It could be worse. Your uvula could have been swollen because you got it pierced.

Here all this time I thought my uvula was part of the reproductive system. ;) Hope you get to feeling better.

Dude that uvula thing has happened to me at least five times in the last 5 year, it's a real pain in the next (actually throat lol), I woke up like that this morning. Mine usually goes away after about 4-6 hours. Tell me was your mouth really dry when you woke up? I think it might be from not rinsing out your mouth completly after you brush. I know it sounds simple... but hey.
Did you go to the doctor or anything? Get back to me man.
Steve

Oh, sorry about the "man" part, I failed to see the "Michelle" at the end of you note... oops.
Steve

i found this post the same way you mentioned. uvula dangling much farther than it's supposed to, and fighting off a gag reflex to search google for an answer. please just tell me everything is going to be ok in a few like the other respondant says, or if you had to go to the doctor and such. as this is the first time this has happened to me, i am a bit worried, but i'm going to try to keep my cool for a little while at least.

pablito

Ah yes, swollen Uvula. An April 21st tradition.. just kidding. It's funny though, I woke up this morning and my uvual was swollen again (only twice as big this time, it was like a thumb last time). I chalked it up as an allergic reaction to medication I had taken and not the beer and wine last night.. well actually it may be partially related to the beer and wine. It can be caused by dehydration. Since I tend to fall asleep heavily after drinking a few with my medication (DON'T DO DRUGS!)which causes me to sleep on my back.. with my head leaned waaaay back.. mouth open (Homer Simpson style) arrrrrgggggghhhhhllllll.. which probably dries out my 'little grape' and causes me to wake up, try to clear my throat, feel my uvula, panic, scream at my wife that I am dying and to please rush me to the hospital where they give me three shots and tell me to get some rest and take my paycheck.. BAMM! $600.00 emergency room bill.

3 Simple rules for proper Uvula health.

1st: Drink plenty of water before bed especially after drinking alcoholic beverages. (Also prevents hangover, also caused by dehydration)

2nd: Remain calm if it happens

3rd: Drink a bottle of water and wait one hour if possible before rushing to the hospital. (Go immediately if your throat is swollen as this could lead to a condition known as death!)

If you must go to the doctor use your normal physician if at all possible, use a Doc in the Box as a last resort and an emergemcy room only if your a paranoid idiot who thinks they're about to die... like me.

Good luck and remember, keep your Uvula moist.

d16du6

My Uvula is currently about 3 times its normal size (April 22nd) and its driving me crazy. However, this has happened a number of times before in the past 8 years. It generally goes away after about a day but really reeks havock on my day.

Tip: Try not to clear your troat while your Uvual is swollen as it seems to just make it worse.

I just moved from Hawaii to the California/ Nevada border. the swollen uvula syndrome never happened to me in Hawaii. I woke up this morning and it was the size of my pinky. My home is about 6000 feet above sea level and the air is dryer than crap. It may be a result of dehydration and overall dryness. I am in the medical field and have seen several cases like mine. I suggest sleeping next to a vaporizer/humidifier, which will keep your airway moist as it should be. Later! Scott

it feels like there is a giant wad of flem or sumthin back there that wont come out..and then i tried 2 brush my teeth and when i drank sum water it almost went down my throat!!! i hate having a swollen uvula...and i dont know what 2 do about it! Im suppose 2 start working at my first job tomorrow, but do u think i will be healthy ennough?

Fearsome, i woke up this morning and in a blind panic i started violently trying to clear my throat, it felt as though the biggest piece of phelgm i'd ever had to deal with.
My uvula is utterly vast, not in length but in diameter. Just googled here and saw this post :)
I'm reassured fortunately, thank you Matt for your tip :)

I had exactly the same problem, the doctor told me it was due to drinking and it was the mucus membrane in the throat going slack. I was told to gargle warm saltwater three times a day (to stiffen it up)and it seemed fine. I been looking round the net and it seems the dehydration is whats doing it, and i thought i'd have to stop drinking alcohl!

Scarey! Happened to me for the first time ever.... before properly waking up this morning I was aware of funny snoring sounds as I breathed out, although I had my mouth closed all the time. Also soreness at back of throat and thinking o h*ll, now I've got a strep throat! Anyway, sat up in bed and tried to cough up the phlegm thingy, which it wasn't. Looked in the mirror and thought an alien had landed in my mouth. Panic. Rushed to Google - like half the world apparantly - and was (somewhat) reassured. If we travelled here by way of the homeopathic route we'll all be putting up shares in the Apis cure :) Come to think of it, I was very dehydrated when I went to bed last night, so maybe that's it. Hope so. It could be such a simple solution....

I have strep, and upon awaking this morning i thought i fell asleep with gum in my mouth. i sleep on my back and often breath through my mouth, but this is the first time i every had a swollen uvula. It is very wierd and sorts scary untill i found this site and a few others, i really hope it is dehydration, and not something else to worry about, and yes i have seen a adoctor about the strep. hopefully ill be fine tomarrow.

Same with me.... I am praying its not Strep.... I guess if its a virus it will go away on its own? I have not been drinking (alcohol) and have had plenty of water. Nothing else is wrong with me.... So it seems. Just the sore throat and the freakin' HUGE thing at the back of it (Uvula).... ARGH!

Hey gang, don't rule out allergies. I've discovered after working in the yard all evening and trimmng trees and mowing that I had a terrible allergic reaction that caused this for me. It was asthmatic and like I had the worst cold possible. When I woke up this AM, the dreaded swollen uvula. I think it was the allergic reaction in combo with the antihistamine I took drying me out. It's been twelve hours...will probably end up back at the allergist. If this happens to you regularly I strongly suggest you see an ENT or allergist too. It IS good to know we are all not alone.

Alicia

I just woke up with my second case of a swollen uvula. To all those who this is happening to for the first time (which seems like far too many), I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Both times for me I've been sneezy the day before, and last night I drank some Bailey's before I went to bed. I think that was the cause of it. Goddamnit though, it's such a royal pain!

I've had about a half dozen cases of the swollen uvula in the past 15 years...most recently this morning. The first time I rushed to the ER in the middle of the night, was given a bunch of oral steroids and a hefty bill. Since then, I've always just taken aspirin, or let it be, and it's always gone away in the course of a few hours.

I am diabetic, and tend to get a bit dry-mouthed overnight if I haven't had great control, and reading these posts is the first I've heard of a possible connection between the condition & dehydration. I'll take the advice posted here & hopefully that'll do the trick. Good luck all!

I am sitting here with a swollen uvula as well...such a hassle. Happens several times a year. The first time, years ago I was out of town, and called my doctor. He told me to go to the emergency room, that since I was out of town I needed to be on safe side and make sure I was not going to have my throat swell shut! After several hours in ER, and a huge bill I was told it was an allergic reaction and they gave me benadryl....a huge dose. Funny how everyone is saying theirs swells from antihistamine....that is how I clear mine up. I take benadryl.

Hi, I'm also a first time uvula-choker. I feel reassured not only that its nothing serious, but that I am not the only dork who's first instinct is to search on Google during a percieved medical emergency.

I was drinking last night, am dehydrated, and have a severe snoring problem. Man this thing sucks.

This is nasty...feel like i have some bad sinus drainage but instead its my uvuala, swollen to the size of my THUMB...almost.
I hope that this goes away soon. I am a gagger and this is the worst. I used some chloroseptic throat spray to numb it and that helps big time

The funny thing is that we all woke up with this and ran to Google....

Wow, I feel like such a loser now. I woke up this morning with a sore throat, but it was a different kind of pain than I'm used to experiencing. I tried drinking water to make it feel better, but swallowing hurts like a mo-fo(excuse my lameness). So I spent a couple hours reading through the kaiser book and webmd trying to figure on what life-threating illness I have. Then I find this, and realise that I'm a prat who's making a fuss out of nothing. Hopefully it'll be gone soon. Thanks for all the advice, you lovely bunch of random people.

Thank you all. I was set to go to the doctor after work today since my Uvula feels like it is the size of a baseball bat. It has been over 24 hours which stills scares me a little, but this certainly does help.

LOL Yup I got the swollen Uvula thingy it sucks but for some reason I thought it was called epiglottis so I googled that and it said that it was a really bad think and you have to be hospitalized and something like 19000 people die in north america from it and I was freaking out like o shit and then I saw a mouth diagram and I was like o few thats not whats swollen, so I googled the swollen uvula and now I feel better. Its not serious and ya I feel better thanks everybody Im not alone in my strange swollen uvula case. Lol

I had been smoking and drinking fizzy drinks for a couple of days before I go to bed. And I woke up this morning with a swollen and lengthy uvula which freaked me out.

I will try and watch it for a few days though before checking with the doctor but it is damn uncomfortable.

Thank you all for your comments. I woke up this morning and thought I was going to choke -
Had been wondering all day what it could be, so I googled it and found you guys. What a relief! And yes - I also did the epiglottis thing first - AAAhhh!! I was told to have my tonsils out - thank God I didn't go to the doctor, you guys saved me a bundle.

Uhm.. I had strep throat last week.. then my tonsils got filled up with pus and had to be "drained". Now the tip of my Uvula is PURPLE!? Got any ideas on this one? Or am I the first freak with this?

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING GAGING AS IF I HAD A BIG HUNK OF COLD IN MY THROAT. ONLY TO FIND OUT THE FILLING WOULD NOT GO AWAY. I GARGLED WITH LISTORINE 3 TIMES. LOOKED DOWN MY THOAT AND THERE IT WAS MY UVULA WAS HANGING DOWN ON MY TONGUE. THE WAY IT LOOKS IS SLIMY AND TRANSLUSENT AROUND MY UVULA. I GOT ON THE NET AND SEARCHED AND FOUND THIS SIGHT NOW I HAVE HOPE THAT ITS NOT ANYTHING TO BAD I HOPE. BECAUSE I WAS DRINKING LAST NIGHT, MOET AND BEER AND I HOPE THAT IS THE CASE.

