Distilled Vinegar
★★★★★
Last night while eating a vinegar & salted potato chip, I had a sudden, sharp, radiating pain under my tongue on the left side. Within minutes the glands under my jaw were swollen and a big knot was visible under my chin. WTH? I had no idea what this was. This morning the swelling was still present and I notices that the salivary duct right under the front of my tongue was swollen, felt rigid - like a toothpick was in there, and there was a round white tip present.
I hit the internet and learned that I might have a salivary gland stone. Called for an appointment to see the Dr. on Monday. Each time I attempted to eat, the swelling got worse…then subsided. This evening I decided to search for home remedies for saliva stones and landed on this article. I read the two posts mentioning distilled vinegar, soaked a cotton swab, and applied it to the white spot on my salivary gland. As I moved the swab around, I noticed after a couple of minutes that the white spot got a little bigger, but it wasn't dislodging. I used tweezers designed for splinters and very carefully applied light pressure to the base of the gland and worked my way up. After a minute or two of this, a long white substance resembling a grain of white basmati rice began to work its way out. I was stunned.
Although hard while blocking my gland, the substance was more the consistency of cooked rice, and after I rubbed it I could tell there was a gritty residue. The vinegar must of dissolved the calcium enough to allow it to dislodge.
So, after a spending a day in discomfort, dreading the possibility of surgery or weeks of pain and obvious facial swelling, 3 minutes with a cotton swab and distilled white vinegar appears to have solved my problem. I still have residual swelling under my jaw and I'm hoping this will subside overnight.
Thanks to everyone who shared their experience with this odd condition. I'd never heard of it before, and I am so thankful to have found a way to resolve this on my own. I'm cautiously optimistic that this was the fix and I won't need to visit the Dr on Monday. WooHoo!
(Seattle)
11/16/2017
Thank you very much. Excellent write up. I had the same exact scenario. I had to apply distilled vinegar first, massaged for couple of mins, nothing happened, applied vinegar one more time and then took some food again to make it swell and then applied vinegar again and used a tweezer as mentioned to push it up under the tongue. Oh my God, so much white substance came out along with some liquid. After this itself I feel so relieved. I had ultrasound yesterday and the report mentioned no stones. However ultrasound could not find this calcium substance at this place under the tongue on right side. Thank you very much to all your comments here. What a relief! Hope I feel better in couple of days without any more issues related to this.
Distilled Vinegar
★★★★★
I read the post from Immi_geez (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Uk) on 07/26/2016 on the use of distilled Vinegar for salivary gland stone and it worked awesome for me too. My symptoms were exactly like the one in the post. Thanks everyone.
Distilled Vinegar
★★★★★
Hi,
Here is my experience with the Salivary stones, hope it would help others.
Back in March (2016) I started noticing inflammation under my tongue particularly after the meals. After a few more weeks a started noticing a white pointy thing under my tongue on the right side. I went to see my GP(local doctor) who prescribed me an antibiotic course, which I completed but of no use. I went back in again to see my GP and he referred me to an ENT specialist.
The ENT specialist inspected me in the beginning of May and as the stone has come all the way up and wasn't coming out, he suggested a surgery (rather a minor procdure) to pluck out the stone. He did mention he might have to make a small cut to the duct to take it out but he wouldn't prefer it, rather as a last resort.
I didn't hear anything back from him for good 5-6 weeks. And then I got a letter from hospital saying they would like me to come in on 28th of July for the surgery. It was around 2nd week of July that my stone started causing me severe pain upon eating food. Usually my breakfasts were worse, lunch and dinners weren't too bad. I think some foods triggered more pain than others, it was a horrible feeling not being able to enjoy food. About a week ago from today when I was all set for the surgery I read up on internet where different people had suggested different things they have tried for their pain relief. So I decided to give one of them a go.
At Lunch time I was eating noodles and when the duct had swollen up I applied Distilled Vinegar through a cotton bud on my swollen duct. Luckily I am one of those who like vinegar. After few more sips of my noodles I applied the vinegar again and the magic happened. The stone just came out, I had tears in my eyes as I had suffered from such long time and yet the remedy was so simple.
