It's Not Possible to Swallow Your Tongue

One of the most common myths involves the idea that a person can swallow his/her tongue. Most often this myth is associated with the dying or with seizures and epilepsy.

Either situation can be frightening and cause people to panic. One of the problems is that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

A person who is actively dying and lying on his/her back may open the mouth to gasp for air or appear to yawn and then relax and in the process the tongue may roll backwards in the mouth. It will return to its normal place behind the lower teeth momentarily, but this can be disconcerting to see.

Good Samaritans who are uninformed and witness a seizure often try to keep the person from swallowing the tongue by shoving all sorts of things into the mouth such as a wallet, metal utensils such as spoons or even a dirty stick or object they find laying on the street next to the person seizing.

The truth is that the person will not swallow his tongue. He could clench his teeth down and bite it, but because it naturally rolls back slightly, this doesn’t often happen. There is a small piece of tissue behind the teeth and under the tongue called the frenulum linguae which keeps the tongue in place and prevents swallowing.

By shoving things into the mouth, more damage is often done such as breaking or chipping teeth or cutting gums and can even result in the Good Samaritan being severely bitten in the process. These objects can also shove the tongue backwards and occlude the trachea (breathing tube).

Choking is the real hazzard from a seizure. The best way to help is to roll the person on to her side, preferably the left side, and cushion the head slightly to prevent injury, but don’t raise the head up too high. Don’t use a pillow. It’s possible to obstruct breathing or allow for any bodily fluids such as excess saliva or emesis to cause choking or be inhaled into the lungs.

If the person is standing or sitting when a seizure begins, assist her to the ground slowly and roll her to the left side if possible. Never force the neck or an extremity to move or turn during a seizure if it is rigid. If the person is thrashing violently around, remove objects from the path but don’t try to restrain her.

Stay with the person and send someone to call for help. Don’t give him/her anything to drink or eat until he/she is fully awake, alert and sitting up.

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