I have had this condition for several years now. This is the 3rd time it's happened to me. The first time, I had been drinking the night before and woke up with it and went to the emergency room. They injected me with epinepherin (spelling?) which hurt like hell and kept me in the hospital for observation. I was referred to an allergist who said I might be allergic to a preservative since I have no history of allergies. It happend again a year ago (I had been drinking the night before) and I did a self-injection on epinepherin (FUN!) and took Benedryl. I was fine by the end of the day. This morning I woke up with it again (I had been drinking the night before) and since I'm out of ephinepherin I decided to try Google. After reading these posts I'm certain that my condition is due to dehydration and not an allergy. I'm pushing fluids, ibuprofin, and benedryl. Thank goodness for my trusty Google search engine and for all you other sufferers of this very strange condition.

Last night I had an adverse reaction to drinking vodka and eating pizza known as vomiting. This morning I woke up and my uvula was the size of a marble. I sucked on some ice cubes for a couple of hours only to freeze my tongue and throat (no help to the swelling). I've tried sleeping but I can't get comfortable with this feeling in the back of my throat. I also tried doing everything that would help alleviate this problem such as avoiding talking, drinking lots of water and not eating anything that might annoy my dangly uvula. Fedup, I turned on the computer to look up some info only to come across this site. I doubt this site was meant to be funny but I almost choked and swallowed my uvula as I was laughing so hard. I'm glad to read that it doesn't sound like anything potentially fatal and I'm not only one to have experienced this.

I got it too. a second tongue, like two thumbs. if i lie down i can't breathe. i just got my tonsils (& adenoids) taken out and the doctor didn't seem too concerned but gave me steroids and painkiller and antibiotics. should i gargle with saltwater?

Iv had this happen a few times.. the first time a few years ago I honestly thought i was gonna die and attempted to cut it with a steak knife... i was paniced and I actually cost my wife to lose her job by freaking out and telling her i was going to die...I calld the hospital and asked about my uvulea being swollen and the doctor didnt give me one bit of information about it... he goes.. you have to come in and pay us to help you like everyone else... I never even called that place before.. or ever again. But the steak knife made it worse. I figured it out tho. I wake up with a swollen one from snoring and having my mouth open and dry when i sleep. im gonna try to wake up in the night to drink water from now on. I just got it again this morning.. thats why im on this random website...hope i can help with my info...but think logically about it... we all get it not during the day... or while awake.. we only get them when we wake up.. SOOO its from snoring or sleeping with your mouth open and dry. logical to me. glad to see im not the only one. I cant even talk.. this sucks.

You all are too funny!! I, too, am laughing and gagging on my uvula while reading this. Although, I have a little twist to add to the dilemma ... Mine is large and long and red and irritated and I feel like I'm swollowing it AND it looks like there is puss coming from it (yes, I know -- gross. I've been living with it all day). Like it has puss filling and it's coming out the bottom ... Anyone?!

A fellow "Swollen Uvula" Google Searcher

Another thanks from a tired and sleepy wife. My husband woke me up at 4:00 a.m. saying that he had a ball sitting on back of his throat. Me not knowing what a urvula was, got all worried and was ready to take him to the emergency room. He decided that he felt OK and would go see his doctor in the morning. So he went back to sleep sitting up while I came to the computer to see if I can find out what the problems was, but first I had to find out what that ball was called. So after a few searches, I found the name and then ran into this dialogue. Thank you very much because I am a lot calmer now at 6:30 a.m. and can wake him up knowing what it could be and he shouldn't worry. He also probably had an apple martini before going to bed and he snores, so probably is the dry throat problem. Thanks again.

ha. this place is great. i, too, am now a member of the swollen uvula club. we should make a t-shirt. hope yours have all gotten better and that mine will soon.

thanks guys - much relieved to know i'm not alone with waking up to find a swollen uvula. man it's annoying - am trying hard not to swallow but it's not easy!

makes me laugh how we all sat down and googled to find this site!!

Thanks for the comments. It truly does help to know that other people out there are having as much fun as I am.

I have had it happen to me about 6 or 7 times in the past 2 years. I have come to believe with me it is in fact an allergic reaction, and sadly enough Chocolate seems to be the culprit. Especially certain types of chocolate that seem to irritate my throat when I eat them.

One thing is for sure, it is no fun and I will continue to google or gargle or whatever it takes to rid myself of this terrible priviledge.

Hey everyone, I'm 19 years old and woke up with this big ass thing in my throat....and yes, at first i thought I was going to die, or it was going to fall off or something freaky. So, since I was alone in the house (and about to die, lol) what did I do? Searched the web, lol. But thank god I did, im not as worried anymore, but I am a waiter at a Wild Wing by my house and have to be at work in 3 hours, hope it calms down by then.
Thanks everyone

Suggestions for the T-shirts anyone?

I almost always get a swollen uvula when I have a cold, I believe its because I sleep on my back and being bunged up makes me snore my little heart out which, in turn, dehydrates my mouth, throat and uvula.

I've had this on and off (whenever I've had a cold or a hangover) for several years now and have learned to drink lots of water, cut back on the cigarettes and try hard not to cough up any phlegm!

I would suggest, however, if the swelling doesn't go away after a couple of days that you go to the doctors.

well im also a google search adict i woke up last week after a night of hard drinking and alot of beer i thought i had a cotton ball in the back of my troat when i woke up and i drank 4 glasses of cold water and it still never cleared the dryness well some how i thought lets look down my throat so i opened up wide and said ahhhh and to my surprize say my uvula and that it was dangling lower than normal for half the day i choked on it and finally it went away......well yesterday i woke up (1 week later) after yet another day and night of drinking and my uvula was 3 times the size and i gagged more than the last time well today i finally stumbled onto this site and damn im glad i did ....im wanting to thank you all for your imput cause im not a freak that has one thing after another go wrong cause im me im seeming to be rather normal thank you all
p.s. "GOOGLE SEARCH RULES"

So, how long does it take for this thing to stop being swollen? I'm encouraged and am trying to wait patiently, but as you all know it isn't fun at all.

The only thing that makes me feel better is this excellent company. Thank you all.

well Elaine mine usually takes bout half a day and i say usually but its only happened twice lol hope this is helpful

I too have this problem right now(second time).Looks and feels like I could swallow it!I live in Washington and it was almost 100 degrees yesterday.My building I work in has no AC and it's sickly hot almost all the time.It could be an infection but dehydration comes to mind.My wife also made me a Brown Cow(drink)last night,which I didn't even finish.Haven't read anything about dehydration from any so-called medical sites,but this does seem to be the theme here along with drinking!Good luck to everyone with this problem whatever is the cause.

This is the first time this has happened to me. I had a beer durring lunch yesterday but no other drinking. My uvula was three times the size it normally is and freaked me out bog time. I drink lots of diet coke. If any body else here aklso does let me know. Just trying to trouble shoot this.

Misery loves company. Who would have thought a Google search would yield such results? I've got a sore throat and discovered my swollen uvula today--while on a trip back from England--and, like the rest of you, probably this is due to dehydration and alcohol, though I've got a twist to add: after months of abstinence, I performed oral sex on a guy a few days ago, so I'm gonna have my doctor check it out, to rule out STD's. (The first gay uvula story on this site).

hi, im a real dumb A** i tried to put my fist in my mouth, being successful but my throat hurt a lil so i didnt pay any mind. now im woken up by a big thing in my throat. i tried to swallow it at first but i couldnt. so i went to the bathroom and looked and my uvula is 2-5 times bigger. hopefuly it will go down. but y do i keep wanting to spit up? is this normal? ill try the remedies before i go to the doc. thanx ppl i dont know

jess, the thing at the back of your throat is called the uvula and it is part of the gag reflex , it stops anything from going down your wind pipe when you swallow so there for your gonna keep feeling like you gotta puke or choke until the swelling goes down .... keep hydrated and good luck

I have had a swollen Uvula about 5 or 6 time in the last 8 years. The first time i thought i had some sort of rare disease and i convinced myself i was going to die. Having a major hangover i decided that it must be somthing to do with that. After a couple of days the swelling went down and i thought nothing of it. After then it has only happend when i had been drinking so i dint worry to much about it.
I have got it at the moment though and i havent been drinking for about 2 weeks. After reading what all you people have writen i have a theory.

1)It only seems to happen after drinking the night before or by being very dehidrated and then sleeping.
2) Another feature that seems to agrivate the swelling is falling asleep on your back with your mouth open or sleeping next to an open window. This will cause moisture to be lost from the mouth more quickly than normal.
3) Sleeping for longer than normal also gives you more chance of being dehidrated.
4) Hotter than normal weather
5) Drinking diaretic drinks. Such as cola, coffee, tea and any alcoholic beverage.

Prevention
Drink plenty of fluids. for any diaretic drink, drink the same or greater volume of water. 1 pint of beer = 1 pint of water.
Drink plenty of water regularly through out the day.
If you are going to go out drinking on a night out, make sure you drink plenty of water in the 8 hours biulding up to it. then drink a couple of pints of water when you get home. set your alarm to wake you up early even if you dont have to, just to drink another pint or more of water. then go back to bed if you dont have to get up.
Eat plenty of fruit. Melons are high in liquid as are most fruits.
Try not to sleep directly under an open window.

Good luck

the open window thing is probly whats helping cause my uvula to swell as well ...not to mention the screaming hot weather and lack of water and too much coffee and beer thanks dave i will try your theory next time i get drunk
i sleep right under a window and when im drunk or not its nice to have the cool air blowing on my body after a hard day of work and heat(i work in a kitchen at a pub)

Thanks for the information. I woke up this morning with a swollen uvula. It's great to know that there are others who experienced this crazzzzzy situation. I did drink excessively last night..... I slept on my back.....I snore a lot when I drink a lot.... I am going to ride this out and worry too much about it.