Now I have cancelled my surgery and I can eat pain free now. I did have another small stone that came out itself after couple more days. My salivary gland still swells up little bit when I eat but there is no pain.
I hope this helps you and thanks for reading. All the best to everyone.
Emad
(Redwood City, Ca)
08/02/2016
I don't have a cure. My blocked stone is submandibular so I can't express it or out anything on it topically. I did gave an adenoma removed from my parathyroid and my throat has never felt the same since. My ENT said its not a stone and they couldn't do anything about it.
Does anyone have cute for submandibular swollen salivary gland that is not a stone?
(Somewhere, Europe)
08/03/2016
Eileen, I have seen Clay packs pull out "bumps" from way under the skin. BUT this takes daily applications over a long period of time, even up to a year. What does happen pretty shortly after starting, is that if there was pain, it subsides. If it were me, I would do them nightly.
(Tennessee)
08/02/2016
Dear Eilene,
You could massage castor oil into the swollen area a couple of times a day. That always works for me for swollen glands.
Also, in case it should be an undiagnosed stone, you could take Chanca Piedra, an herb, to help dissolve any stones.
~Mama to Many~
(Port Orange Florida)
09/06/2016
I have been in AGONISING pain for 24 straight hours now with the right side of my face swollen really bad. I wish I could send pictures. O have no distilled vinegar but I have unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar and filtered Apple Cider Vinegar I am gonna try the unfiltered first. I will be right back. It is 11:25 pm ok it's now 11:39 pm and neither worked. I'm heartbroken and in tons of pain
(Somewhere, Europe)
09/07/2016
Donna, try clay.
(Bangkok)
10/15/2020
★★★★★
(PA)
02/13/2022
(Florida)
06/12/2024
Iodine
★★★★★
I used to get salivary duct stones about once every year due to dryness caused from Sjogren's Syndrome. They usually lasted about 2 weeks. Interestingly, I started taking high dose iodine (Potassium Iodide/Iodine 100mg per day, not mcg) and stopped getting them. This past year, I quit the iodine, and 12 months later, not surprisingly, I got a new duct stone. It was bad. In the parotid. Every time I tried to eat, it would swell up so huge that I could feel it in my eyes, mouth and ears, not to mention in my nerves on my face. It was so painful that I was crying, probably the worst one I have ever had.
I immediately started taking the iodine again-- this time 200 mg iodine/iodide per day (that's milligrams not micrograms). You have to take it with selenium 200mcg (this balances the use of iodine in the thyroid-- see books by Dr Abrahams and Brownstein), and you have to take this high of a dose because you will get bad herxheimer/detox reactions if you take a lower dose.
At lower doses, iodine is a potent oxidizer that kills and destroys pathogens in the body. This causes your adrenals to work in over drive to squelch the inflammation and can lead to detox feelings, adrenal fatigue etc. But when you take a super high dose of iodine, your body, knowing it is sufficient in iodine dose for its needs, starts to make an antioxidant lipid called delta iodolactone, which is 300x more potent that Vitamin C. This lipid squelches the inflammation created by the oxidation created by iodine, and takes the stress off of the adrenals, and eliminates the detox/herx problems caused at lower doses of iodine, such as 12.5mg or 25mg (I couldn't take those lower doses, detox made me sick, but I can easily take 100mg with no problem)
So for the salivary duct stone, I took 200mg of iodine/iodide and 200mcg selenium, and on the second day, I suddenly tasted blood in my mouth because the stone had passed. I knew iodine worked because I had not gotten stones for several years while taking it, but didn't know it could work so fast at higher doses.
Iodine is not only a natural antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral but it is also a mucolytic that dissolves stones in the salivary glands and the gallbladder. Iodine saturates glands; it is a missing nutrient and necessary for glandular health.
Happy healing, y'all.
Wow. Thank you for posting your experience with high dose iodine. It sent me to do some research on iodalactone, the powerful antioxidant that is created when the body's iodine stores are ample. Have read testimonies of cancerous tumors disintegrating, particularly in the areas of the body which require iodine, breast, uterus, prostate. Urine analysis shows high load of metals lead, Mercury, etc so high dose appears to be great detoxer, and again, relatively no detox effects thanks to the support antioxidant. Just ensure to supp selenium. Brain fogs lifted, general wellness increased. It seems however, that once you get past your health hurdle, you taper back to a sensible maintenance level of iodine intake. Thank you again, I had no idea high dose iodine was possible, unless for nuclear radiation protection, which I assumed would only be one dose.
