Common Tongue Problems in Adults and its Causes

Tongue is one of the organ in our body. It is flexible and plays an important role in eating and drinking. Problems in tongue makes us feel difficulty in eating and drinking. Some of the common tongue problems are white tongue, red tongue, black hairy tongue, enlargement of tongue and fissured tongue.

White tongue: The white patches on the tongue is called oral thrush. It is commonly seen in adults and infants. It is caused by the candida fungus.

• Causes:
• It is caused by the fungus called candida
• Stress
• Improper wearing of dentures
• Using medications like inhaled steroids, antibiotics

• Symptoms:
• Difficulty in eating
• Food getting stuck in the throat

• Treatment:
• OTC medications
• Application of anti fungal gels
• Medicines like anti fungal tablets and anti thrush medicines helps to treat white tongue

Red tongue: In this tongue becomes reddish. This may be due to deficiency of vitamins and geographic tongue. In geographic tongue, reddish spots surrounded by white patches appear on tongue.

• Causes:
• Lack of vitamin-B
• Irritation on tongue due to spicy or hot foods

• Treatment: Geographic mouth does not require any medication. It can heal within 10 days. If not use anti histamine gels apply on tongue treats geographic tongue.

Black hairy tongue: Small bumps on the tongue surface grow on life time is called black hairy tongue. These appear like black hair on tongue.

• Causes:
• Poor oral hygiene
• Smoking and chewing tobacco products
• Inflammation of one or more tasty buds
• Accidentally bite on tongue

• Treatment:
• Maintain good oral hygiene
• Drink plenty of water
• It can be treated by surgical removal of papillae from tongue
• Medications like anti fungal and antibiotics

Enlargement of tongue: In medical terms it is called macroglossia. It is the enlargement of tongue which causes difficulty to speak and eat.

• Causes:
• Caused by the allergic reactions to drugs and foods
• Some diseases like anemia, hypothyroidism

• Treatment:
• It can be treated by giving speech therapy
• Glossectomy - Surgical treatment by removal of enlarged tongue

Fissured tongue: Fissured tongue is commonly seen in adults. It is the condition in which grooves or fissures appear on the top surface of the tongue. In this food we eat gets settle in the grooves and development of bacteria takes place. There is no special cause for fissured tongue.

• Treatment: There is no special treatment for fissured tongue. It can be controlled by brushing teeth and tongue properly to remove debris on grooves on tongue. This prevents the irritation on tongue.