This has happened to me about fifteen or twenty times in the last 20 years of my life. Started at about 19, and the most recent problem was about 1 month ago. I couldn't sleep because it nearly completely blocked my air passage when breathing through my mouth. Started early in the morning with an annoying itch (feels like it's inside the throat, but near my ear) and the swelling increased until I could barely talk. It always goes away during the course of the morning. I believe it is an allergy, possibly an allergic reaction to a cold virus, because it seems to happen prior to, or in lieu of, the actual cold symptoms. Very weird though!

mine's swollen right now, has been for 3 days. this is the third time it's happened, all three occurring after throwing up from drinking. thought this is the first time it's lasted more than one day though...

glad i found this site. time to start chugging water like it's free...

This is the first time I have ever experienced a swollen uvula. When i woke up this morning to find that my uvula was the size of my largest toe i freaked out and started crying hysterically. I went to the doctor and found out it was only an infection. However i do sleep with my mouth open and snore a lot so i figured that probably helped the dude back there too. I hope it doesnt happen again.

Another panicky Googler here! I am 36, just got back from a very rainy beach vacation last night, and haven’t been drinking. I have, however, been suffering from a bad cough the past few days. I laid down to sleep tonight and it felt like I had a huge wad of mucous in the back of my throat so I tried to cough it up… no go. I went to the bathroom and tried to hack it up to the point where I almost vomited… Finally I got a flashlight, looked, and almost freaked out when I saw my… you guessed it… grossly swollen uvula. I considered going to the ER and then decided to Google it and found this page. Fantastic! I am much calmer now! I am going to pop a Benedryl, drink a bottle of water, and hope it’s all better tomorrow!

Thank God for You! Searching the net, you find NOTHING-- I, of course, try all the medical terms I can think of (not many, by the way) "Trauma to Uvula," I find "Uvulitis..." "Uvulectomy," or whatever. God knows what else... I'm thinking," They're gonna have to CUT OFF MY THINGY! OH NO! Finally, I try "Swollen Uvula," and Poof! Here we are.

Here's the nonsense that I can add to the details above:

Yes, I was drinking, But not a lot-- I had only finished 2 beers. All of a sudden-- NOT overnight-- I felt like I was being repeatedly bit by a mosquito in the back of the throat. This was a violent itching. I tried to "scratch" it with my mouth by by using suction, and I'm sure I "Scratched too hard." (...just like Mom always told me, "If you scratch too hard, you'll make it worse and hurt yourself.") I basically felt my uvula slowly growing in my mouth and thought I was having an allergy attack. (PS-- I DON'T have allergies...) I took a hit off my wife's inhaler that she keeps around for her own allergies, to no avail, gargled with salt water, and went to bed.

I'ts still bothering me-- a good 12 hours later-- but I'll go hit the water now. I'm having trouble speaking, breathing, etc., but nothing's really "sore."

Thanks again, and good luck with the swelling in your thingy.

i love this site and im so glad that i stumbled upon it ....all the stories are great i know im not alone ....im sorry for everyones swollen uvula's but im glad there is someone here to share in my discomfort and i have this site on my favorites and i check it 2 times a day to see if anyone new is on and i just thought id say hey if there are anyone that wants to chat my email addy is ttattoo_kitten@yahoo.ca and in the subject put uvula so i know where you came from
hope to hear from you soon

How funny this all is to me. I was woken up at 6 this morning by my girlfriend calling me, knowing I didnt have to be at work until noon, and telling me that her uvula was swollen to 3 times its normal size. I told her not to panic, that it had happened to me before and I was fine, and that I would research it for her and to suck on some ice or drink water if she could. She told me she was already drinking some cold water. Got off the phone and got on Google and found all of you wonderful people saying the same thing. Thank God for the Internet!! She did also have just one Bacardi last night while playing pool, sleeps with her windows open AND 2 fans going (we live in the Central Valley of CA..VERY hot and DRY in the summer), and snores a bit, while not drinking much H2O in the few hours before bed, for not wanting to be up all night peeing. Anyway, I passed all of your lovely thoughts and anecdotes on to her and told her not to worry, that she was, fortunately, not going to die from this. Thanks again!!

Yep, another member of the club. This is the scond time I've had this. The first time I didn't really know what was going on, just that it was annoying the heck out of me for about two days. This time I had severe fever and a throat infection for several days. Went to the doctor, got antibiotics. After 2 days fever went away and the infection seemed to be going too. Then this... My uvula (I cant belive I have something in my body called that) has been swollen for over 48 hours now. I know I was getting dehydrated while I had fever, so I guess that may be the reason. I have trouble sleeping. It is easier if I sleep with my head high.

I have decided to give it one more night, if the thing doesn't come down in size then I will go see a doctor. Thanks for the laughs, unpleasant as they were...

Having experienced this a few times, mostly after drinking too much and smoking cigars the night before, I can comment on the painfulness of it! It really does suck. Avoid talking, take a hot shower with lots of steam, drink some well made sugary tea, and go back to bed!

holy this site is luvin great. so anyway. i live in northern nevada where the beer flows like wine. the other night, we put the bar on lockdown and got super silly just poundin brews and wut not.... ya so, smokin as well. and i wake up. huge uvula. all my roomates laughin at it. but after 24 hours. it's still sore and swollen. and bothering me so luvin bad. so i google it. find this site. laugh. then post. i just hope its not some strep coming on or someting like that. i'm starting to convince myself it was from the hard partying. but after 30 hours it should be going down no>? anyway. here is to all the swollen uvulas out there. keep it wet.

hey mike hope your uvula goes down soon i really feel for you dude...i replyed to your email btw.
katie

Hi guys!
I've been searching for a site like this for ages now...
certainly feel better reading the comments.....
My story is similar to everyone elses really. Heavy drinking & smoking the night before.
England were playing France in Euro2004, I was at the pub with my friends very early rushing beer down my neck like there was no tomorrow, smoked probably 20 cigarettes, & a few cigars......
woke in the morning with the feeling that I was totally clogged up with phlegm!! I rushed straight to the bathroom to clear my throat.....for ages I could not spit anything out....until I spat blood out I then looked in the mirror.....I thought I was gonna die......it was the freakiest thing I ever seen...I went to the doctor he said I need antibiotics & nurofen..
He said it would be possible that the bacteria from it could get into my bloodstream & then I could have heart problems!!!!, so antiobiotics were taken as prescribed! very frightening!
This was 2 over 2 months ago now...& I still check my throat every day & I'm very paranoid about it. Feel much better reading about everyone elses situation though......Drink lots of water!!

oh man. scared the living crap out of myself this morning when trying to hack up some phlegm, and felt my uvula near the middle of my tongue. being this had never happened before, I worried about tonsilitis, or strep throat, etc. thankfully, google was there to alleviate my hypochondria. I smoked a lot of a type of medicinal plant last night, and was told that I was snoring much louder than normal. I've ingested about a half gallon of water now, and I'm hoping for the best.

well, we all seem to have the same problem.. we wake up and our uvula's are swollen. This is the second time it has happened to me and im a 20 year old college student and I drink enough to where i think drinking and dehydration do cause this. The first time this happened i went to the doc and he gave me prescription benadryl. Well, it remained swollen for a few more days so i went back and he gave me a week prescription to some type of steriod and it did the trick right away...i guess just make sure u stay hydrated.
Josh

Hi fellow club members.
The problem of swollen 'dangly bits' occurs in Australia too! It first happened to me after a big night on the drink and associated vomiting. After this incident I noticed that it started happening every time I drank spirits, whether in excess or not, plus it started happening after even the first drink. I thought that maybe it was a reaction to alcohol, but thinking more about it, I usually drink in pubs - where it is filled with cigarette smoke (I would not normally subject to smoke), which would also possibly cause the irritation. I think that the uvula would be sensitive to foreign objects (aside food) touching it. My cases have only lasted a day, usually no longer touching the tongue after half a day.

Isn't it amazing that we've all invaded this poor person's blog to discuss the fleshy little stalactite hanging from the back of our throats? We've all created an impromptu swollen uvula support group. Long live google!!!

Ergh.. thank GOD and GOOGLE for this site! I have had the swollen uvula a number of times now. Scared myself so bad I couldn't even bring myself to google it! Thanks to my friend who emailed me this link, I now blame it on the beer ;) Thank you thank you thank you!

Swollen Member #22438571 +

I woke up this morning with the swollen uvula. This is the second time it's happened to me. The first time was the day after I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth cut out. Today, I don't know what caused it, perhaps allergies? I didn't have a drop of alcohol but I did drink a red bull about two hours before bed... I wonder...

I can't believe this day and age where we are all posting silly things about our swollen uvula to random folks! I too drank last night and woke up with a pain and swelling in my throat - but not really my throat, my uvula they tell me. How bazaar?!?! It's been bad all day and not getting better. Now I could be afraid to sleep, for fear I will choke! Bummer - but thanks to all of you for being there. :)

Amazing, I thought I was some unique mutant with the most stupid power in the world, to make my uvula swell up. Captian Swelled Uvula or something. But, like everyone else here, I google and find this site. This is my second time bonding with my dangly thing.

I do have a few things to add.
I drink excessively and it doesn't seem to be the only cause. This and the other time it happened I was drunk and made out with a girl. I think it's because girls have cooties? No, but really, there might be some sort of bacteria transfer. Anyone else subject to this?

Also, my uvula never returned to it's normal size after the first time. It's still really long and almost looks like a dog's "pinkie", gross as it sounds, but it is what it looks like (at least my mates say so).

Hey can I join the swollen Uvula club too? I had a really sore throat all last week and then on saturday morning woke up choking....on my uvula. I panicked and rushed up to casualty who sent me away with the number for the out of hours doctor. Apparently I have tonsillitis and the swollen (actually I'd say mine was more elongated) uvula is part of it. i am now on day 3 of 10 days of antibiotics.