(Ut)
09/19/2018
Wow! THANK YOU. Have been suffering so long. OMG Ashley, Thank you!
(Lilliwaup, WA)
07/11/2021
Lemon
★★★★★
Exactamente como se lee en otros casos repentinamente me levante un sabado con una inflamacion submaxilar, pense que eran paperas.
Luego de concurrir mi medico y sacarme una radiografia era una glandula salival inflamada. No sabia la causa, asi que en google encontre el limon, no para tomarlo me corte unas rebanadas y lo deje en la boca durante horas 48 horas, luego de ello expulse el calculo. es mas largo ero fue asi, me duro una semana.
Temo volver a formar otro calculo salival, según se observa en mi radiografia, que podria tomar como prevencion?
EC: Google translation (not great - please fix if you can)!
Exactly as it is read in other cases I suddenly wake up on a Saturday with a submaxillary inflammation, I thought they were mumps. After attending my doctor and getting an x-ray was an inflamed salivary gland. I did not know the cause, so in Google I found the lemon, not to take it, I cut some slices and left it in my mouth for 48 hours, after which I expelled the calculation. It's longer but it was like that, it lasted a week.
I am afraid to re-form another salivary calculus, as observed on my x-ray, which could I take as a precaution?
Lemon Juice, Olive Oil
Would Lemon Juice - Olive Oil work for saliva gland stones?
Based on what I have read, kidney stones and saliva gland stones share similar qualities, comprised of calcium etc.
The lemon juice/olive oil kidney stone "cure" (2 ounces of each) followed by 32 ounces of water within 10 minutes and repeated up to twice a day, is a well know cure dating back thousands of years. Check out kidney stone cures on this website. Most say that stones are expelled within days.
That got me wondering about saliva gland stones. Could this treatment work for us?
I am a "stone former" and have had major salvia gland issues. Back in 2019 I was hospitalized for 4 days due to to an extreme infection from a blockage. They wanted to do surgery but I saw another doctor for a second opinion and this doctor was able to remove the stone (the size of a grain of rice) and I was told I no longer had them although my gland is apparently scared and now, it's a real mess in there - more prone than ever to more issues.
A few days back I began having small stones (mostly white, not hard, they are the consistency of a dry cheese, for lack of a better term and range from salt sized granules to chunks the size of a pen tip) come out of my mouth, specifically after eating. The past couple of days, I am having major cheek swelling. Here's the interesting part... these pieces only starting appearing after I began taking a tablespoon of olive oil a day for other health benefits. I am wondering if the oil has moved things around and possibly caused a new blockage in the process?
I am terrified of another extreme pain, extreme infection hospital run. I am drinking tons of water, massaging, applying warm moist compresses and just now, applied cold to help reduce the swelling.
Anyway, if the lemon / olive oil treatment works on kidney stones, why wouldn't it work on our saliva gland stones? I'm going to try it and will report back. Is any one else up for the experiment, please comment. We need to get rid of these!
Lemon or Orange Essential Oil
★★★★★
Over the weekend I was having pain under my tongue and the glands were swelling under the jaw bone on the same side of my face. At first I thought it was a canker sore, and was applying baking soda to the sore spot and massaging the swollen gland with castor oil.
Then I realized that the little gland under my tongue had a very white "thing" in it, in addition to the redness and swelling. It did not look like pus and it did not look like a canker sore. I had heard of salivary duct stones and after some research realized that was probably what it was.
Of course, the first place to check for remedies was Earth Clinic. I had orange and lemon essential oils on hand, which were two oils with positive results. I used a q-tip to apply straight orange essential oil to the swollen salivary duct, right where the "stone" was. I did this every few hours. It wasn't seeming to cause any change so I switched to lemon essential oil. I applied it before bed and again when I got up in the morning. A couple of hours later, I applied the lemon oil again, while I was massaging the gland with the q-tip, out popped the little stone! It was perhaps just 1 mm, like a large grain of sand. But hard as a rock. For as small as it was it was causing an awful lot of trouble!
