The white tongue through tongue coating | The symptoms of scarlet fever

The white tongue through tongue coating

While the red raspberry tongue is relatively well known, most parents are not aware that at the beginning of a scarlet fever, a thick white coating is found on the tongue. This coating causes a sweetish bad breath. After a short time the coating on the tongue falls off and the typical raspberry tongue forms.

The white coating is a mixture of bacteria, food residues and mucus and collects on the tongue because of the weakened immune system. However, a whitish coating on the tongue can also have other causes than scarlet fever. Another possibility would be a fungal disease.

The bad breath

One of the first symptoms of scarlet fever is a whitish coating on the tongue and pustule on the tonsils. These two symptoms lead to sweetish bad breath and are groundbreaking for the diagnosis scarlet fever. Bad breath cannot be eliminated even by brushing your teeth. The pediatrician should be informed of this observation. As the tonsillitis heals and the coating of the tongue falls off, the halitosis becomes weaker and disappears.

Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is a major symptom of scarlet fever. The tonsils are red and swollen and pustule spots appear on the tonsils. In patients without tonsils, the pustule marks appear in the almond cavities and the lateral strands are red.

The swollen almonds are the cause of sore throat and difficulty in swallowing. The tonsils are part of the body’s immune system and are therefore the first points of contact with the pathogen, which is why tonsillitis is one of the first symptoms of scarlet fever. To relieve the pain, those affected can suck ice, as this reduces the swelling somewhat.

Earache and inflammation of the middle ear

The pharyngeal cavity, which is highly inflamed in scarlet fever, is connected to the middle ear via the auditory tube. Pathogens, such as streptococci, can migrate through this into the middle ear. In a diseased body, this can lead to an inflammation in the ear. Even without an inflammation of the middle ear, scarlet fever can cause earaches. Some nerves that supply the throat and pharynx also carry fibers from the ear, which can transmit false information to the brain.