snoring (so i’ve been told by my wife, although i have never heard it) - maybe sleep apnea, who knows. Peace out and quit being a baby about it, go to work - you will be okay.
OK folks, if you didn’t read the other 136 comments hopefully you find and read this one. I have been occasionally waking with a swollen uvula for a few years now. I know how horrible it is, on several levels, the physicial discomfort, the panicky feeling that if you go back to sleep your airway will be blocked, the relative lack of information or effective treatment. So here’s how to temporarily relieve this thing and get back to sleep in about an hour. I am not a doctor, though my family doctor has told me that what I am doing is ok while I wait to get some real medical treatment for the problem.
My swollen uvula happens whenever I sleep very deeply and snore really bad without waking myself up. This can be because I’m exhausted, because I had a glass of wine with dinner, because I am taking muscle relaxers for a back injury.. basically anything that causes me to fall into an unusually deep sleep can result in my having this issue.
You need to go to a drug store and buy an over-the-counter asthma inhaler treatment that contains Epinephrine. You’re looking for Primatene Mist or a generic equivalent. When I wake up with a swollen uvula I take the asthma inhaler and a q-tip (cotton swab) and I stick the q-tip against the inhaler opening, repeatedly pumping the inhaler unti the qtip is saturated with the medication it dispenses. After allowing this to come back to room temp (the q-tip and medication will be very cold at first) I then take the q-tip and swab the inhaler medication all over my uvula and soft palate. This may burn a bit but it’s sweet relief when it starts to work. What you are doing is delviering topical Epinephrine directly to the swollen tissue. For me the swelling usually largely subsides within the hour, enough for me to go back to sleep, and is completely gone by mid-morning.
Someone else earlier mentioned a problem with food getting lodged in their tonsils. I have this issue as well, as you get older your tonsils can develop large pits and folds in them. Bits of food can get caught here, and when this happens that bit of food will begin to accumlate a coating of bacteria.. basically it’s just like plaque on your teeth. These rotten bits of food in the back of your throat smell bad, give you bad breath, can be physically uncomfortable, can’t be healthy for you and have a hateful habit of coming loose at the worst time.
I deal with this problem as follows: I got a thin oral medicine syringe from my pharmacist, the kind you would use to give a dose of medicine to a baby or an animal. I then bought a brand new small can of WD-40 (don’t freak out, keep reading). I took the little red tube that came with the can of WD-40 which had never been used, thoroughly sanitized it and then stuck it into the oral syringe and glued it in place. What I had now looked like a hypodermic syringe with a thick, red, blunt needle. What I do with this is, I use the plunger to draw up a syringe full of mouthwash, or hydrogen peroxide diluted in water, or salt water, and I then take the device and, with the use of a flashlight I gently GENTLY irrigate all those places in my tonsils where stuff gets stuck. You’d be amazed and more than a little grossed out at what comes washing out. You do have to be careful, you can hurt yourself if you spray too hard or stab yourself with this thing. I’ve never done either because I’m careful. I do this about once a month and I am pretty sure I am healthier because of it and at least I don’t have all this gross stuff in my throat.
I hope this gets posted, and that it helps anyone who reads it. Once again I am not a doctor, and I have no idea if either of these processes could cause other problems - so far they work great for me - use at your own risk
I’ve got this problem now! The useless thing in my throat is making me miserable right now! Though I am pretty sure why mine occured… ALCOHOL. Kids, don’t drink excessively. Don’t drink to the point where you throw up either. I figure the dehydration + the acidic vomit is what did it for me.
What a way to spend the weekend. Again I stress, don’t party too hard kids.
HAHAHA OMG I WAS SO ON MY WAY TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. I CALLED ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MAKING THIS BIG DEAL ABOUT IT. I THINK I BRUISED MINE WITH MY MECHANICAL TOOTHBRUSH. I FEEL LIKE SUCH A DORK FOR OVER ACTING BUT I GUESS EVERYONE DID THEIR FIRST TIME. I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER NOW THAT I HAVE READ THESE.
I have had this for three days straight now. I went to the doctor because in the past, well, the three times in my life I have had this, it went down on its own in a few hours. Not this time!
He said to take Ibuprofin and basically quit whining.
HA HA.
Needless to say, I have been advised for the short term until this calms down to drink lots of water, and I am cutting down on drinking super hot soup or spicy food. Ice cream feels wonderful. Oh, and carbonated pop is hell, so I am clearing away from it too…forever, possibly. Also, if you have this happen and you smoke, quit smoking.