It was not long before the gland in my neck felt better and the swelling was almost completely gone.
For the record, the lemon essential oil was not a high end oil. It was a "Now" oil and it wasn't organic. (I usually try to get organic essential oils, but I keep this around for cleaning and don't bother with organic for that usually.) I was using it straight but a very small amount (much less than a drop) on a q-tip each time. It did not irritate my mouth at all or even taste strong.
I was tickled that this simple remedy helped so quickly.
~Mama to Many~
(Texas, Usa)
05/21/2016
Thank you for sharing your experience, Mama to Many. I think I have a blocked salivary gland as well, but if I put any thing in my mouth it causes much pain in the area within a few minutes. The pain is more or less depending on the different foods and drinks. Did this happen to you any with food and drink? I guess the lemon essential oil didn't cause any pain for you?
(Tennessee)
05/23/2016
Dear Jana,
Sorry to take a while to respond; I have been out of town!
Yes, I found that eating certain foods make the pain worse (sour foods seemed to be the worst) and eating in general was painful.
I was afraid that the essential oils would be irritating, especially citrus ones, but they did not bother me at all.
Crushing an aspirin between two spoons and then applying some of the aspirin powder to the pained area before eating can help make eating more comfortable.
I hope you feel better soon!
~Mama to Many~
Lemon or Orange Essential Oil
★★★★★
My wife has chronic salivary stones. They get very painful when she eats and frequently reduce her to tears. The doctors she went to see had no good solutions. Reading about these kind of home remedies, I suggested that she try rubbing lemon or orange essential oil onto the gum surrounding the gland in her mouth. She does this once a day and it helps to dissolve the stones to keep them from building up. When she remembers to do it daily, she has no more symptoms. When she gets complacent, the painful stones come back. It is a miracle for her and has greatly improved her life. She had been ready to risk surgery with possible facial paralysis to stop the pain. But now we found a natural remedy to control the problem.
(Ab)
02/11/2016
★★★★★
I had a stone the size of a unshelled pistachio nut. After reading about rubbing lemon essential oil on it, I took a que tip and dipped it in the oil and put it on the gland under my tongue , within a couple hours the oil simply drew the stone out. It was absolutely incredible and a relief from pain . Totally amazed and impressed.
(Nc)
02/25/2016
(Lakeland, Fl)
03/22/2016
(Detroit, Mi)
08/11/2016
(Malaysia)
09/28/2016
Magnesium
★★★★★
The submandibular gland has plugged on and off since being a teenager - painful. The gland was successfully removed at age 35, the stone was round and the size of the Canadian loonie. After surgery, I noticed that heart burn and stomach acid became more of an issue.
The saliva gland on my left side began plugging on and off causing some pain (in my 40's). Again was told to have surgery to remove the stone(s). I started taking magnesium gycinate 3 x daily (1 x before bed) each dose of 200mg to 400mg(mostly 400mg). The magnesium and massaging the gland daily has kept the gland open. If I slack off on taking magnesium the gland issues comes back, along with muscle aches. I also take 200mcg K2 daily with multi-vit & minerals. I do take some Iodine a couple months of the year - not regular. Going to research the iodine. Thanks for all the information on this issue.
Tim
(Anywhere)
02/12/2023
★★★★★
Did you get a sore throat with the submandibular gland swelling as well? I've had a sore throat with this for over 6 months. After reading the info on this website I started taking Magnesium 250 mg per day, applying heat and massaging with castor oil, and that brought it down quite a bit, but I still have a sore throat and a slight swelling in the gland. Thanks.
Multiple Remedies
★★★★★
What worked for me - Submandibular gland lump
I had a submandibular stone quite deep in the gland last year. After paying $500 to go to a doctor and then a specialist, only to be told, "Who knows?", I did some research online, and after 3/4 weeks, the stone, which had been bothering me for about 2 months (and was so swollen and large it changed the shape of my face) completely disappeared. Just wanting to share my treatment combo in case it can help someone.
1. 2x Daily lemon essential oil on the tip of a q-tip rubbed into the opening of the salivary duct.