I still have my swollen uvula but with sore throat lozenges and aspirin it doesn't hurt too much, if I am not paying attention and it accidentally flicks onto my tongue it makes me gag and sometimes be sick however :-(

I have been having a series of strange dreams about it, last night I thought a man had flicked a pebble into my mouth and I woke up trying to spit it out.

Well thank you for making me chuckle all you Uvula buddies and thanks also to the poor random whos blog this is!

man i got this thing too i was drinking last nite and threw up before going to bed i had to wake up to take my brothers girlfriend to work and on the way home i got sick and after that is when i got the swollen uvela how long do u htink it will take to go away??

I had a sore throat last night - had a cold or two going on and off for days - no drinking for the last couple days but do have the A/C running and seem to have a perpetually dry throat this time of year. So i took some fibre stuff to boost mr Immune System and went to bed... woke up and was gagging from what i thought was all the gunk in my sore throat, then found (on getting up and trying to yak it up - UGH!!!) that it was my suddenly enlarged uvula. The li'l bugger was lying on the back of my tongue staring at me!!! :-/

20 hours later and it is still here, i am chewing gum to keep my mouth moist and its helping (woke up later with a VERY dry mouth, only now realise i shouldn't have stayed in bed all day to sleep it off and this adds to dehydration). But i suspect i may have the cold / sore throat deal even when the uvula returns to its natural state. Bugger.

God bless googlers, one and all.

I have had the swollen uvulua about 5 times. I don't drink. For me,It definately seems to be some type of allergic reaction. I don't know to what. My uvula swells so I feel like I am going to swallow it and my throat hurts. It is very scary and I feel like the whole back of my throat is swelling. Benadryl starts relieving it within 1/2 an hour.

I don't drink but I got one too. I think mine is from sucking the back of my throat cos it was itchy. Now my uvula looks like a shiny new born kangaroo???!!!.Thanks for all the friendly advice.

I woke up, looked in the mirror, and thought I was going to die. I didn't want to swallow or breathe through my mouth, for fear that the suction would rip the uvula from my palate and I would choke on it and die. Despite this fear I didn't call campus EMS or 911 or anything- just google. Well here's to feeling better hopefully, and knowing that indeed, there is something for everything on the Internet.

Yes I've joined the "fat dangly" club. Was gardening came in felt very thirsty, but no matter what ammount i drank it didn't seem to help. Wanted to cough up phlegm but only seemed to make me want to choke. Yes I then panicked.

Woke the wife up who had been working nights. Told her I thought i was going to choke to death. She rang NHS Direct who then told us to rush to Hospital and if I was to pass out on the way to stop the car and dial 999!

This made me feel much better! As we set off i told my wife to stop hanging about and drive like Colin McCrae, this was an emergency!

Felt stupid when got to the Hospital only to be told that I had had an allergic reaction.This seemed strange as i had never had an allergic reaction before and had only been gardening as i had done many times before. I was then given a prescription for anti allergy tablets. A day later the uvula still feels the same but it is reassuring to know i am not going to die!

Thanks google and everyone else for the reassurance.

Hi, I'm anami, (Welcome, anami) and I've got a swollen uvula. This is my first time, so be gentle. But seriously, I think the cause is pretty simple: snoring to excess. I had a bad neckache, so I took some Canadian aspirin (222s). Eventually, I got to sleep. I was sleeping on my back on a buckwheat neckroll. My guess is that I started snoring in that position and, with no girlfriend here to tell me to roll over, I snored on for several hours. During snoring, the uvula "collides" with the tongue and causes it become swollen. So, pharmaceuticals or alcohol make us hard to rouse and let the snoring continue for a long time. I talked to my girlfriend and she asked what I was going to try: ice, water? I thought about it and said, "Ice Cream!"

I think I'm really screwed up. When I was born, my uvula split from the bottom up. I now have two of them!

I got sick a couple of days ago. I'm not sure what I have, but I get chills, then a couple of minutes later I get really hot. I get dizzy and light headed. I just noticed that I have a swollen uvula today.

My toncils are swollen too, and with the swollen uvula, it makes it really hard to swollow anything. I have been living on tea for the last few days.

I noticed that when I take Cold and Sinus medacine, all of my pains and symptoms mostly go away except for my sore thoat. There is also red dots in the back of my throat.

Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thanks,
Chris

well folks its happened again i got slobbering drunk last night and smoked like a chimy and was very loud while having sex at the end of the night (too much info)(sorry)but i woke up this am with another swollen uvula episode....only this time im not freaking out because i know what it is....sucks to be me and its my own fault but thats all good and if anyone wants to chat about uvulas or anything just email me at ttattoo_kitten@yahoo.ca
later y'all
katie

I've had this swollen uvula for the past 2 years, or thats when I noticed it and its ALWAYS when I wake up in the morning. Huh, must be from dryness. I'm trying to find out why it comes and goes. It might happen to me once a month. Right now, its finally happened to day in a row. At this current moment, chocolate seems to be the culprit in my case or its adds to drying out the mouth. Whenever I feel that lump in the back I just sleep on my side so I can breathe..hehe! My advice, try eating chocolate before you go to sleep. Lumped up my Uvula. Could also be medication.

Mystery

Gargle with salt water and or Mouth wash. Usually brings the Uvula back down to earth in about 30-45 minutes. Due to the Uvula growing during sleep, its gotta be due to dryness. Maybe a squirt of something for drymouth before you go to sleep might do the trick. I'm going to give it a shot. Hopefully it will work.

My name is Rex and I have a swollen uvula.

I woke up this morning, like everyone else, thinking that there was some major phlegm ball that needed coughing up. However, something felt weird, so I went to the bathroom and saw my swollen uvula. It was grotesque.

I got a glass of water and started googling and found this site.

It seems that I did one of everything that has been mentioned as a possible cause.

Last night, I...

1) drank beer
2) smoked
3) slept with the window open
4) seemed to be coming down with a cold (that tickle in the throat feeling)
5) am a snorer
6) am allergic to many things

So, here I am with my swollen uvula, awake at 7:30 on a Saturday morning.

Thanks for being there guys.

I'm a high school student, so I plan on getting little to no sleep during the schoolweek and getting caught up on Saturday. Not this week.

I woke up at around 8 a.m. snoring louder than I'd ever heard a human snore (What other species have you heard snore, you ask? Don't.), and when I stood up, I just about hurled from the monstrosity that flopped down on my tongue. I screamed (on the inside, at least), and ran to my bathroom, where I looked in the mirror and saw the horror that is a swollen uvula for the first time.

I'm on the home stretch of a pretty bad cold, so that may have been a factor, but I do sleep next to an open window, with 3 fans on in my room (San Diego, CA isn't too nice at night this time of year), and woke with the traumatizing piece of flesh slapping back and forth, sounding strangely like a lawnmower. I had my mouth open when I woke, so I'm assuming I had it open for quite a long time last night.

After drinking innumerable glasses of water, it feels a bit better, but the "beached whale" feeling, as someone put it before, hasn't gone away - I've had a few close calls, and having to clean up my upchuck is the last thing I want to do right now.

Everybody's support is amazing, and I feel great knowing I'm not a solitary case (even my Aunt called and told me she and my Uncle have had it many times before).

Thanks for the help, everyone, and KEEP ON POSTING!

Okay, I played tennis yesterday, then played Beirut (beer pong) at a friends place last night. I got sick, chucked in his bathroom - and then passed out as hard as I could. Woke up with my throat bothering me about 9 am. Got home, looked in the mirror and wah-lah a uvula about half the size of my pinky finger dangling on my tongue. I was scared. But, after reading this feeling much better. I just went out and bought benedryl for allergies, 7UP and some soup. I will let you know how this b.s. remedy works.
Cheers!
Matt

*sigh* I am sitting at work, having just finished a cup of coffee, and finding my swollen uvula gagging me AGAIN. So, I shall now go chug a buncha water.

Thank you Dr. Google for saving me once again.

I'll pay you in sex... but no oral.. at least until this swelling goes down.. I mean the uvula.. not my.. umm.. never mind

This really really sux big time, I actually think am going the die, the bugger is so long its resting on my tongue... Its cool to freak my friends out though LOL,

I too found this site on Google. The only bit I have to add to this discussion is I have had the "swollen Uvula" several times (more than 5 but less than 10) in the last 5 years. I recall sometimes I had been drinking the night before I experienced this swollen-ness and probably had smoked a bit of the leaf to boot. This time I assure you that not only had I not consumed cannabis or alcohol BUT I had a full can of chicken-noodle soup and a big glass of milk before bed. SURELY I wasn't dehydrated after this much liquid.

My .$02 to this discussion....

