I have bumps on the back of my tongue that hurt. what are they?

Tongue bumps: These are likely your taste buds. They are always there but become irritated if we get sick, burn our tongue, eat certain sour foods. I would gargle/swish with warm salt water atleast 2-4 times a day. Avoid spicy and sour foods for now.

Normal??: There is a chevron of taste buds at the back of the tongue which sometimes get irritated. They usually run a course of 5 to 10 days of irritation and then get better. However the side off the tongue (way in the back) has different tissue. There is tonsillary tissue on the side of the tongue and that gets irritated for a whole different reason. Either way 5-10 days and you should feel better.