2. 2/3x Daily "Stone Breaker" tincture (available at health-food stores)
3. Magnesium Glycinate 800 mg Daily
4. Tart Cherry Juice all day every day
= Miraculous.
(Usa)
01/09/2018
Dear Veris, I so hope you come on here regularly and can further elaborate on your formula. I am scheduled for full blown, old fashioned, general anesthesia, cut and extract...submandibular gland surgery, due to a substantially sized stone lodged in that gland. Since 11 days ago I had a tiny stone come out of my sublingual duct, the morning after eating a bag of sour candies (saw stone, couldn't get it out with tweezers - ate the candy the night before and next morning it tumbled out), I am in the dark about how to dissolve, and resolve this submandibular stone issue. I have already been on extremely strong antibiotics because I did have a very bad infection, and during that treatment - suffered a severe whole body candida attack, making every part of this nightmare worse. The Diflucan, has thankfully taken the yeast down, hence reducing some of the compounded pain and inflammation.
Now I NEED to dissolve this stone - for the lingual and facial nerve paralysis risk of this surgery, is truly a risk I don't want to have to take. Please - if you see this message, can you elaborate on the exact location of the duct you speak of applying the oil to? I mean is it the sublingual duct even though the stone was in your submandibular gland or is there a submandibular duct, all its own that I don't know about? Did you dilute the lemon essential oil at all - and if so, with what? Did the stone dissolve or actually come out and if these stones come out do they emerge from the submandibular gland or must they travel through to the sublingual glands and ducts?
Please, I will try your formula because your situation sounds the most like what I'm dealing with - but I just need to know all the particulars before I purchase all the ingredients that you have listed. Thank you so much and so glad yours got resolved, for this is torturous!
(Texas)
05/19/2018
Which brand of Stone Breaker? There are several different formulas.
Oregano Oil
★★★★☆
I have blocked Salivary glands. I use wild oregano oil to keep the infection and swelling down, and I came to this site to see what I could do to get the blockage removed in the meantime.
Wild oregano oil is a strong natural antibiotic and will kill all the nasty bacteria and whatnot in your mouth. I brush with it daily.
(Alberta, Canada)
11/25/2014
Hi, there! I was told by my physician that I have a stone(s) blocking my submandibular salivary glands. It swells up when it eat, is very painful, and not to mention, very cosmetically disturbing. Who wants to go around looking like they have golf balls hanging from their double chin? :P When I came upon this page, I was excited as it seems no other webpage has posted anything really, regarding home remedies that would seem affective. My question is what do I do with the ingredients listed above? Do I ingest them? Let them sit in my mouth? Further clarification would be much appreciated!
(Fountain Inn, Sc)
11/26/2014
(Hotspot, Texas)
11/26/2014
(Cedar Hill, Texas)
11/29/2014
How do you use the home remedies listed for treating Salivary Gland Stones? The article listed the products to use, but did not mention how to use them for treating the problem.
(Missouri, US)
12/29/2014
Hi there, I have the same problem, it started in october and I tried every essential oils that I can think of. Mine is swelling on my left side, sometimes I can feel a pinch but not really painful, I've been taking 5000 mg of pure vitamin C crystals , zinc 50 mg, selenium 200 mg, I hope it will shrink, I have a doc appt on monday january 5 and hope he can give some prescription For it. Good luck everyone...Ning
(San Diego, CA)
03/04/2015
From Jonathan V. Wright at the Tahoma Clinic: Here is the link to the site and the article from which the quote below was taken:
http://tahomaclinic.com/2011/01/iodide/
Quote: "Although it's not a common condition, from time to time someone will come to my office at Tahoma Clinic inquiring about alternatives to surgery for "parotid duct stone". These are "stones" which can form in the saliva-carrying duct(s) from the major salivary glands ("parotid" glands, located at the "angle of the jaw"). 3 to 4 drops of SSKI (Potassium Iodide) taken in water daily will almost always dissolve parotid duct stones within four to eight months."
(Chevy Chase, Md)
04/28/2015
Iodine sounds like a good idea or maybe seaweed. Don't forget to eat 1 or 2 brazil nuts with any iodine so you get selenium to protect. Also I think Vitamin K-2 may channel calcium correctly. Google Chris Kresser and kidney stones. It's worth a try.