Holy moly - this site helped me alot.... every bit of panic and tidbit of information here is right on.... I woke up freaking out like I had a phlemball in my throat that just won't come out. I had smoked maybe 10 cigs and a cigar over the w/e, maybe 3 beers last night so I thought throat irritaion from those things, plus I also was very overtired and running on little sleep. My girlfriend said I was snorning louder then she's ever heard and she heard me over the tv and fan! I spent the first 30 minutes of the morning hacking like hell and thought I had a piece of lung or something coming up - I was snorting so much I caused blood vessels to break and got blood in the spit, which was clear, not chunky or anything. My girlfriend wanted to go to the doc, but I wanted to wait, mainly because I lost the job recently and ran out of medical benefits... I looked in the mirror and saw it and my girlfriend found the 'uvulea' part of a pic on the web. Then I searched and found this, which caused me to take it easy today. Benedril, water, don't talk if you don't have to. Vicks felt good. Hot tea was soothing but it doesn't help the swelling - cold stuff is the key. Mine is smaller but still bugging me. I've been up since 8am and it's midnight now so 16 hrs still pretty much the same, but taking it easy. Going to sleep 4 hrs tonight only and check on it again then. Will give you all an update - hope you found it, and my story helpful, I did. Thanks to whoever started this page. -Kris, Billerica, MA

Ah, yes, the infamous Uvula. This has happened to me before but i never figured out what it was. This morning, I woke up with a mouth dryer than ever before, and this feeling of phlegm in the back of my throat. I figured i could blow my nose a few times and drink some water and it would be ok....WRONG! I went to freakin work and the whole day i winced every time i swallowed. It is so uncomfortable. Then later on in the evening my nose started running. I decided to look in the mirror just now, and BLAM! There was this disgusting Uvula drooped down, resting on my tongue. I knew that that thing had never sit foot on my toungue before, so i flipped out. I found this site, thank God, and now i feel better. I sleep with my mouth open most the time, and i had my fan on last night because i was hot. This probably dried out my mouth even more. Also, something that nobody has posted yet, i ate a lot of food last night, and right before i went to sleep i had one of those burps where u almost throw up, but it reaches your throat and goes back down. Well, that caused the area where the Uvula is to burn like crazy. So maybe that is what initially caused the flare up. Thanks for the help everyone, i am gonna go pop a benadryl and drink some water.
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Above: The Swollen Uvula

Oh my god...this site is funnier than Conan O'Brien!!! I can't remember the last time I've laughed so hard. Too bad my uvula is killing me. It's like "The Attack of the Giant Tomato". The horror...The horror. My throat has been dry the last two nights. We've just kicked on the heat and it's really been drying me out! I mean DRY! The night before last my tongue was completely dried out. Now that's a bizzare sensation in itself, but then last night my throat was feeling really dry and it HURT like a sore throat! When I woke up this morning it felt like I had a huge ball of phlegm in the back of my throat, but when I tried to expel it I noticed it was my uvula all fat and hangin' there like a monster of some sort. I thought GREAT I'm getting sick, but I feel okay...if not a little grossed out, god my uvula! So I Googled 'swollen uvula' and found this hillarious site with all these people having the same freak-out about thier swollen uvulas. Now I can go on about my day, drink a lot of water, take my throat numbing Cepacol losenges with benzocaine (which really really helps with the pain) and gargle with warm salt water 3X's/day. Thank you all you very very funny people. I too think we need a uvula t-shirt! Any suggestions on what it would say???

Every year about this time, I'll wind up with a severe soar throat. The pain becomes so hot that I have to cringe as if I'm about to kick start a seizure whenever I try to swallow. It lasts about two or three days with varying degrees of ache. Well the pain came back again this year, only this time I woke with what felt like a mutant slug in the back of my throat. Upon closer inspection I was relieved to find that alien snot monsters had not taken over the back of my throat, instead I had a swowwen oovooluh, at least that's what it sounded like when I told my girlfriend. There has to be some sort of quick remedy I thought and turned to the internet. Whether it be a salt water gargle or eye of newt, the internet would find it. Relevent medical reference sites that I checked all said that my problem could be coming from anything from acute bronchitus or tonsilitus, to sellyourcartopayfortreatmentitus. Finally my search led me here, to a support group that not only shares in my affliction but also, for many of you, my familiarity with a bottle. It may be possible that my weekend at a Virinia Wine Festival has something to do with the clown shoe in my throat, but the swelling is three days late. So I don't blame the booze for this one but it is nice to see people like me with whom I can share a bronchial brotherhood. So cross your fingers for me because I have to work tomorrow and I don't like salt, but I have to beat this thing and I can't afford a trip to the doctor. Hmmm...maybe I can pitch that alien snot monster thing to the Enquirer...that could cover medical expenses. Well, good luck to all of you, and watch for my face in the checkout line, I'll be next to batboy and the 1-ton lady who found Jesus in her spaghetti.

well, what a pleasant suprise, uvula is hanging like a middle finger down the back of my throat, this seems to happen to me all the time like 1 or 2 times a month, in a wweird way, i think i am starting to like it..lol....

Well, I guess it is time for me to join the "swollen uvula club" too. I stumbled on this website even though I have looked up swollen uvula at least a dozen times. My Dr thinks I am weird - noone has ever heard of it and now I find out I am normal....thanks for that. Mine only happens between 3 -5 a.m. I don't drink - but it seems to happen when I am really tired, snore more. The last time was last week when my husband and I got to Honolulu and the next a.m. had a bad reaction - took a bunch of bendrayl - took some that night and had another reaction - I was dehydrated the first night - so that makes sense after what everyone is saying. Whenever I get a reaction (around 6-8 times a year) for past 3 years - I take double dose of bendrayl and sleep it off. Two of my Dr's are very concern as they keep saying it can be life threatening (especially if I can't breath) and want to lop it off. Has anyone had to resort to that??? They have tested me for every food and nothing is positive - even though I am allergies to a lot of other stuff.....Everytime it happens it scares me - but is never bad enough to go to the emergency room - but do have my self injector of ephin-stuff with me. I really appreciate all of you - it makes me feel so much better. Am open for any suggestions........

First let me just say all the stories were hilarious... I had to keep from choking on my hangy thingy... woke up this morning with my throat hurtin like hell... tried to cough up some pleghm, but all i did my gag, I also kept wanting to spit... ugh took a loak at the back of my throat and almost had a heart attack.. the most grotesque thing I've ever seen and it was in my mouth..eeewwww.. rushed myself to the doctor... she took one look and recoiled, I was like oh sh!t i have some kind of fatal disease... then she started talkin about uvula ( that's the name) she prescibed me penicillin and IB Profin and she took a throat culture ( wasn't I in enough pain?) finally I decided to do my own diagnosis... so I turned to the trusty dusty google.. and low and behold.. I found this site... the stories really helped... when i wasn't gaggin that is...

You guys, are too funny! It seems that with all these swollen uvula stories going around, it looks like we could have the makings of new reality show! Yes, I too awoke with the swollen u-word. It's happened to me a few times over the years. So this morning, I thought I'd hop on Google,(like everyone else!) and see what was up. It seems that the alcohol thing is a common denominator, for nearly all the stories-including mine! I'm also a very heavy snorer-due to sleep apnea.(there you go, there's another condition to query Google with!) Thanks for the funny stories, take care, and happy "Googling"!

P.S. Still waiting for that tee-shirt!

Google tip: For those of you who don't know about the 'Image' tab, if you type in "uvula"(without the quotes) and hit the Image tab,(at top-left of page) you will see some freaky uvula pictures, just in time for Halloween! Try it with other objects too. It's a quick way of finding an image and what your querying for, on the Web!

Sully

Ardent member of the "Swollen Uvula Club"

This Swollen Uvula Support Group has saved my life. I woke up this morning with it, and I'm still swollen as I write this. This is the second time this happened, so I'm not as freaked out about it. The first time, earlier this year, I woke up and it was REALLY swollen and battered. My people made fun of me because I complained all day about "swollen uvula" and "swollen pharynx." It was about three times its normal size last time, and it was red on both sides -- i.e. literally injured. Both incidents occurred the morning after a night of heavy drinking. I snore, and I smoke, which doesn't help. Violent snoring is apparently a contributing factor. My guess would be the majority of swollen uvula people here got it after drinking. I'm not really overweight, but I'm out of shape, and I'm starting to get a double chin and man boobs. Not having a tight, fat-free body all around would help prevent swollen uvula, in my opinion. I think blubbery pharynx syndrome can contribute to this condition. Good luck everyone. I'm going to gargle.

This is profound uvulasim - right here. With Tad. Big daddy uvula. Yeah, that's right. Mine's bigger. Above and beyond. The big khahuvula.

Big tad's top 3 tips for getting that uvula so big it will strike envy into the hearts of those with less fortunate uvulas.

1)Eat ink. That's right. Grab your printer. Rip it apart. Find the cartridge, and pour it into your mouth. The chemicals found in electronic ink will immediately induce uvula swelling - perfect before a big night out.

2)Be the bat. Bat species are known for their extraordinary uvulas. Why? Upside down sleeping. When hanging upside down the bats blood rushes so profusely to its brain, their ovula swells to incredible sizes. The same is true for humans. Buy a pull-up bar and some hang shoes - you'll be ready for a heavy-hitting uvula in no time.

3)Ever heard of the rubber band man? That's you - you're the band man. Put rubber bands around your head - right above the eyebrow. This mild circulation decrease actually increases diverted blood to the uvula. The problem with this technique is the lightheadness associated with it, and its temporary effect. Long-term use can permanently increase uvula size, so do not discard this technique.

So there you have it. These tips can make your puny uvula nearly triple in proportion, making you the envy of every party - the desire of every woman - and Mr. Popular around town.

And remember, as Tad always says - nothing is impossible!

Tad Your kinda different arent you buddy i thought it was comical what you said but are you trying to tell us that you actually do stupid stuff to get your uvula to swell .... we are all on here to get results to get ours to go away .... man times have changed ...just currious as to WHY IN THE HECK would you want to make your uvula get any larger than what it is ?... just a curriousity to each their own...lol
katie

Glad I found this page. I woke up today with the dreaded swollen Uvula although not as bad as some of you have had it. I will be brutally honest. I was hitting the bong like Cheech and Chong all day yesterday. There is no doubt in my mind that this is what caused it to swell. Anyway, I got a glass of warm salt water and gargled with it and it already feels much better. Moral of this story? Dont smoke or drink heavily and not expect it to do bad things to your body :P Mines not too bad so I'll ride it out. No sense in paying the doctor to tell me to drink some warm salt water...hehe. Thanks to all for the posts, they've been most helpful.

