A doctor has revealed how your tongue could be a key indictor for several different health conditions.
Many people might experience symptoms of an illness before being diagnosed with it. For example, blood in your stool could be an indicator of colon cancer and a lump in your breast could be breast cancer.
These are things that we’ve long known that we should be monitoring, but did you know you should be regularly checking your tongue as well? This is because certain changes in your oral health could be an indicator of some illnesses.
Tongues can be a key indicator of a handful of conditions (Getty Stock)
According to Dr. Siobhan Deshauer, a YouTuber with more than a million subscribers, there several heath conditions that may present themselves via your tongue.
Glossitis
As per Cleveland Clinic, glossitis is a condition in which your tongue becomes inflamed and swollen – and this can be an indicator of other conditions.
Giving an example of a patient of hers, Dr. Deshauer presented a photograph of a woman’s tongue and said that she’d been experiencing pain in her tongue and had reduced taste.
In this instance, the woman had a B12 vitamin deficiency.
Dr. Siobhan Deshauer has shared what symptoms to look out for (@ViolinMD/YouTube)
“A normal healthy tongue is pink with little bumps called papillae on the surface but if your tongue looks like this red and smooth we call this glossitis and it can be from a nutritional deficiency,” Dr. Deshauer further explained.
Gorlin sign
Gorlin sign is the ability to touch your nose with your tongue.
Just tried to do it for yourself? Me too. If you’re someone who can do this, there might be more to it than just an amusing party trick after one too many vodka sodas. It could be a sign of signal a condition called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS).
Apparently the so-called trick is ‘much more common’ in people with EDS, which Dr. Deshauer describes as ‘a group of genetic conditions that are characterised by stretchy skin and hypermobile joints’.
Macroglossia
This is where someone has a tongue that is larger than usual. A way to tell if you’re tongue is too big for your mouth is if you see imprints of your teeth on either side of it, says Dr. Deshauer.
Someone with macroglossia will have an usually large tongue (Getty Stock)
“That’s one sign of macroglossia, so if your tongue suddenly gets bigger it’s probably an allergic reaction or an infection. And if your tongue just keeps getting bigger it’s going to make it difficult for you to breathe, so you need to get to the hospital right away,” she continued.
“But if this is happening slowly over time and your tongue is continuing to grow I think about hypothyroidism where your body’s not making enough thyroid hormone.”
White tongue
If you have a white tongue, don’t worry too much if you’re able to brush it and it goes away. If it doesn’t, however, Dr. Deshauer says it could be an indicator of four things: Thrush, Leukoplakia (which, in extreme cases, might be caused by mouth cancer), Lichen planus or Hairy leukoplakia.
Color changing tongue
Raynaud’s can apparently make your tongue change color. This is a condition were someone has an exaggerated response to the cold and their blood vessels clamp down causing their fingers, toes and something their tongue to change colour, says Dr. Deshauer.
Apparently it’s ‘pretty rare’ for Raynaud’s to effect someone’s tongue coloring, however.
Strawberry tongue
As per the name, this is when someone’s tongue resembles a strawberry and becomes red with bumps on it.
Dr. Deshauer says: “This is classic for Scarlet fever caused by Group A Strep – the same bacteria that causes strep throat.
“It can also happen with Kawasaki Disease, a serious illness that causes blood vessel inflammation in kids under the age of five.”
Dry mouth
This could be a indicator of Sjögren’s syndrome, which the NHS describes as ‘a condition that affects parts of the body that produce fluids, like tears and spit’.
Other symptoms of this include very dry eyes, dry skin, sickness and joint pain.