If you are at good health condition, of course, your whole body is performing well without any abnormal symptoms. However, if you are not healthy at all, your body, even your tongue said here is able to tell you something wrong happening. It is time to check up all your activities.
What are possible diseases if your tongue gets bumpy, changes color, or worse?
A bumpy surface
The filiform papillae including the taste buds covers on the top of the tongue, normally stick up a little bit. It is harmless in case of your tongue get temporarily inflamed, red, and a bit sore. The condition will be turn to normal after a few days. However, If tongue surface suddenly turns very red or white, is painful and tender, is becoming worse, it could be a sign of oral cancer and see your doctors right away.
Color changes
- White Coating: As your tongue is coated with a white, pasty substance, you are at risk of an infection, or an autoimmune-related inflammatory disease. It can be also thrush, or candidiasis, a sort of yeast-gone-wild bacterial overgrowth. Simply, these symptoms would be treated with an anti-fungal medication or as quick as eating yogurt to restore the “good” oral bacteria. More serious is leukoplakia, a pre-cancerous condition that forms white patches in the mouth, often seen in smokers.
- Dark-Colored Tongue: A healthy tongue should have a warm, pinkish color while tongue looks dark brown or black are more likely to get problems. The cause may be from what foods, drinks, antibiotics, lozenges, etc. consumed. Simply brushing your tongue a few times should help your tongue color fade back to its normal shade.
- Yellow Tongue: A yellowish tint on the tongue is probably a clue that there is some sort of fungal or bacterial infection in the mouth. Another possible cause of tongue yellowing is gastric reflux.
- Pale Tongue: You tongue will not bright pink. Paleness of your tongue can originated from anemic blood which is due to iron deficiency. Treatment is iron supplement base on doctor’s indication.
A painful tongue
- Geographic Tongue: Geographic tongue isn’t a serious condition which is diagnosed as the lesions exists on tongue with changeable size, shape and location daily, even hourly. What causes geographic tongue are not exactly known, though family history may be a factor, along with diabetes, stress, allergies and use of oral contraceptives. Fortunately, it is not linked to infections or cancer.
- Burning Tongue: Burning mouth syndrome, also called oral dysesthesia, affects mostly post-menopausal women and may be caused by hormone-related nerve changes. The condition is able to caused by infections resulting in pain and burning seen at just the tongue or the entire mouth. Treatments include prescription medicines (anti-anxiety or anti-depressants), chewing gum or drinking water to relieve the symptoms.
Bonus: Brief of Possible Disease
- Gastritis, stomach ulcer and duodenal ulcer: there is a whitish fur in the middle part of the tongue with splits along the sides.
- Fever, diarrhea, diabetes, anemia: a dry tongue with many splits.
- Indigestion and tongue swelling: there are marks from
the teeth on the tongue. - Spleen diseases: there is swelling and reddening of the tongue on the left side.
- Gastrointestinal tract disturbance: brownish fur.
- Kidneys diseases: a white fur along the sides of the back part of a tongue.
- Dysbacteriosis, candidomicos, stomatitis: a white fur on the tongue.
- Cholecystitis: a yellow fur.
- Lung diseases: a white fur along the sides and in the front part of a tongue.
- Scarlet fever: white and red spots (“strawberry” tongue).
- Liver and gallbladder disturbance: fur is yellow. Color strength is defined by the difficulty of the process taking place in the body.
- Bowel disturbance: flatness of papillae and formation of a glossy red spot in the center of a tongue.