The only other thing I can think that could have caused this is that I snore. I have been thinking of going to a sleep lab, because in my researching online, I have seen a link to snoring and this…..but I think I always snore, so why wouldnt this be a daily problem.
Vexing………very vexing.
When I use corn cobs on myself, I usually get a swollen uvula. I think it’s from inserting things that are a bit too rough, especially if you’re not quite lubricated enough. Just have your husband lick it out to get you goooooood and wet first.
Hello. I have read through every single comment here and am quite surprised that I have anything new to add.
A week and a half ago, I underwent a minor hernia surgical procedure for which I was put under general anesthesia. One of the after effects I was warned about was a sore throat, which I indeed experienced, probably due to the tube that had been inserted down my throat to help me breathe during the surgery. I looked at my throat in the mirror and noticed a tiny redness at the very tip of my uvula. I assumed it must have been damaged a little from the tube insertion or something, no biggie. It was a little sore but nothing major. It just felt like I had a bit of a sore throat, just as the anesthesiologist had warned, and I patiently waited for it to go away. Oh, and I should mention that I also felt a small amount of damage in my nasal passages, and even could see a little bit of blood at the back of my throat that I would try to swallow or blow out. That has all seemed to resolve itself.
Two days ago I underwent another surgery, this time to repair a torn ACL in my knee (rough year, I know). This time I was still cautioned about the sore throat, although supposedly I wouldn’t have a tube down my throat this time, just some big balloon of some sort in my mouth to help me breathe. After this surgery, I really had a bothersome sore throat, complete with the common symptoms of feeling like I had to swallow something. This time when I looked in the mirror, my uvula was obviously swollen - though not huge like some people here have described, maybe half an inch long - and it was white and flat at the end.
At this time I am keeping an eye on it, hopefully it will subside.
From my internet search I was hoping to be reassured by finding something related to anesthesia, but no luck. One similarity with most of the comments here is that the two surgeries have caused me to sleep on my back, and I know I am more prone to mouth-open sleeping and snoring that way. It would be my hypothesis at this time that the two surgeries kept my mouth open and dry throughout the time under anesthesia, which aggravated my uvula, and it was further aggravated by my own mouth=open sleeping. In addition, I drink very moderately, and two days before the second surgery I had two glasses of wine, causing me to have a headache the entire day prior to surgery, with slight residual pain even until the time of surgery. This in itself doesn’t sound like much, but I think the headache was caused by general dehydration (as common with hangovers), which probably didn’t help the dry mouth issue under anesthesia. I am also a coffee drinker, which is a diuretic as well.
I haven’t ruled out a coincidental infection or something else that may have nothing to do with anything I’ve mentioned above. So I am keeping an eye on it, trying not to get too anxious, and will post again when there have been any new developments.
Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences here.
So my uvula is just chillin on my tongue… I guess I can’t blame it, all it does is hang out all day. I got really really hammered last night and I think that’s what caused it… I’m really hung over, but I gargled salt water and put that bitch back in its place …
OWNED uvula, let me get you a tissue… Oh WAIT, you ARE tissue…
ok, bad joke.
Ok, so my update is that the situation took care of itself. The white part actually worked its way off over the course of a day or two. It was mildly unpleasant, but not painful. I suspect that it was damaged tissue, caused by either trauma during anesthesia or dryness throughout the surgery and recovery, and its due course was to slough off eventually. This has never happened to me before, at least not that I am aware of, so I don’t know why it might be a reoccurring event for some of those who have posted here. My mouth looks completely normal now and I did nothing to treat the condition. Hope this helped someone.
i had mad drinking with my friends yesterday night and i’m having a swollen uvula which i can feel it hanging at the back of my throat. it makes me feel like vommitting. it’s so disturbing and painfull =’(
I get this often. I’m a smoker, and snore like a banshee. My 2 cents on the topic is:
• NyQuil makes it worse
• Smoking Menthol cigarettes actually help numb it
• Soda makes it worse
• EXCEPT icy cold Mountain Dew - I think the citrus in the Dew helps somehow
• Cough drops have done nothing to help
My perfect cocktail for getting rid of it: 1 can icy cold Mtn Dew + 3 Ibuprofin… and it’s gone by the time you’re done drinking the can of Mtn Dew!
