An otherwise healthy female presented with ulcers on the tongue, lips, and buccal mucosa after eating kiwi daily for more than a month!
A 35-year-old female presented for a routine dental check-up. The patient had been referred as she had complaints of ulcers, burning sensation, and redness of the tongue. Moreover, she also complained of pain and swelling of the lips and buccal mucosa, tingling and burning sensation on her lips and buccal mucosa. The patient revealed that her symptoms and the ulcers were more than one month old. She denied any trauma or smoking. Moreover, she was an occasional alcohol drinker. Medical and surgical histories were unremarkable, and the patient was not taking any medications. A characteristic finding in the history was that the patient was consuming kiwis daily for the past month or so.
Examination revealed a healthy female with normal vitals. Oral cavity examination revealed erythema and several ulcers on her tongue and the right buccal mucosa area. She had pain and discomfort on the tongue, lips and buccal mucosa during the examination. Especially, the lower lip was more swollen.
The doctors diagnosed her with burning mouth syndrome. It is a clinical diagnosis that requires ruling out other differential diagnoses. The patient had undergone multiple investigation and pathological evaluation, after which the doctors concluded that the main cause of this complication was the daily use of kiwis.
There is no standard protocol for treating BMS. However, the management is usually symptomatic with avoidance of the triggering agent, which in this case was kiwis. Therefore, the doctors advised the patient to cut off the use of kiwi.
The patient improved after avoiding kiwi in her daily diet.
At a 1-month follow-up, the patient was symptom-free as she had discontinued the daily consumption of kiwis.
Source: Burning Mouth Syndrome and Kiwi Consumption, 10.32474/MADOHC.2018.02.000147