(Sf)
05/11/2015
Folks, the new surgery is a tiny tube they stick in and get out the blockage. Seems to me the best way to go if you have insurance. I'm planning to do that asap.
(Virginia)
05/11/2015
Does one use these remedies as a mouthwash or do they literally digest it? My daughter has these same symptoms yet has been through 2 doctors, one ear nose n throat doctor and a dentist and now am told to go to an orthodontist surgeon cause they "think " it may be a stone in her salivary gland but is not sure because the xrays didn't pick anything up. I am at my wit's end!
(Ca)
05/13/2015
Pharmaceutical Grade Hydrogen Peroxide, Dilute it and let it sit in your mouth (Under Your tonge). I am so excited, I have been trying to figure out what has been wrong with my chin for almost a year and a half. Literally, I am watching the redness, swelling, and horrible seemingly permanent acne disappear. I could cry I am so happy, and relieved, I have been to 5 doctors, I thought I had Coutaneous Candida (Which is related to a Auto-immunw desease), or Psyrosis, or HIV, I have been a Vegan Paleo MASTER for the last two months... and all I need to do was make my own home made mouthwash. I think I'll take some Benodite Clay, both Orally, and let it sit in my Mouth for awhile, then to be extra safe, I'll do some Oil Pulling. (FYI: Oil of Oregano (Diluted!! ), ACV, Tea Tree, and Magnesium Oil Spray always worked to clear up spots and helped with Swelling....but never fixed the problem Antibiotics never worked. Oh and Always, a healthy Diet! Garlic is a great antibiotic!!! ) Good Luck
(Netherlands)
07/05/2015
There is another way of getting rid of these stones. As far as I understood they can also grind them with ultrasound waves (like they do with kidneystones etc.)
(Florida)
06/12/2024
I have read that you can have hearing damage or deafness with that procedure so close to your eardrums (breaking up the stones with powerful soundwaves), I wouldn't risk it myself.
(Mo)
06/27/2016
I have had blocked salivary glands for 4 or 5 years now and there are small like bumps or blisters at the very back side of my mouth. Went to doctor about once a month forever and all they say is they couldn't see anything, right they need to stick their finger back there and feel the bumps. So scared, what should I do? I don't know if there has been infection or what it is.
(Mo)
06/27/2016
(Tennessee)
06/28/2016
Dear Deb,
If you are concerned about infection you could gargle with one of the following several times a day:
colloidal silver
hydrogen peroxide, diluted - use the 3% brown bottle from the grocery store. Mix that with 1/2 water to gargle.
salt water - 1/4 teaspoon salt in 1/4 cup water
Have you tried lemon essential oil? You would put a drop of lemon essential oil on a q-tip and dab each bump twice daily.
You might also try oil pulling.
1 Tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil or olive oil plus 1 drop lemon essential oil. Swish this around in your mouth for 10 minutes and spit it out (in the trash can - it will clog drains, potentially.) I would do this twice daily.
Let us know how it goes!
~Mama to Many~
(Independence, Va)
09/20/2016
I've had gland problems all over my body since I was a child, at 14 my left sub mandibular swelled to the size of a baseball and I was quarantined because it could have been mumps. I'm now 33 and the right side is acting up, I almost forgot how painful it was. A few years ago I had a stone in a beat duct while nursing that I had to have removed this way, I highly suggest getting sedated for this procedure, it's excruciating! I've had 3 children and it was worse than labor pain.
(Missouri)
01/09/2017
Surgery
★☆☆☆☆
I recently had that "tiny tube" surgery someone mentioned and IT DIDNT WORK. My stone is 4mm and is creating blockage. Recovery from the surgery sucked, I was on a liquid diet for two weeks because I had stitches in my mouth. The doctors want me to now go in for another surgery and get my whole saliva gland removed. I am going to try all these home remedies prior to going in for another surgery because the last one didn't do one thing except created more pain.
(Sydney, Australia)
08/17/2015
I had a squamous cell carcinoma removed surgically over 2 years ago. About 12 stitches in lower lip. Now healed but has left me with blocked saliva gland, as well as smaller lip. Doctor says I have the blocked gland for life. It gives pain when I eat, and looks like I have a constant cold sore. It is a result of surgery.