With all the stories going around in the media, vaper’s tongue sounds like some gross disease you get from vaping. Well, sorry to tell you it’s not. It is actually a very common occurrence that happens from time to time and is temporary. It can be lessened and prevented pretty much by following a few simple steps.
What is Vaper’s Tongue?
Vaper’s tongue refers to the inability to taste flavors in your e-liquid. Your favorite flavor suddenly tastes muted or has no flavor at all. Your tongue has anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds covering the surface. These taste buds are like skin cells they age, die off and regrow. That is why this is a temporary condition because it stops when the taste buds regrow.
What Causes This to Happen?
This condition is really caused by your olfactory senses (taste and smell) but different things may contribute to it. Dehydration, smoking, dry mouth, illness, and blocked sinuses can contribute to it.
Smell is connected to our ability to distinguish flavors and tastes. The taste buds are designed to detect flavors that are salty, sweet, bitter, and sour and if the nose is blocked due to a cold or congestion, those flavors will be muted.
Sometimes the culprit is just vaping the same flavor for too long. We find a flavor we like and buy a great big bottle of it. Then we’re stuck with that flavor for a month or longer and it just gets “tired” or “overused” to the point that it is not appealing anymore.
Do you remember when you were a kid and ate so much of your favorite food that you got sick of it and after that didn’t even like the taste anymore? Vaping the same juice for long periods can do the same thing.
What Can You Do About it?
There are a few remedies that have been known to work. Sometimes what is needed is a change of pace. Certain flavors are introduced in foods to wake up or cleanse the palate, they are usually citrusy or bright flavors totally different than the other flavors on the plate.
- So to apply the same principle to vaping, change what you vape. Try vaping an unflavored juice or something completely different than you normally do.
- You can also take a vape break (stop vaping for a day or two) to give your taste buds a break.
- Alternately, you could switch the ratio of PG/VG in your vape juice. PG is thin and can be a little drying. Switch to a heavier VG-based liquid like 50/50 or 60VG/40PG.
- It also helps too drinks plenty of fluids and stay hydrated.
How to Prevent It in the Future?
It can be hard to prevent it from happening completely, but diligence to follow these suggestions will go a long way towards avoiding it in the future.
- Drink Plenty of Liquids – coffee, tea, water, sports drinks, and etc.
- Switch your flavors often – don’t vape the same flavor longer than two weeks at a time. Have two or three flavors on rotation to avoid burnout.
- Steep your liquids for a week or more after receiving them – steeping deepens the flavor making them richer, especially tobacco and dessert flavors.
- Brush your teeth ( and tongue) and use mouthwash 2x per day – Biotene is one recommended for refreshing a dry mouth.
- Eat citrus fruit – lemon, orange, lime, and grapefruit
- And the last suggestion is to periodically smell strong, earthy scents like freshly roasted coffee, vanilla beans, and even some of your grandfather’s pipe tobacco. Smelling things like this work to reset or refresh the senses giving them a little nudge.
Remember, this condition is temporary. So if you have it, don’t worry as it doesn’t last long. Just use the suggestions outlined above for coping with it until your taste buds have regrown, or your sense of smell and taste return. Check out all our guides here.
