You go to hit your vape, hoping to enjoy your favorite e-juice flavor, but end up feeling no taste at all. Yes, this can happen. Not necessarily because of an illness, but as a result of long, consistent use of the same flavors. It actually has a name: “Vaper’s tongue”. Let’s explore what this is, what causes it, and what you can do to fix it.
What is VapersTongue?
Vapers tongue, also known as Olfactory Fatigue, is the inability to enjoy the same flavors that you once did. Does it have something to do with your taste buds? You will be surprised to hear that it actually has to do with your sense of smell. Your olfactory sense, or the sense of smell, works together with your taste buds to create full flavor perception.
The problem is that the olfactory sense loses the perception of an aroma after prolonged exposure to it. The taste buds’ job is to distinguish between the five different tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory. However, the rest of the work (i.e. to identify various flavors of a single type of taste) is done by our sense of smell.
Why does this happen?
There is no clear explanation as to why this happens, but one of the theories is that our sense of smell is meant to warn us against dangers and threats to our lives. On being continuously exposed to the same smell, the brain registers it as something safe and stops producing receptor signals for it.
Other causes of Vapers Tongue
- Low Saliva – Our taste buds require saliva to work properly. Vaping can sometimes cause dryness in the tongue and create a deficiency of saliva. In this case, our ability to sense taste would be nearly non-existent.
- Poor Oral Health – Excessive smoking or improper oral hygiene could impair your sense of taste or smell. Both these senses are vital for experiencing your e-juice flavor. In severe cases, it may take up to a month to completely restore your ability to smell again.
- Dehydration – This is another reason behind vapers tongue. Lack of water can cause dryness in your mouth, and taste buds need saliva to function properly.
- Damaged Taste Buds – There are plenty of ways this could happen. Spicy foods, medicines, and infections top the list of things that can damage your taste buds and incapacitate your sense of smell.
- Blocked Nose – Now that you know how your olfactory sense works with the sense of taste to distinguish different flavors, it won’t surprise you that when your nose is blocked due to a flu or cold, this can also affect your perception of flavors.
- Vitamin Deficiency – Yes, this is another reason why you may be suffering from vapers tongue. Vitamin B12 or zinc deficiency can deprive you of your ability to determine the flavor of your vape juice.
Some solutions to Vapers Tongue
Now that you know what vapers tongue is, you can better understand why it’s happening and how you may cure it.
- Try other flavors – Since vapers tongue is mostly caused by regular use of the same flavor, it may be a good idea to try other flavors to prevent vapers tongue. Pick a flavor that is much different than the one you had been previously using. Select Vape offers a huge variety of e-juice flavors for you to choose from.
- Take longer breaks – This will allow time for your senses to reset so that you can enjoy your favorite vape juice once again. If you can’t stay away from vaping, it may also be a good idea to vape without using a flavor. Unflavored e-juice with nicotine is a good alternative to cure vaper’s tongue.
- Try a cooling flavor – Menthol or cooling flavors tend to reset your taste buds by activating thermoreceptors. It will also give you a change from the regular flavors you have been using.
- Suck a lemon – This is another way to reset your taste buds. If lemon is too strong for your liking, try it in some other form instead of sucking it directly. Lemon sorbet is also a good option.
- Rinse your nose – Loss of taste can often be related to the sense of smell. Rinsing your nose with a salt solution can help restore the olfactory sense, also reviving your sense of taste.
- Keep your tongue clean – Don’t let stuff build up on your tongue that may cover up your taste buds. E-cigarettes can cause white patches on the gums as well as tongues, reducing the sensation of taste. Brush your tongue regularly or you may even use a tongue scraper to clean it thoroughly.
Is Vapers Tongue permanent?
Vapers tongue typically lasts 2-3 days, but may even persist for one or more weeks. It may only be permanent in the case of an injury to the mouth, nose, or head.
However, most vapers only suffer from olfactory fatigue due to prolonged use of the same flavor. Their senses get accustomed to these smells and stop producing signals when they encounter them again.
Does Vaping cause ulcers or sore throats?
Moderate vaping doesn’t cause any issues unless you keep using the same flavor over an extended period. But excessive vaping with flavored e-vapors may cause inflammation after a while. Mouth sores from vaping too much are quite a common occurrence.
That loss of taste doesn’t mean that something is wrong with your vape juice. In some cases, a dirty atomizer could be the culprit, but that’s rare. Mostly, it’s exposure to the same kind of flavor that causes the issue. Luckily, it can easily be dealt with. Changing the flavor or taking a break from vaping is the ideal solution. Understanding what vapers tongue is can, in fact, help you avoid it.