Swollen or Inflamed Uvula

It was a very long night.

The last three weeks I've been up till about 1:30 AM putting in sheetrock and preparing the house so we can move-in. It is true I do have some allergies because of the beautiful grass clippings that irritate my olfactory nerve endings and force me to breath complete through my mouth. It is also true that I have been known to snore once in a while; usually when I am completely exhausted.

Such was the excuse this morning, my sweet wife woke me up by saying, "You are snorning so loud!" And I replied, "That's because I'm exhausted." Then I promptly fell back asleep. I guess my family decided to vacate the premise because when I awoke no one was around (I really must have reached a shrill pitch last night). I'll be posting some snoring stories later.

Now here is where the title of this blog comes in; my mouth was so dry that cacti from Arches National Park could have flourished in that barren haven. It felt like I really was stuffed up, so I blew my nose, that didn't help, it seemed like something was stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I headed to investigate in the mirror.

Now I tried to steel myself against what I might see, because it felt like the roof of my mouth was sagging down. I peered back into my mouth and the little thing hanging from the back of my throat had doubled in size! Wow! It reminded me of the movie "The Blob." My own mini blob had taken root in the back of my throat! As I watched it appeared to crawl forward in that slow inch-worm fashion... or the movement may have been caused by my shuddering gasp of surprise.

Anyway, it was quite alarming so I began my research.

Turns out the little blob has a name, it's called the Uvula. It helps keep food from going up your nose. It comes from the Latin word for grape, uva. This Uvula has been known to assist with snoring, in fact, many singers claim the Uvula is what helps them carry such a great vibrato. I am sure that my Uvula helps me reach my own peak snoring vibrato. I ask, what would we do without snoring vibrato? I declare a small part of artistic expression would be lost.

SOLUTION: The swollen or inflammed Uvula is not something to go crazy about. By drinking lots of water, the Uvula will exponge itself and return to its regular size in about a day or two. If the Uvula does not return to its normal size after two days, you may have some sinus infections going on, head to the doc to get it checked out; they will probably prescribe some antibiotics.

In conclusion, drink plenty of liquids and post your comments in the morning.


Here is the Medical Dictionary Definition of Uvula.