Uvulitis. Yep, me too. Twice now. First time, I was about 6-8 hrs post-op from a C-section still shaking off what was left of my anesthesia and pain meds; probably way sedated and def. way overweight. Snoring like a maniac according to my family! I woke up in a panic as something was stuck in the back of my throat and I could not swallow. The nurses wouldn’t allow me to sit up and cough or try to drink as I had received spinal anesthesia and still needed to be lying flat for a while longer (dead or alive I suppose). Being a registered nurse also in that very hospital, I picked up the phone and called the ER physician’s call room; he could barely understand my slurred speech. The ER doc came quickly up to my room and saved the day and saved my life with some good common sense to raise the head of my bed up, immediately give me IV steriods, IV Benadryl, Claritin by mouth as soon as I was able to swallow, and Epinephrine SQ (in the soft tissue of the arm, like an insulin shot.) He visited me in my room the next day and as I thanked him for saving my life he said, “Your uvula was huge; I didn’t want to say anything to alarm you more, but it was quite impressive; I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Impressive? Scary as hell maybe. Eight years later, and just 2 days ago, it happened again. I had a common cold (maybe an undiagnosed sinusitis?) and lots of nasal congestion and couldn’t breathe well from my nose. I must have slept with my mouth wide open, as each time I awoke, my mouth was very dry and I kept sipping on water. The final 2 hours I slept I must have been exhausted because I didn’t wake up for a sip of water like before; but when I did wake up, there it was. That same sensation. Something stuck in the back of my throat. Round 2 and I knew it. Rushing to the bathroom, I looked in the mirror, opened up and said ahhhh hell my uvula is super-sized again! Damn! I knew I needed quick treatment because I couldn’t swallow or hardly breathe. In the local ER, I requested an IV and the same wonder drugs that had helped me eight years earlier. I am currently home and on a tapering regimen of oral steroids and once daily Claritin. I am happy to report that I have a normal sized uvula and want to keep it that way. Bigger is def. not always better. I recommend liquid Benadryl as part of your medicine cabinet staples and a humidifer for your bedside when you are sufering from congestion or dehydration. Always remember, plenty of water and take it easy on the alcohol if you are prone to this condition. It really could be life threatening if untreated. Airway obstruction is nothing to take lightly. It’s good to breathe! Your uvula, your choice!
OMG!!!..ok So this dam swolen uvula has set up shop on the back of my tongue… and it sux….i googled it and found this site…i just want it to go away!!!reminds me a lot of my inlaws actually…i may need a shot of petercilin
I wrote out my Uvulitis story on my blog. Mine was so large it was down in my throat.
Me and My Freakish Uvula (with pics)
http://dewde.com/?p=161
peace|dewde
Nothing like a swollen uvula to brighten your day. This sucks and I am just on day 1. I had the pleasure of having to go for an endoscopy and a colonoscopy yesterday. If the body cleansing process and the colonoscopy weren’t bad enough…when I woke up today my uvula was swollen and sitting in the back of my throat. The endoscopy procedure must have irritated it sufficiently. Anyway…just wondering how long this thing will be swollen. I went to the doctor today and they gave me a steriod shot and some steriod/lidocain mouthwash. If the colyte yesterday wasn’t good enough…now I have to swallow nasty mouthwash. But it does help. So I will try that along with salt water rinse. Hopefully this thing will heal up soon.
Hey Everyone, I guess I’m part of this crazy uvula swelling family too. I am on my second round of dealing with this. Strange thing is my mouth and throat have been like a desert for 3 weeks after the swollen beast first showed up. Lately it has been pretty on and off. Been drinking so much water, i think i’ve doubled my water bill via increased toilet flushes. I’m going to see my doctor tonight to see if there is anything else I can do to get rid of the constant dryness. Only thing I can think is that it has been in the 30’s the last couple nights and cold in my bedroom with pretty dry air. I’m going to see if my doctor recommends a humidifier for the dry months.
Thanks to everyone for providing some laughs and making me feel a whole lot better.
Jason
I feel so much better after finding this site.
I thought that I was losing my mind. I thought i had this flemball in my throat when I woke up and thought to myself..I could have choked on that thing… I do suffer from Obstructed sleep apnea so when I woke up 3 hrs earlier than I needed to be awake.. I have stayed awake because once I realized what it was I was choking on in the first place I thought darn I am glad I was breathing. So i am not a freak and this has happened to apparently many people before me.. sorry but that makes me feel so much better. I haven’t read that its contagious though and i have to go babysitting in 2 hrs, but I will call my sister (babysitting my nephew) and ask her if she still wants me….since drinking my hot tea it does feel smaller but its huge so it hasn’t gone down by much. I tried the salt water idea.. haven’t tried the mountain dew yet. I will have to buy a can on my way to babysitting. I am willing to try anything. I am not sure why it happened. I know I felt extra thirsty last evening before i went to bed and that i have had a cold for a few weeks..maybe the combo is what did it. I will call the doctor to make sure I don’t need anything else..