My husband woke up this morning w/ a bad case of a swollen thingy. (get ure head outta the gutter, I mean ulvula!!) He thought for sure it was throat cancer since he smokes. Classic case of hypocondriac he is. So, of course, er-hater that I am, I say, "I'll go look on the internet, I'm sure we can diagnose you there", and to my surprise, there's a whole support staff for people w/ swollen thingys in the back of their throat! I never saw the day my computer would save me a trip to the hospital coming! Ever! Now my husband can go back to gagging on his dangel hopper in peace, knowing that this won't be the medical condition that surely kills him! (he'll probably come up w/ a new one tomorrow and I'll be right back on here, but for now, thanx fellow uvula hurters, sorry for your pain, but it's great to know my husband's not a freak! lol)

So... It was my 22nd birthday yesterday. So as you can imagine, I did a lot of drinking. Too much. In the early hours of the morning when I actually finally made it to bed, I was having great troubles trying to swallow. Like most others here, I felt as tho I had a huge ball of phlem in the back of my throat, but I could get rid of it. I had lots of troubles trying to sleep. So I got up to check it out, and saw that it was mega-swollen. So I drank a lot of water and finally got to sleep. Now this afternoon when I got up, I found out that my sister has the exact same thing. Kinda crazy. But she's had hers for the past two days. So I don't know if this is all caused from the dehydration, or maybe its something contagious that I got from my sister.... hmmmmmm......

Damn Im glad I found this page tho... Thanks Google!

Same thing happened to me. This is the second time it's happened so I wasn't freaked out about it but I had to find this site to reassure my girlfriend eveything is ok. I only drank 4 beers yesterday and I am fighting some sort of cold. It has shrank about 50% in two hours so I'm no longer choking on it but it is still annoying. Drink lots of water and blow your nose before you sleep to help with breathing.

I will give you all 3 guessed why im posting here and the first 2 dont count. I was at my buddy's house and we went to KFC/TACO BELL and I got the popcorn chicken and some cheesy fiesta potatos. when we go back to his house and we are just hangin out playin games and we decided to go to sleep (which was strange for us because were 16 years old and have the new GTA game)and I wake up and I am dizzy as hell I rush to the bathroom and start throwing up like crazy. I run home and walk into my house at 3:00 in the morning and my dog attacks me and I almost threw up on him im. I think i got food poison from the fiesta potatos(im a black guy, I will never blame the chicken). after a while i start throwing up bile and really hard too. I think that irritated my uvala and now it looks like a punching bag and I cant talk cus it goes down my throat.this site makes me feel good about acting like a retard and freaking out about it. thank you for the comfort.

I to am loving this "group". We should start a site and get a T-shirt. I call mine Tony, because he is the man that lives in the back of my throat. Stephen King fans will know what I am talking about. :)

I have had this trouble off and on for 20 years or more. Doctors have had many things to say about it in the past ranging from needing to have my wisdom teeth removed to checking my genitiles for swelling. Several years ago I figured out on my own that it had something to do with snoring or being too dry, or both.

I now sleep near a humidifier, have chloreseptic spray near the bed, and some TheraFu ready to make.

This phenomenome has rarely been predictible in my case, and I am still inflicted from time to time. Sometimes Tony swells in girth, some of the time he swells in length, I have often awoken unable to breathe and unable to swallow for a minute or a little more.

IT FREAKS ME EVERY TIME.

The swelling has lasted three days on the long side(majority of the swelling gone 6-8 hours), 3-4 hours on the short side.

Some of the time I have to hock it up on my tounge just to swich between breathing and swallowing. It is a real pain and it hurts too. :)

Things I have tried that dont work:

1. Cutting it out or biting it out like a piece of loose skin in your mouth. (Dont try this!!! It only makes it worse, and the bright light of pain in unbearable)

2. Trying to hold it with your fingers while swallowing (because the skin still feels dry on the back side)

3. Squeezing it to get the puss out coupled with pricking it with a pin like a pimple (HURTS LIKE **** DONT TRY IT!!!)

4. Gargle with rubbing alcohol and/or witch hazel. (burned horriby and made me puke repetedly. BAD IDEA!!!)

things I have tried that do work:

1. Ice water in small sips and or gargled.

2. Salt water gargled. (dont try it iced!!)

3. Hydrogen peroxide was gross and foamy but I think helped a couple of times when it was very ichy and painfully sore.

4. Gargled with a mouthful of chloroseptic spray. Feels good to make the pain go away. (a half a tube of ambusol numming agent worked wonders too)

5. Any HOT drink. I prefer hot orange juice, Honey water, or TheraFlu.

I usually try to go back to sleep while sitting up a little. TheraFlu helps with this, I normally make a double dose in about half the water recommended. Also, today, I tried gargling nose spray. I think it may have helped, but it was a horrible experience, I dont think I will try it again unless really desperate. The swelling felt like it was going down a little in about 15 minutes.

Well I hope somethng I have said has helped. If ever a site or support group is started, or you want to talk, write me at bbeyes_2550@yahoo.com

EDC

Just wanted to let everybody know that that theory of dehydration being the cause of a swollen uvula is most likely true because i was very thirsty before i went to bed last night and didnt drink anything, and then in the morning i woke up with it swollen. thanks for all the posts! I will keep hydrated from now on!!

I too am part of the freaky-uvula club. It has been an ongoing problem with me since I was about 12 years old. I have enlarged tonsils and adenoids, so at night when i'm sleeping, unless I have a breathe-right strip, I can't breathe very well out of my nose. So every night I sleep with my mouth open and snoring. Mine doesn't look the normal shape when it gets swollen. Instead of looking like the traditional "Punching Bag" uvula, it looks like a huge pink cylinder. Yesterday for some odd reason, it got swollen while I was at work. Thats the first time that ever happened to my while I was awake. Every time I drank water or even spoke to someone I would gag and run to the bathroom. Last night when I got home I was in tears because I felt as if I couldn't breathe, and I was SOOO thirsty, but couldn't drink any water because my uvula was in the way. I'm telling you, it was REALLY frustrating. I called in to work today, but it doesn't feel swollen anymore. Now my throat just hurts like a bitch, and my voice is hoarse. I've noticed that Alka-Seltzer can bring the swelling down dramtically.

Djurkinthebox

I am a Finn living in the US so the first problem I had was to figure out what the hell the thing hanging in there is called in English, as it doesn't seem to have a name at all in Finnish.

My story:
Wife was diagnosed with a strep throat last week. Of course it hit me as well three days ago. Took a while to get to see a doctor (this is supposed to be a civilized nation but getting an appointment on Halloween Sunday just didn't work out) and was prescribed antibiotics. However, my throat had been so damn sore that I hadn't drank more than a a couple of glasses of water during the past two days. Didn't get much sleep either because I wasn't able to swallow the saliva but had to wake up to spit it out every five minutes. As an engineer I thought that OK, I'll sleep in a sitting position and breathe through the mouth, so there won't be anything that I need to swallow. And the outcome: the bloody snake hanging in my mouth this morning due to this partly self-caused dehydration.

Now I am relieved. This is the most informative site I have ever bumped into. Keep up the good work !

This is wild as hell... I can't even explain what was going through my head when I looked in the mirror and said...AHHHHHH! The even wilder part is that all of our minds thought to us the information superhighway to diagnose ourselves. Besides for voting for BUSH, us AMericans just might be getting smarter....hope this goes away... everybody put there fists in the air....We SHALL OVER COME THIS Weird ass shit...

Upon trying to clear my throat this morning, I freaked. Google cut off 50% of my panic, as everybody above, the problem is however, since English isn't my FIRST language, I didn't know what the damn thing was called ! So panicking, I was rushing through throat anatomy slides to find it. However, one of the slides was badly done, and it looked as if the uvula was the soft palate. OK, so I look up swollen soft palate. Treatments come up, and they're mainly surgery. THEN I freaked.

I have had the swollen uvula thing several times in the past, but never for this long. I am on my third day! I have a cold and can not breathe through my nose, a swollen uvula and can't breathe through my mouth without forcing this thing in and out! It's scary. Now I have strep throat to boot. Anyone else had it this long?

I'm in the club....woke up with the giant uvula. Now I am waiting for the swelling to cease. The dr said it was an infection...blew my mind. Glad I could see the threads and it's not immediate uncurable cancer...

toodles

Hi everybody! This is like an aa meeting for thoes of us with wierd throat problems, except I'm only 14. So I am here because I too Have a swollen uvula, and when i wope up with a really funny feeling in my throat i went to bathroom to see that my air was practically blocked by my uvula and my huge tonsils. Since I was a kid I've hed strep throat around 1 every 2 months so i hope to god thats not what its from, but i must tell you it's very unpleasant for someone with a sensitive gag reflex to have a little punching bag thing hittingevery were in the back of your throat! I was just wondering, should I go see a doctor sooner or later like how long should I wait? Even if you only answer my question tomoro it would still be greatly apprechiated!

my uvula is swollen, and i don't like it. need breakfast...pancakes?

My uvula is swollen. I hate it. I have a date this weekend and don't want to have a sore throat. whoa is me.

Sad but true, WebMD hasn't even caught on to our very real uvula dramas. I'm on my 2nd "big uvula" - though this one wasn't caused by drinking alcohol or lack of water. I'm in Los Angeles in November and the Santa Ana winds have kicked up in full force so I'm guessing that has something to do with it. Still hydrating like there's no tomorrow with little success. A hydrogen peroxide rinse this morning helped a big.

I'm reminded of the wise words of that old Saturday Night Live sketch w. Gilda, Chevy and Candice Bergen.... always take care of your uvula... "Babs' uvula who?"

Mines been swollen for like 3 days, never been so annoyed at something before, feels like a luger in the back of my throat and my throat is so sore, so swallowin is a bitch. When will it go away...

Thank you Michelle for hosting this bizarre online community. If you've read this far down the list of posts, you are -- like me -- in serious pain. Although I rarely post in random people's blogs, I am compelled to do so this time due to what I believe is the primary cause of MY swollen uvula.

Warning: if you are under 18, read no further. I believe the cause in my case was the spectacular blowjob I gave my husband last night.

This seems to be only thing that was out of the ordinary yesterday (the sheer depth of it, at least...it was our anniversary, after all).

Since I am a nighttime mouth breather, I regularly have a very dry throat when I wake up in the morning. But nothing like this has ever happened before. I also have a glass of wine with dinner on a regular basis (as I did last night) and nothing like this has ever happened.

