What is vaper's tongue?
Vaper's tongue is the dreaded affliction that hits many vapers throughout their time. It's understandably worrisome, especially nowadays, when you lose your sense of taste. Sometimes vaper's tongue can be milder than this; your favourite taste may no longer be tolerated, or your tongue could feel numb.
It's not serious and neither is it permanent so don't panic! Vaper's tongue (also known as vaper's fatigue) is a term that covers any taste related ailments. This often arises from using a single, individual flavour often. That favourite flavour of yours you've been vaping all day for the past week may soon make your taste buds shudder. It can take a couple weeks for vaper's tongue to dissipate unaided.
Of course, that's not to say to start rationing off your favourite vape or cutting it out! Let's take a look at what actually causes vaper's tongue, and what you can do to avoid it.
What causes vaper's tongue?
1. Vaping a flavour too long ‚– many vapers have noticed that after using the same flavour for a long time, the taste begins to change or they lose their sense of taste altogether.
2. Damaged taste buds ‚– one of the simplest causes, taste buds damaged from smoking, infections, alcohol, extremely sour foods, spicy foods and some medications can also lead to vaper's tongue.
3. Dehydration ‚– possibly a surprising one but being dehydrated is another possible cause.
4. Mouth dryness ‚– a common side effect of vaping, a lack of saliva can, unfortunately, lead to a loss of taste, remaining hydrated can help combat this.
5. Blocked nose ‚– you wouldn't think it, but we understand flavours much better because of our sense of smell. Have you tried tasting something whilst holding your nose? You'll notice the flavours are much more subdued if any at all, especially if it's a complex flavour.
6. Illnesses & Medicines ‚– illnesses like cold and flu are obviously linked to vaper's tongue as you can quite often lose your sense of taste from them. It's also wise to note that head injuries and vitamin deficiencies can also be a cause. If you notice repeat or long spates of vaper's tongue it might be best to speak to your GP just to get everything checked. Similarly, a number of medicines can lead to a loss of taste, make sure to check your side effects as it could be this rather than your vape causing you to lose your sense of taste.
7. E-Liquid degrading ‚– going out of date ‚– E-Liquids do degrade over time, usually, you notice this by a change in colour or taste. So, if your vape is starting to taste funny it could very well be this, check your use-by date on the bottle and make sure you are storing your E-Liquids correctly.
How to avoid it
1. Change the flavour - the simplest solution that many follow; swap your vape juice every so often. By simply changing the flavour you vape and returning to it after a couple weeks, can help fend of vaper's tongue and keep the taste fresh.
2. Use a stronger flavour ‚– blast those taste buds back to life with strong flavours like menthol or mint. These are meant to be refreshing for a reason, if your vape taste is starting to go, puff on these strong flavours for a while to bring it back.
3. Drink water ‚– keep hydrated! It clears the palette as well and can help with dry mouth.
4. Inhaling the smell of fresh coffee beans ‚– this is a technique used by professional wine tastes and is something many of our own vapers do. By inhaling the scent of fresh coffee beans ‚– not ground or instant ‚– it can help reset your sense of taste (an odd one we know, but somehow it works).
5. Sucking on a lemon ‚– like coffee beans, this citrus blast is meant to help reset your taste buds. If sucking on a lemon isn't your forte, try a lemon dessert or even a lemon flavoured vape.
6. Mouth wash ‚– back to those strong flavours, mouth wash could be a great way to rid yourself of vaper's tongue. But be mindful as these can be quite strong flavours that could inadvertently cause vaper's tongue.
7. Using steeped E-Liquids ‚– using steeped E-Liquids that offer more refined flavours, means you're getting more taste in your vape. Steeped E-Liquids can offer a softer, more refined taste that could be less likely to trigger vaper's tongue, but you may lose some of the throat hit from steeped liquids. Steeped E-Liquid is vape juice that has been left to mix over time rather than simply shaking to mix your liquid, then vaping. There are various ways to steep your E-Liquid including these useful ways.
Have you ever experienced vaper's tongue? If so, how did you get rid of it? Let us know in the comments below…