I am so glad i found this web site and that it does happen to people.. I got some laughs and some info… thanks for being there for me!
Hey all…I too have just had my first experience with this. I just turned 21 2 days ago…Yes i did drink..but i only had 3 (no beer)..i had a tequila shot, jaegarbomb, and jack and coke (nothing that i haven’t had before) .. woke up fine…but then the next night is when i woke up with it…i had a dry sore throat..and i went to the mirror and actually couldn’t figure out what was wrong..i think the whole soft palette might be swollen because i didn’t notice a change in size much of my uvula. It is not hanging to one side and it hasn’t made me gag yet. it doesn’t touch my tongue when it just hangs there unless i go and touch it with the back of my tongue… I am relieved to see that i am not the only one (because i’ve never heard of anyone having this) and i will give the saltwater a shot…man this is really annoying O.o
Actually, with a swollen Uvula, you should not gargle. Warm liquids and cold liquids used alternately are good, and if you can get your hands on something like prednisone, it helps too…hehe
ughh day two.. this is the first time i got this dang thing chillin on my tongue and it is very unpleasent. Oh well like all of my fellow uvulittis victums, i was scared shitlesss.. thank god for this site… good luck too all!
I just had a medical test called a TEE where they put a tube with a small camera down your throat and into your esophagus. I was mostly knocked out for the procedure and when I woke up I had a really sore throat and of course, later in the day I kept thinking I had to cough something up but it was my uvula, just a hangin’ around in the back of my throat. So I am definitely a victim of a medical procedure. Can I sue for uvulitis? LOL. Anyway it has been nearly 3 days and I still have it, but it is not as sore. I hope it will go away one day soon. Sounds as if it might take longer than I expected.
ok so i woke up today with the big uvala and everything and i was freaking out, first i thought it was my tounsils but i guess after reading this it makes more sense. cause i cant like breathe out of my mouth with out the feeling of gagging i hope its not serious! =[
okay so last saturday night i went out partying with some friends. drank several beers, a few shotguns and shots plus a mixed drink. This is not uncommon for me to do. The only problem is that lately i have picked up the habit of smoking a few cigarettes when i drink. Went home and felt a little spinny when i was going to bed. Decided to pull the trigger, threw up, and got a good nights sleep. The next morning i woke up and went right to the mirror to see what the hell i had caught in my throat. My uvula was bright red and could almost reach the tip of my tongue. I had been sick since wednesday and saturday was the first night i had gone out since being sick with a cold/sore throat. Well the sore and dry throat is back now along with the swollen uvula. Guess im gonna have to wait for a full recovery next time.
Ahhh!! This is the first time I’ve dealt with this, and it actually happened after I came from the dentist? I wonder if that had something to do with it or if it is just a coincidence? Either way, its uncomfortable, irritating and going on day 2 without any improvement! It also is white at the tip? WEIRD!? Just hope it gets better in the next couple of days, if not, Dr.’s office here I come! I’m glad I found this!! Thanks!
Fellow Uvuliters unite!
Thank God many of you booze hounds have the same symptoms I do. Went out on New Years Eve and guess what, got liqoured up, slept on my back on the couch and woke up with a swollen uvula and a hangover. My wife said I was snoring so loud that she could hear me up on the second floor! (this is typical when 1) I go to bed drunk and 2) I sleep on my back with mouth open.
I’ve had this a couple times in the past but it usually went away quickly. I’m now on day 2 and starting to get a little concerned. The slimy little bastard is resting on my tongue and appears to have some white spotting on it. Strep throat? It’s not really too sore but coughing hurts and whatever you do, don’t sneeze!
Currently, I’m sucking on a cough drop, working on a gallon of water, gargled salt water about 1 hr ago followed by gargling some Listerine (Hell, if it’s bacterial, that stuff can help kill it).
Anyway, I think I have a slight cold (my 8 mo old daughter has a cold to and my wife woke with a sore throuat today). It’s like the Pefect Storm of bacteria/viruses attacking my household.
well this just sucks. My uvula, while not a long or swollen as it was is not back to normal size and the pain has set in. It has red/white spots on it and looks very diseased. Pretty nasty.
