Why hot coffee doesn't burn your mouth
 Q: Why doesn't hot coffee
burn your mouth? The
same coffee would hurt if
poured on your arm.
A: Coffee burns mouths as
well as arms but the mouth
has several protective
mechanisms that the arm does
not.
"When you drink hot coffee,
you do it very slowly, cooling
it down before it can burn
your mouth," says James
Nachbar, MD, FACS, Plastic
Surgeon, Phoenix, Arizona. "The mucosa [a membrane lining] in the mouth has a very rapid
blood supply," he says "and blood flowing through the blood vessels in the lining of the mouth
carries away some of the heat."
Saliva also cools the hot coffee.
Furthermore the lips and tongue are so sensitive they force you to take in coffee only as fast as
the mouth can cool it, says Dr. Nachbar. Arms, being less sensitive, can suffer a burn before you
realize the danger. Finally, clothes hold the hot spill against your skin, which increases the risk
of a serious burn.
Further Surfing:
Plastic and reconstructive surgery, James M. Nachbar, MD, FACS
Coffee Beings by Mayu Kanamori
Figure Caption: [© Mayu Kanamori Used with permission]. Drinking coffee, a favorite
pastime.
(Answered January 10, 2001) |
