If eyes are the “mirror of the soul”, the tongue – is a reflection of the state of human health. A little foolish look, people, who carefully observe the tongue, which doesn’t differ with a special beauty. But this should be done, because it is even more foolish to miss a serious illness, about which all shades of crimson coloring on the tongue were screaming.
Of course, it is necessary to consult a doctor. But calm down a little, or, conversely, to understand that it is serious, you can yourself if you possess mere knowledge.
The content of the article:
In a healthy person, it is soft, pink, perhaps with a slight white plague, a longitudinal groove is smooth.
If it is not so, you should pay attention to where reddening and other changes appeared. They will help identify a diseased internal organ:
What to look for, examining the mouth:
The brighter, richer is the color of plaque, the greater may be the problem.
It may be:
Not such big problems, but ulcers, trauma, if they occur systematically, can develop into a tumor.
An increase in size, redness, inflammation of the papillae on the tongue, that’s are the evidence of increasing gastric secretion.
Pale pink and unnaturally smooth tongue is:
But there may be dozens of diagnoses. In order not to provoke a further deterioration, it is better to abandon aggressive food, alcohol, pay more attention to oral care.
To remove redness and disinfect, making lotions or rinses diluted solution of potassium permanganate, furatsilina.
If the detected change does not stop, do not practice self-medicine, because you can temporarily slow the symptoms which will lead to difficulties in diagnosis, prolong treatment and the worsening of the situation.
If the tongue is covered with smooth, red spots that also hurt, then it indicates more serious failures and disorders in the body.
Small hemorrhages in the form of individual dots, affect the surface of the tongue, hard and soft palate and are a symptom of an infectious disease (mononucleosis) in 2/3 of the patients. This virus will cause discomfort when swallowing, in the lymph nodes, the temperature will increase, weakness appears.
Inflammation of the peeling surface layer. It is easy to diagnose erythema: red spots on the tongue. They are irregular in shape but clearly delineated with white lines, like countries and the seas on the map. More precisely, they are not red marks, but locally discolored taste papillae, which helps a red color of a tongue to become more expressed.
Photo: Geographic tongue
Usually, these changes do not cause pain, but discomfort can occur as a result of another illness, stress in women after menstruation. Taste sense will also suffer.
This disease can become chronic, so it is worth paying attention to the work of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system. Such changes have been observed in pregnant women.
Red spots frame bubbles with the liquid of yellowish-gray color. Gradually the spots are also converted into bubbles, which pop, leaving ulcers. They really hurt, especially when moving. What causes erythema disease is not exactly known. Some scientists believe that these are pathogen organisms.
Leukoplakia may start with a simple mechanical damage of the tongue with teeth, sharp edges of food.
A rare disease of unknown origin that has genetic roots.
Venereal disease. Red chancres appear on the back of the front one-third of the tongue.
It is quite rare on the lips and tongue – usually on the face and extremities. It is a painful knot of red blood vessels, so it starts to bleed easily even with a slight touch. It appears on the spot where a few months ago was a trauma. Pyogenic granulomas do not turn into cancer.
Appears on the lips, the sides of the tongue in the form of bright red bubbles with the liquid, causing at first etching, then pain. Herpes is a very insidious, though harmless, at first glance, disease, that signals the failure of the immune system.
Rashes appear on the tip and root, as well as throughout the body and itch. They could be caused by a virus similar to the chickenpox virus.
This malignancy occurs more frequently in AIDS patients in the form of red, always with a bluish bloom flat or convex spots 5-8 mm in diameter. They are located at the tip and the root. The disease is accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes.
An oral disease is manifested by fractures, ulcers on the tongue and gums roughness.
It occurs most often in children. It is accompanied by a slight rash, painful swallowing, fever. But the defining characteristic is covered with solid white coating tongue with small red spots, usually in the middle, the so-called strawberry tongue. This disease is caused by streptococcus – a bacterial infection.
It is not hard to define by very pale gums and tongue, on which saturated red spots will be clearly visible. Color change is provoked by the lack of red blood cells.
In this disease, spots in the oral cavity quickly convert into ulcers with whitish, often purulent plaque under the tongue, on the whole mucosa. They cause discomfort, especially during meals. Discovering this bacterial infection in young children brings many problems because they cannot say that it hurts, cry during feeding.
Various redness on a tongue not noticed in time may change their color to a darker, more saturated, and sometimes frightening on a stage of neglect of the disease.
Red spots appear on the tongue and in the mouth of people who have just started to smoke, in an experienced smoker, they are much darker. Sometimes malignant tumors also darken and. Hemangioma (a benign tumor) can also be red and blue.
If injuries, allergies, dyes are excluded, but spots persist, it is important to start a proper treatment.
You must make an appointment with a dentist who will be ready to cure, for instance, herpes, glossitis, stomatitis, remove benign growths in the mouth. If the spots are not connected with dental diseases, he will send you to a pediatrician, therapist, gastroenterologist, cardiologist or oncologist.
Perhaps the experts will require additional tests and examinations. The treatment protocol could be identified only by a doctor. It is very dangerous to start self-treatment even in a case of the most at the first sight innocuous spots.
After all, it may be cancerous growths, which require a serious, long-term treatment, and the most importantly, the earliest possible diagnosis. To recover a whole range of treatments with chemotherapy and ionizing radiation is required.
Spots related to problems in the hematopoietic system and gastrointestinal tract can be cured only by influencing on the source. It can be diagnosed by a gastroenterologist or hematologist after a special examination. At home, it is unable to cope with this disease. It will waste the time.
To get rid of pyogenic granuloma, doctors will suggest surgery, electrocoagulation or cryosurgery. These methods lead to positive results.
Some try on their own to treat candidiasis with the help of rinses, decoctions, infusions and other people’s recipes. Sometimes this is enough.
But usually, it is necessary to take antifungals, as well as vitamins, immunomodulators for the overall strengthening of the body, which must be identified and prescribed by the doctor.
Leukoplakia can be eliminated by curing teeth or removing from the diet rough food. But if part of the tongue, which was formerly red, is now covered with horned particles – a precancerous stage has started. It is urgent to make an appointment with an oncologist.
“Bold” or “Geographical” tongue is impossible to bring into the previous condition. This can be explained by the fact that papillae and taste bulbs do not regenerate.
Allergic reactions such as redness on the tongue of the children appear and can hardly be treated if parents include into the child’s diet several new products. A special allergen is the food of red color (cherries, strawberries, beets, watermelon, tomato, etc.).
Show your tongue to your reflection in the mirror, it will cheer you up and possibly can save your life.