Your tongue can tell you a lot when it comes to your health. It is not for nothing that your doctor often looks at it first.
A white coating on your tongue is a sign that there are too many bacteria on it. This accumulation of bacteria can be caused by a reduced resistance, for example with a cold. As soon as you feel better again, the white layer will disappear. But poor oral hygiene in combination with smoking and sugary food can also be the reason.
If you get some kind of vegetation on the back of your tongue, we call it a hairy tongue. They are of course not real hairs, but because the layer is brown-black or white, it appears that way.Hairtongue is caused by a disturbance between the production of new cells and the removal of old cells. This causes the hair-shaped taste buds to wear out insufficiently, causing them to become too long. Pigments in tobacco, coffee, tea and antibiotics give the taste buds their brown-black color. By using a tongue scraper every day, maintaining good oral hygiene and quitting smoking, you can suppress a hairy tongue.
Although bumps are often not a good sign, they are part of a healthy tongue. The subtle bumps are especially visible if you haven't had much to drink and your tongue is a bit dried out. A completely smooth tongue can be a sign of iron deficiency, anemia or gluten intolerance, especially if your tongue is also pale or white.
A purple tongue indicates poor health. Your tongue can turn purple due to a lack of vitamins, especially vitamin B2, but also due to lung diseases. If you have a purple-colored tongue for more than a day, go to your doctor.
Blisters on your tongue are usually harmless and go away on their own, but they can be quite painful. There are various causes, such as a reaction after eating pineapple or kiwi. But poor oral hygiene, stress, hormonal fluctuations, medicines and a reduced resistance can also be reasons for canker sores on your tongue.
A yellow colored tongue is quite common and here too an excess of bacteria is the problem. A yellow tongue is usually accompanied by bad breath and a bad taste. Cleaning your tongue with a tongue scraper can help. If you have a thicker 'slab' on your tongue, it could be thrush or a candida infection. The latter is caused by a fungus that almost everyone has, but is 'activated' by a disturbance in the composition of bacteria in your mouth. Such a disturbance can be caused by a reduced resistance, frequent use of antibiotics, diabetes, smoking and poor oral hygiene. Thrush can be treated with a fungicide.
Source:Santé February 2020, text:Mara Ruijter , GettyImages image