While Googling, I found another site which described the common causes of a swollen uvula to be:
-tonsillitis;
-bacterial or viral infections of the throat;
-allergies;
-trauma.

I've had all of the first three conditions, but NOTHING like this has ever happened before. The ONLY thing I can think of was last night's "trauma" to my throat.

So, if you've been reading all the stories of drinking and smoking, but suspect your swollen uvula might be the byproduct of a decidely more X-rated night, know that you are not alone. Although I concur with Rich (who is the one other on this site that suspected oral sex) that STDs -- or, ick, random bacteria -- might be the real culprit for some people and should be checked out, in my case, I'm pretty confident it was just the act itself.

As for me, I plan to gargle, take a Benadryl, and try to ignore it. If it doesn't go away by tomorrow, I'll maybe see a doctor. But who wants to admit THAT to their doctor? If it turns out to be something else, something life-threatening, I'll post again with an update.

By the way, you guys who have uvulas that grew long instead of wide (like mine did) are troopers. I think I would've had a heart attack if I saw that in my throat.

I was told this was caused by sleeping with your mouth open plus having sleep apnea. I took a Benedryl and it knocked me out for four hours and when I woke up, it was back to normal.

Like everyone else is saying, this is a great site. I've had the swollen uvula problem off and on for about ten years or so, and it's usually related to either having a cold (or my body getting ready to have a cold) or drinking alcohol. Though as there have been plenty of times when I drank alcohol before going to bed without having this happen, it's kinda mysterious (the one major alcohol-related occurance that springs to mind was drinking sort of a lot of whisky before going to bed). And I seem to only ever have it swell up a little bit, and usually only on the back part of it and sides, and never "the size of my thumb" like some people have posted. I would completely freak out if mine ever swelled up that much. Anyway, it seems to go back to normal without medical intervention. Just plenty of fluids, and waiting. It's really icky, though, and annoying, so it's comforting to know that other people experience this too.

Haha! Too funny. This is my 4th or 5th case in 12 years or so, but it has been awhile. So I remembered the name of the illness (uvulitis), and googled it (like every one else appears to have done) and landed here. I couldnt remember what was given to me last time, and was hoping to find home remedies. I only read about 1/4 way down the page, and it appears 'waiting' is the best idea.

This is one of the most non painful, yet stillmost irritating illnesses you can get. When your body keeps trying to swallow that damn thing it is DISGUSTING, then you try to 'suck up' snot from your throat, and THAT thing comes up. Eeeeeeeeewwwwww.

I was fine, woke up at 5:00 AM sneezing and blowing my nose like crazy. Went to a different room, and Fell asleep around 5:30, and woke up at 9:00 like this. So it set in in just a few hours period.

The internet is a magical place. Thanks for letting me take comfort in everyone elses similar illness.

ok, so there is a fraternity in texas that plays this drinking game; the goal, to see whose uvula is the biggest in the morning... there is a direct relationship between heavy amounts of alcohol consumption and the swelling of the uvula... i am experiencing it right now and it sucks... but dont fret all, it will go away in a couple hours... its just such a hassle

I didn't google first, I semi-panicked and headed for the emergency room. Why so drastic? My wife had a headache and I offered to take her to the ER. She laughed and said, "for a headache?!" Four hours later she was having siezures. Turned out to be pre-eclampsia. So, when I had my incident yesterday, off I went. Mine wasn't swollen, it was looong. If I tried to clear my throat it wound up in my mouth, laying on my tongue. So, the ER doc took a strep(negative), shrugged and sent me home. Telling me it would just go away. So I googled and voila, the consensus is...it just just goes away. I'm at 36 hours, several benedryl and throat lozenges lated and no relief in sight. Oh well.

For exceedingly long uvula drink eight pints guiness, take a few hits from the bong, and sleep in house covered in drywall dust.

Now I'm paranoid about those that didn't write in. Did they choke to death before they had a chance? No rest for the wicked.

GOD BLESS GOOGLE! I too awoke with a swollen uvula (not that i knew what it was at the time.) Its huge and pissing me off. it is soo umcomfortable, and i am considering going to a doctor... but here is the thing: My college exams start tomorrow and i really do not have the time to go. If this is something serious that i have to miss classes over, i really dont have the time bc of exams. i really dont want to go the the health center here bc it is gross. I'll be home dec 11, im hoping that i can survive that long and see my normal doc.

Wow...I am not alone! Y'all know sponge bob squarepants don't ya? He has a friend patrick the starfish. Well I woke up yesterday with my uvula the size of patrick the starfish's head. Freaked me out it did! I actually went to urgent care as I had cold symptoms and was feeling crummy. They did a strep test that turned out negative. The doc did give me antibiotics because my throat looked so bad and it hurts to swallow. I will try to drink more water as it sounds like the key. This morning it seems a wee bit less swollen but now it's got white patches...ick, which probably signifies a bacterial or viral infection, so not fun. Has anyone else experienced this? Looking forward to having a normal sized uvula again soon. Thanks for letting me contribute to the google-uvulicious club. :)

Panic..is it me or am I having an incredibly difficult time breathing. I wake at 1:30 a.m. wondering what the hell is wrong with me.I spent all day yesterday trying to "clear" the back of my throat only to wake now with something weird going on. Out comes the flashlight. I peek inside my throat to find what looks to be a pink squid tentacle hanging from the back of my throat. Up wakes my wife..."hey, I know you just woke up, but let me look in your throat"..I'm quite the romantic. Her "thingy" wasn't hangin' with Mr. Cooper like mine. My throat doesn't hurt but I am finding this uncomfortable and impossible to sleep. Up to the computer and do a search for "swollen uvula"..a bit of anatomy class came in handy. Up pops this blog. For about 20 minutes I haven't been thinking about the "uv-man" because I have been reading the plights of others. Damn, some of you people are hilarious. What brought me here?
- I had a 2 week cold/sinus infection and have been on antibiotics for a week-feeling much better in that department
- Had 2 beers last night-
- Usually snore loud enough to peel paint from my neighbors house
- no fans on
- I live in Houston where humidity is our birthright- therefore not dry tonight
- no smoking
- drank a bunch of water before going to bed

The commonality with the "others" is the cold issues, alcohol (2 beers I guess qualify) and snoring.

Instead of making a trip to the emergency room, I now am going to gargle salt water, take a Benedryl, drink more water, then grab the flashlight and watch the swelling go down..or so I hope..it's not like I can sleep now. Keep the faith, my swollen hangy-downy brothers and sisters.

Well, gang... I have been struck by the uvula fairy. I woke up unable to breathe... thought I had throat cancer... or i was gonna die... And like the rest of you, I ran to google it. And up came this wonderful communitty of uvula victims. Thanks for all the great storys and info.... I feel alot better now. - alex

phewwwwww thanx for this site,wife had me searching for life insurence policy when this thing started growing in my mouth,was trying to cough it up for 30 mins before i looked in mirror,this site not only eased my mind but had me lmfao,after 24 hours its shrinking lol thanx again good page.

how can we decrease the swelling

well, here i am, another one... isn't it amazing how many people run to their computers when something like this goes wrong :p Dr google!

but hey, thanks a lot all you guys, i was really worried when i woke up this morning unable to breath...

and sorry to whoevers blog this is :p

Thanks!

Chris

Seriously... Alka-Seltzer works great for the swelling. I found that out before my last post.
Try it!

Wow. lol sure wish I had googled first before rushin to emerg sigh....I was at my drs yesterday with a sore throat...woke up this morning with a gagging feeling and sure enuff...uvula hell!!! Rushed back to the dr...she gave me 2 shots in the ass(good thing ive got lots of padding) and made me stay there for 5 hours observation...took me offa work for a week...sighhh the hardship of it all...gonna go drink some water and do the steam thing now...thanks all nice to know im not alone

Well, like everyone else here I woke up feeling like I had a hunk of phlegm in my throat. I thought I was choking and I couldn't breathe. I spent like 30 minutes trying to hack it up, which only made me puke. I wanted to go to the ER right away, but called my Drs office first. The nurse said it might be my uvula in stead of mucus, which led me here. Thank GOD for this site! I would have a bunch of ER docs laughing at me by now if I hadn't found you guys. I have taken my benadryl and gargled with salt water, now I guess I just have to wait. Its so maddening - its really loooong and it hits my tongue and gag reflex button at the back of my throat. Gross.

