Two day bout of lockjaw
Discussion
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone here knows what was wrong with me, what might have caused it, and how I could prevent it happening again.
On Tuesday pretty much straight after lunch, my jaw on the left side just below/in front of my ear became stiff and I found that I could not open or close it fully. I wiggled it around for a while, but it seemed to be getting worse, so I stopped. When I tried to close, it felt like something soft was getting squashed.
I had just eaten a fruit and nut chocolate bar, which I had gobbled down the last part quickly because I needed to get back to work and also had to get back to the shops because I had forgotten the milk.
For the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday I could not bring my teeth together to chew so lived on a diet of creamed rice, soup and porridge. I made an appointment with my doctor for Friday morning.
On Thursday I woke up a little stiff and found that I could close my jaw, but still not open it fully.
Today, I'm fine, so I have just cancelled the appointment with the doctor.
I had a look online and it seems that there is a bit of cartilage that sits between the jaw and skull that can slip out. I'm guessing that was what happened, but I don't think I did anything much to cause it. I usually crunch through all sorts of food, but I suppose the chocolate did have nuts in it.
I know this sounds a bit silly, but on Saturday night I put some warmed olive oil in my left ear because I felt a bit of hard wax. The oil and wax disappeared somewhere.....could it have inflamed the cartilage somehow or caused an infection? I have not had any ear trouble.
Thanks for reading
I was wondering if anyone here knows what was wrong with me, what might have caused it, and how I could prevent it happening again.
On Tuesday pretty much straight after lunch, my jaw on the left side just below/in front of my ear became stiff and I found that I could not open or close it fully. I wiggled it around for a while, but it seemed to be getting worse, so I stopped. When I tried to close, it felt like something soft was getting squashed.
I had just eaten a fruit and nut chocolate bar, which I had gobbled down the last part quickly because I needed to get back to work and also had to get back to the shops because I had forgotten the milk.
For the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday I could not bring my teeth together to chew so lived on a diet of creamed rice, soup and porridge. I made an appointment with my doctor for Friday morning.
On Thursday I woke up a little stiff and found that I could close my jaw, but still not open it fully.
Today, I'm fine, so I have just cancelled the appointment with the doctor.
I had a look online and it seems that there is a bit of cartilage that sits between the jaw and skull that can slip out. I'm guessing that was what happened, but I don't think I did anything much to cause it. I usually crunch through all sorts of food, but I suppose the chocolate did have nuts in it.
I know this sounds a bit silly, but on Saturday night I put some warmed olive oil in my left ear because I felt a bit of hard wax. The oil and wax disappeared somewhere.....could it have inflamed the cartilage somehow or caused an infection? I have not had any ear trouble.
Thanks for reading
A quick look reveals lots of reasons (the most well known is Tetanus AFAIK).
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/trismus/cau...
The problem with these sites is they convince people they are a risk of iminent death.
Go to the doctor, it will be something minor I'm sure.
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/trismus/cau...
The problem with these sites is they convince people they are a risk of iminent death.
Go to the doctor, it will be something minor I'm sure.
Thanks for the replies. I don't think I've been grinding, but I'll mention it to my dentist when I next see him.
The pain was on that round bit that sits just in front of the bottom of my ear and just above rearmost part of the lower jaw. It was never very painful. Not sharp or sudden or constant. The harder I tried to close, the more painful it would become. It really did feel like something spongy had slipped between the bones and I was squashing it. It also hurt if I pushed the area from the outside with my fingers. No teeth pain.
When I woke up yesterday and found that I could bring my teeth together, I was a bit worried that I might have squashed the spongy thing to bits in the night!
I feel 90% back to normal now, with only a slight discomfort when opening up really wide.
I think my jaw has gone a bit odd once or twice before over the years, but has always gone straight back to normal with a quick wiggle.
If I open my mouth to it's very widest, I get a pop/click on both sides, but I think that's normal.
The pain was on that round bit that sits just in front of the bottom of my ear and just above rearmost part of the lower jaw. It was never very painful. Not sharp or sudden or constant. The harder I tried to close, the more painful it would become. It really did feel like something spongy had slipped between the bones and I was squashing it. It also hurt if I pushed the area from the outside with my fingers. No teeth pain.
When I woke up yesterday and found that I could bring my teeth together, I was a bit worried that I might have squashed the spongy thing to bits in the night!
I feel 90% back to normal now, with only a slight discomfort when opening up really wide.
I think my jaw has gone a bit odd once or twice before over the years, but has always gone straight back to normal with a quick wiggle.
If I open my mouth to it's very widest, I get a pop/click on both sides, but I think that's normal.
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