It’s extremely hard to swallow and I’ve been subsisting on chocolate pudding and apply sauce. I’d kill for a burger and fries!
Went to Dr on Friday and he didn’t give me a strep test although said it was clearly some infection. Prescribed azithromycin 1 times a day. I’ve now taken three doses and don’t really feel any better. The rest of my body feels fine but the persistent throat pain and difficulty swallowin/eating is driving me nuts.
Also been taking tylenol and using losanges and throat spray.
Any suggestions from those of you whom have fought this battle?
I’m ready to grab the scissors and cut the damn thing out!
(not a good idea, unless you like the feeling of milk coming out of your nose)
The uvula helps to close the air passage from your mouth to nose when swallowing. With out a uvula there is a possibility of fluid dripping from your nose when you swallow.
(I’m NOT a doctor. I just play one on the Internet)
I gathered this info while searching for causes and cures, since this problem affects me regularly. Here’s a list of things that are relevant to ME:
Causes:
1. overweight – fatty tissue of the soft pallet constricts the airway while sleeping. (a.k.a. snoring)
2. enlarged tonsils – the uvula hangs between the tonsils narrowing the air passage causing you to snore.
3. dehydration – possibly caused by heavy drinking the night before (a.k.a. hang-over) which, in turn, causes a catatonic like sleep in which you lie there on your back, mouth wide open and dry. . .and. . .probably “snoring” BTW, I’m not a drinker but I do suffer from severe night-sweats that cause me to wake dehydrated.
Cures:
1. relax, don’t panic,
2. gargle with room temperature saline/salt water. Throat spray is said to help also. i.e. Chloraseptic spray
3. drink plenty of room temp. water.
4. take Advil (ibuprofen is a better anti-inflammatory than aspirin or acetaminophen)
Prevention:
1. sleep elevated on your side – this helps to stop snoring
2. stay hydrated
3. don’t eat spicy and/or fried foods before bed – I don’t know why. It was just something I read.
4. Don’t eat ice cream or other creamy foods before bed – this causes increased phlegm in most people, which may cause. . . yup, snoring.
Damnit!! I am so sick of this! Went back to the Dr yesterday because every time I tried to eat anything, it felt like I had hot coals in the back of my mouth. He decides “well, it’s not bacterial, must be a virus”. He said that basically, my throat, tonsils, uvula, etc all blistered and the pain is coming from the now exposed tissue. He gave me two more pain scrips, benzonatate perles and a lidocaine gargle. He told me to suck on the perles like a losange and although this is off-label, it’s been used this way for a long time. I took one of the perles and bit into it which immediately numbed my throat and I couldn’t swallow at all! This threw me into a panic and I nearly went to the ER. I go online to read about benzonatate and the very first warning is “swallow, do not chew”.
I wouldn’t wish what I have on my worst enemy.
So, going on day 6 of my ordeal, my uvuala is less swollen and not as long but still not normal size. It still looks like someone splatter painted it white and red. When not highly medicated, my throat still kills. I’ve lost about 5 lbs since the only things I’ve been able to choke down are pudding and apple sauce.
Has anyone else been through this ordeal? Misery loves company so tell me when it will get better? I would kill for a Big Mac and fries right now!
I woke up choking, and barely able to breathe… couldn’t talk for a day and a half. After one coughing fit i kept trying to cough up or even pull out my uvula because I thought it was phlem. I eventually calmed down and went to the doctor first thing in the morning… swollowing was excruciating, but I realized i could breath fine, just not through my mouth.
I started imediately on antibiotics and tesalon pearles, but before going to the doctor i took two benadryl and two advil and this seemed to take the swelling down barely until I got there. After a day and a half since my doctor’s visit it is still swolen and sore, but NO WHERE NEAR the way it was. I have continued the benadryl and advil coupled with chloroseptic to fight this and it has seemed to work out ok.
How does that make sense? That last comment was rubbish
PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I’M ALL BETTER!
Well like most I was pretty freaked out by this. I’ve had this for about 4 days. Initially it felt like there was food caught in the back of my throat as I could feel something touching the very back part of my throat/toungue. In any case it was never sore and still isn’t - just uncomfortable. I repeat: I have no pain whatsoever. This seems to be different than some other people..
So at this point it’s actually perfectly fine, just kind of annoying. My concern is that it will get worse. I’m going to take the advice of others here by taking some Chloraseptic spray and ibuprofin, then drink some hot tea, then eat some ice cream. We’ll see what happens tomorrow!