OK...its been 40+ hours now...been chuggin water like crazy...and all im gettin outta that is a swollen ____ from peeing!!! lol

Uvula is still swayin back and forth in there gagging me every 30 seconds....what else can I try people? I haven't eaten in 3 days...i cant even smoke....so lets just say im not a pleasant person to be around right now. Even my dogs have disappeared today lol someone helpppppppppp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee plzzzzzzzzzz

thank you for this site as it has saved me a dr's visit... at least at this point i'm willing to wait for my giant uvula to shrink. i, like someone else on this site, first thought it was my epiglottis but then, after googling the epiglottis, found it was the uvula. a bit of anatomy learned for the day. though i do have a respiratory infection, i think my enlargement is from lying in bed all night with my mouth open. we had terrible thunderstorms, which caused all the dogs to gather on the bed for comfort, which added to my current battle with insomnia. because of this, i took more sleep medication, which didn't do a thing as the next wave of thunderstorms, visions of tornadoes, and border collie neurosis ensued. so i took more medication... may as well have been eating oreos. more thunder, more wind, more dogs twisting and whining. it was too late, or too early in the morning depending on your view of the clock, to take the mother of all sleeping pills, so i took just another half of a light-weight variety. sleep finally came at about 5:30 and at 8 the phone rang (the plight of the insomniac). i managed to get back to sleep for another hour at which time i awoke to the worst sore throat imaginable. drainage, i thought. but then, when i tried to swallow, there it was, the much talked about thing in the back of throat that wouldn't come up. i hacked in ways never before attempted, causing the dogs (who were now happy to greet the day--grrrrrr) to wonder what strange language their mother was trying to communicate in as it sounded akin to a high-throated growl. i then tried to use a q-tip to swap out the back of my throat, which only caused gagging. so, i opened my mouth as wide as humanly possible, and made my friend examine my throat. there had to be something there. she said 'just that thing in the middle of where your tonsils would be'. i then went to the mirror, stretching my mouth into circus-mirror shapes, and decided that the 'thing' was the only possible culprit, especially since it looked extra big was touching my tongue. before i made the dr appointment, though, i came to the trusty computer, and here i sit... happy that there is a good chance that the events of the night and the medication probably caused dehydration, which caused the before-unknown uvula to enlarge (no dr bill for now). and with that i will take another big gulp of water and end the uvula rambling. thanks to all other posts.

ahhhhhhhh I can once again breathe a sigh of relief as I am uvulalicious once again;) Thx for the advice ...keep hydrated all :)

HAHA!!! I am the biggest 24 year old hypchondriac you'll ever meet, and waking up with something the size of a chevette hanging down on the back of your tongue certainly doesn't help matters. I haven't had any alcohol in like 3 weeks, but I have had a sinus infection and bronchitis, which I thought I was just getting over. I just hope this thing goes away soon, I feel like puking everytime I talk or sneeze. One more thing though, I really hope nobody goes on my PC and sees SWOLLEN UVULA as one of my favorite places. How embarrasing!! Thanks everyone. buyme11181@yahoo.com

Wow its like there is no one with a swollen uvula anymore i havent checked this web site for a month and there are the same people that there were from last time thats a good sign glad to see that there are no other unfortunate ones that are choking on their dangly swollen annoying uvula's....chit chat later
k

Wow, wish I had been able to see this 3 years ago. My first fingersized uvula incident was almost exactly 3 years ago. Woke up at 2 am choking, went to the bathroom & threw up & decided to wake up my roomie & have him take me to the ER (luckily we have pretty cheap ER's here) & they gave me some prescriptions & said to take it easy. Today is really only my 2nd time & it seems its related to winter. I have a harder time breathing cause of my sinuses & the furnace dries the air out (which is prolly why I never had this problem while I lived in India, no freaking furnace in Inida!!). So I'm going hydrate myself & get on with studying for my finals this week. Thanks all & have swollen-uvula free holiday!!!

God bless,
Rick

This is Jan from 17 Oct. I have been diagnosed with sleep apnea- and would really be interested in how many of you have it - and don't even know it - because of my symptoms - loud snoring - and not breathing (occasioually) they suggested I go to a sleep clinic and get tested - yep! I have sleep apnea - so now I wear a mask - which sends air (can't get dehydrated) and water) - like a humidifer and hopefully it will work - will keep you posted - and my health insurance covers it all - so.....you may want to think about this could be you........

This is probably the single most hilarious thing that I have ever seen. I woke up this morning with a huge red swollen uvula and one helluva case of cotton mouth. I've had a terrible sinus infection / bronchitis thing going on for about 4 days now. Thing is... I didn't know the little punching bag thing was called a uvula... I thought it was an epiglottis. I google for swollen epiglottis and get all these results about epiglottitis, and how its a medical emergency that can cause a person to suddenly suffocate. Anyhow I did what any normal person would do, I FREAKED OUT COMPLETELY and drove to the ER. Come to find out its my uvula, not my epiglottis. Now i'm sitting here laughing my ass off waiting for the thing to get a little smaller so I can breathe.

Tyler

LoL,,, this is intense, im 16 m canada the date is
dec 19 2004.. this morning and i woke up mouth as dry as a sponge, so right away i ran to get a glass of water apon drinking the water i could feel the lump "uvula" keep getting caught in my throat ,,, so i went too a look, and holy shit it was the size of a marbel,,,instantly i ran to my computer were i found this ive been drinkin cold water and gargeling with mouth wash and salt , and the swelling is going down alot.. now, if we all ran to google for an explanation on this , man LoL.. i magine i we woke up with third leg lolz
neways thank u so much for the people who provided the information to make it better,!

quote from Sheldon Cohen, MD from Miami
"Additionally, there is a college fraternity contest where much beer is drunk before going to sleep, then seeing who has the biggest uvula in the morning. There is apparently a relationship between uvula swelling and beer ingestion. So, if your uvula becomes swollen after a night of beer drinking, you have your answer"

Hi all-

Fellow first time uvula choker here! And, like all of you, I probably think that I hold the current uvula size record (lol). I think my cause was mixing meds with alcohol- an allegic reaction maybe. I have been nearly 24 hours, and nothing seems better, but I have heard from the doc (who like all docs will cover their ass by telling you to hit the ER). Afterward, he said if it were him, he would bulk up on the Benedryl and gently gargle salt water about once an hour. Good hydration is important as well... Best of luck to you all, this is one of those things you can't seem to just sleep away cause of the choking, but if you can find something to take your mind off of it, this makes things considerable easier.

Best Wishes....

So I woke up the other day with my uvula swollen... and I thought it was because I was sick just the day before and I never really stopped to rest so much. A little but not enough like I should. So its been a few days (3) and its still swollen some. Its gone up and down. So today I'm in panic mode and all worried. My wife tells me its most likely a viral thing but I just wanted to see who else had this problem. So like many others I hit up google and this is were I ended up.
So I'm going to try a few different things that I've read here and see how they work before taking a trip to the Dr. I clearly need to drink more water and less coffee. Plus I'm still battling a solid cold, which might have something to do with it. This has just never happened to me before and I'm generally a very heathly person... can't really remember the last time I needed to see a Dr about being sick... so when this happened it made me nervous.

Thanks
-John

I battled a case of tonsillitis that came back a couple of weeks later. I woke up one morning with a swollen uvula and it totally freaked me out. I thought if it swelled any further, I'd suffocate. I went to the doctor, and he did nothing for me. I couldn't believe it. He acted like it was no big deal that my uvula was 3 times in normal size and actually hanging down to my tongue. Well, after almost 48 hours, it never went away and my throat was all swollen as well. I ended up just going into the emergency room and they shot me up with steriods and painkillers. And then the swelling went down immediately. And then got a hefty $3000 bill. Luckily my insurance went ahead and paid for it.

If this ever happens to me again, and it hasn't gone away withing 24 hours, instead of going to the ER, I now know to go into a clinic or my doctor and demand a prescription for dexamethazine or another similar type of steriod to reduce swollen tissue along with an antibiotic too.
- J

Wouldn't you know.....Christmas Eve and my uvula is swollen, long and dangly. It's pink and shiny and sitting on my tongue! Ick!

I did have many beers last night, and I was singing loudly til 1 in the morning... I woke up on my back (rare for me) and snoring loudly. I kept trying to clear my throat, then it felt like a tonsil was being ripped off!! Scary!

I'm so thankful for this site!! I was ready to go to the ER. I hope it goes away soon!!!

A t-shirt suggestion:

"How big is your hangy thing?"

or

"Luvula" on the front, and "Proud Member of The Swollen Uvula Support Group" on the back

or for the women -

"I open wide for swollen uvula"

OK, I wanted to post a follow up for those of you interested to read this far down. I did take a few benedryl, and lots of water, but other than that, nothing else. I didn't talk much or eat a lot, or drink anything acidic in order to try to keep from irritating my uvula further, believe it or not, this can happen. It took 3 days, and my swelling went away. Back down to normal size... Good luck to everyone.

I wasn't drinking or doing any drugs, and had my smoking to a minimum.. but when I woke up I thought my cat had started swatting at my tonsils! Now it's dragging on my tongue and I just want to cut it off!!!

Chronically stressed and need some relief? valium may be the answer. From a class of medications known as benzodiazepines valium help regulate brain chemicals and allows you to regain control.

a thumb and a half is what mine is up to. i just got my tonsils out yesterday afternoon so for me that is probably why, its so hard to drink because i just swallow it, but i have some Lortab Elixer pain killer (generic is: Hydrocodn/APAP Elixer) so at least its not as bad as it could be. Damn my parents for waiting till i was 18 to get my tonsils out. But oh well, no more getting sick in the morning and no more tonsil stones. But it would be nice if this damn thing was not covering up my whole throat!

Wow! All this uvula talk is amazing. This has happened to me, especially after drinking hard liquor. All it takes to heal this is time and hydration.
By the way, I actually have a "uvula fetish".
I just love them!!!! But, I only like female uvulas. That's why I LOVE to watch Jessica Simpson or Kelly Clarkson sing. If they get decent closeups and lighting, I am in 7th heaven.
I swear, I am not a psycho or insane or anything. It's the only tweak I have. Otherwise, I'm your boring everyday guy! LOL
Thanks for the uvula talk!

art ( U )

Youvula gotta be kidding me? Mine is the size of a small town, or at least a large cocktail weiner. This is the 4th time for me in three years, and I've still not accepted it... but I know it won't kill me. Alcohol related and result of sleeping on my back (which I only do when I'm s-faced). "My uvula has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R...". Reassuring to hear all your stories. No worries-Keep your uvula up!

... must add to my comment above. I'm afraid I'm a little bored:

ODE TO A UVULA

There once was a man from Denver,
Whose uvula was once slight and slender,
He said as he gagged
on his big punching bag,
"Much bourbon a sore throat will render"

Cheers to all...
Don't surrender-Bobby

Get swollen uvula everytime visit folks. There christmas present to me is leaving me gagging. They leave central heating on all night. Will book into hotel next time.

Wow, this sucks, glad to know I'm not alone. I have a horrible head cold causing me to sleep with my mouth open and BAM...swollen uvula. Gotta love Google though!

I just joined the club today. it was very reassuring to see that it is common. my cause was drinking and smoking with no water at all the night before. i woke up after sleeping on the freezing couch without blankets or anything. it w