swollen uvula

[BumbleGirl]

Hi everyone

I posted yesterday morning because I woke up in a panic as the back of my throat felt swollen and I could feel it on the bottom of my mouth touching.
I had already been to Drs Monday as I had flu like symptoms and Dr said it was a virus and yesterday I went back because I was really freaked out and Dr said my uvula is swollen and its all to do with the virus.

Has anyone else had this? As I stupidly googled and read you can have breathing difficulties if it gets too bad so now really worried and my throat is so sore I can barely swallow xx

[debs71]

Yes, I have had this, and like you it totally freaked me out.

I had a bad tonsilitis and in the space of having a mild sore throat to the following morning, my uvula had become massive, almost half the width of the back of my throat.

A few things helped - salt water gargles (help bring down infection)

Regular anti-inflammatory drugs like Ibuprofen.

Chlorhexidine mouth rinses - help a lot to clear infection (Any mouthwash with Chlorhexidine in it.)

Lots of fluids.

Antibacterial/anaesthetic sprays for the back of the throat (u can buy them over the counter everywhere.)

Tyrozet lozenges - these are fantastic for very sore throats. They contain some antibiotic which helps calm things down.

Vitamin C - high dose is best for helping knockout a virus.

Try not to worry. My uvula was huge and it didn't develop to anything worrying. Just try to get some rest, and try out the above.

Get well soon. x

[cricket0148]

I had this recently. scared the crap out of me. my uvula was laying on my tongue because it was so swollen. being the hypochondriac that i am, i took myself to the ER where they gave me a steroid shot which immediately helped settle it down.

[Lifelonganxiety!]

Same here. Had it happen twice where it ends up laying on the tongue it got so big.

Gargling helps, lot's of fluids and trying to not aggravate it (mine was because of snoring!)

[nivekc251]

My uvula swells when I start getting an anxiety binge. I don't know why also snoring can make it swell, UT we all know girls don't snore.....:winks:

[Fishmanpa]

we all know girls don't snore.....:winks:

Yeah right! ~lol~ My wife can cut a cord of wood in less than 8 hours!

Positive thoughts

[rsanchez]

This happens a lot with uvulas. Depending on your flu like symptoms, it could just be irritated from coughing too much. Or, since you woke up with it, if your nose was blocked or you couldn't breathe out of your nose, you could have been breathing out of your mouth in your sleep or snoring, which would also irritate the uvula and cause it to swell.

It's really nothing to worry about. Gargling salt water can help it go down quicker and relieve pain from irritation, but so can drinking regular water. It will most likely go away on its own.

[BumbleGirl]

Thank you for all the replies! :-)
I'm relieved to know alot of other people have had this. I feel the swelling has gone down alot today thankfully. My throat is just really sore now and still hard to swallow and coughing lotsza but I'm just glad the swelling has gone down.
I've been using salty water and will carry on doing that today and taking ibuprofen.

As for snoring I am a terrible snorer lol had no idea that could contribute! Xx

[rsanchez]

I'm a terrible snorer too, and on nights when I couldn't breathe through my nose I would wake up with a terribly inflamed uvula.

In my case it turned out to be sleep apnea, but since starting to use the machine to treat it, I haven't woken up with swollen uvula once.