r/mildyinteresting • u/AcrobaticBarnacle785 • Jul 21 '26

humankind hiccups 😅 Tongue tissue after eating too much Sour Patch Kids

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As title says, I ate too many sour patch kids and I believe the citric acid caused the top layer of tongue to die and peel off in this interesting pattern. No pain whatsoever throughout process. No bleeding either.
And for anyone curious, it was a small 12 oz bag I believe. I rarely ever eat candy and I forgot to brush my teeth that night so I’m assuming that’s why it happened in the first place. Picture of my tongue right afterwards somewhere in the comments

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u/AcrobaticBarnacle785 Jul 21 '26

Well that’s the thing, I don’t eat 2 bags at a time. I’m not used to it

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u/FishermanAbject2251 Jul 21 '26

This is totally not normal anyways something's wrong

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u/BRSaura Jul 21 '26

I don't think that's something your tongue "gets used to"

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u/Aeowrynn Jul 21 '26

Sour patch aren't even really actually "sour." So this seems crazy!

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u/Luna6696 Jul 21 '26

It’s the Citric acid I’m sure! Acid is acid

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u/Dramatic_Explosion Jul 21 '26

Yeah but significantly more sour things than Sour Patch kids don't do this. Sour Skittles are way more sour and I've never seen anything like this.

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u/scalyblue Jul 21 '26

skittles aren't typically dusted in powdered citric acid.

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u/bananabeast07 Jul 21 '26

key word sour skittles. they certainly are

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u/scalyblue Jul 21 '26

last time I had them a few weeks ago there was no powder it was like...part of the goo they're covered in. Maybe they've changed formula lately.

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u/Elegant-Cheekz-2141 Jul 22 '26

your personal experience is not the norm. they are covered in a sugar/citric acid powder coating. dunno wtf you mean by "goo"

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u/scalyblue Jul 22 '26

Idk what to tell you, I have never had a bag of sour skittles with powder on them like the old sour altoids or like warheads, maybe it’s because they’re different now, or different in other countries

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u/Elegant-Cheekz-2141 Jul 22 '26

....sour skittles are.... did you even read the comment you replied to?

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u/Aeowrynn Jul 21 '26

True enough!

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u/Luna6696 Jul 21 '26

I know this isn’t about me but when I was a kid I would suck on sour altoids and I burned/eroded a hole/ditch in my tongue. It healed perfectly but my tongue had a little cup in it for awhile

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u/EastSideNick95826 Jul 21 '26

It's not acidic like it used to be. I've never had my tongue falling apart but I definitely acidic burning in my mouth from sour candy in the past and it never happens anymore. I guarantee someone sued over their kid burning their mouth and all the candy companies stopped putting as much citric acid in there. Also citric acid is a weak acid.

0

u/TheRomanRuler Jul 21 '26

No its actually possible. Over time scar tissue develops and tongue and other parts of mouth become little thicker.

Mind you, its certainly not healthy, but its why some, mainly older people can drink pretty much boiling coffee

23

u/ElegantCoach4066 Jul 21 '26

I think you should tell your doctor bro

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

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u/Lucifang Jul 21 '26

You might just have sensitivities. I can’t eat salt and vinegar chips because it basically burns the skin in my mouth. Certain brands of chips cut my gums too. Most brands of toothpaste feel like it’s burning so I must be sensitive to mint or something like that.

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u/Complete_Squirrel942 Jul 21 '26

The only toothpaste I can use is sensodyne because it doesn't burn like other toothpastes do. Might be an issue with sodium lauryl sulfate.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

You're telling me toothpaste isnt supposed to burn? Lmao.. even the nasty fruity flavored stuff I used as a kid burned. I just assumed it was "killing the bacteria" and I've come to enjoy the burn. I look forward to it.

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u/Lucifang Jul 22 '26

I haven’t tried that because it’s so much dearer. I’ve just found a brand that I can tolerate

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u/Hammercannon Jul 21 '26

Mint toothpaste makes my wife's gums bleed.

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u/SharpScallion Jul 21 '26

are you deficient in some vitamins and minerals? are you getting enough protein?

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u/Helpdeskagent Jul 21 '26

Gonna assume they mean 2 candy bar sized bags, like from the checkout line

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u/counters14 Jul 21 '26

I don't think you get to just handwaive this away as if it's something you haven't built up a tolerance to, buddy. The sour patch kids do not explain why your tongue is peeling layers off like snakeskin.

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u/MrFizzE45 Jul 22 '26

Dawg there are so many people in these comments that dont understand what they are talking about 😭 The sour patch kids do, in fact, explain the tongue peeling. Citric acid can most definitely cause a mild chemical burn on your tongue which causes it to peel. The issue wasn't necessarily that they ate a lot of sour patch kids, but that they didn't brush or rinse their mouth afterwards (which they clarified in a different comment). That means the acid was just left to sit there. I know it seems weird and gross, but this is the natural reaction to letting a mild acid sit on your tongue.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

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u/AcrobaticBarnacle785 Jul 21 '26

?

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '26

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u/MrFizzE45 Jul 22 '26

Nah man you're just ignorant 😭 go over to the sour candy subreddit and ask. This is most definitely something that happens when you consume lots of citric/malic acid or if you dont rinse your mouth and leave it to sit on your tongue.