You have seen in many cases, when you get sick and visit your doctor, he or she wants to see your tongue. No doubt it creates many queries in your mind. Why doctor wants to see your tongue? It is true when doctor wants to have a better view of your throat, he or she wants your tongue to stick out. Apart from this thing, there is also another reason behind it. The doctor would also like to know the health of your tongue. There is an old proverb, you could probably have heard about it that your tongue can reveal many things about you. This saying is proved true in current times. If your tongue really looks unhealthy, your doctor can evaluate the disease easily by looking at your tongue.
Image credit Healthy tongue
Some common symptoms that let you know about the diseases
1. If your tongue contains white spots or a white coating
A tongue containing white spots or a white tongue can be denoting a symptom of a yeast infection that occurs inside your mouth. It is generally found among babies and it is also an indication of a weak immune system. In some cases, these white coating can be healed with the doses of antibiotics.
Image credit Tongue containing white spots - a symptom of yeast infection
2. Red tongue
A red tongue could be a symptom of the deficiency of vitamin in your body. When the amount of folic acid and vitamin B-12 get reduced in the body, your tongue becomes reddish.
Image credit Red tongue due to vitamin deficiency
3. Geographic tongue
The redness of the tongue creates map like patterns on its outside layer, it is known as geographic tongue. These blots may have white colored border and look like a country drawn on a map.
Image credit Geographic tongue creates map-like patterns on the surface
4. Black and hairy tongue
The papillae, which are much like hair, on your tongue develop throughout the lifetime. Some people have extremely long papillae, which can shelter bacteria. They appear like dark blots and can look like a mole which locates on your skin. The condition may commonly be appeared on people who are suffering from diabetes and people who take antibiotic doses on a regular basis.
Image credit Black and hairy tongue
5. Painful or bumpy tongue
If you always feel pain in your tongue, your tongue may be injured accidently. It might be that you accidently bit your tongue, which causes infections and redness. Due to injury, this portion of tongue may not be able to release sufficient saliva on its own and therefore, this start to rash or you may feel pain in injured section. In some case, it is found that the people who smoke daily may have these symptoms. Their mouths are full of ulcers. It can be painful and cluttered.
Image credit Painful or Bumpy tongue
As per doctor’s suggestion, you should check your tongue regularly and if you find any changes there you must contact doctor immediately to heal this problem. If these things stay more than a week or two you should take medical help instantly.
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