Introduction
The tongue is absolutely necessary for speaking and swallowing. If it is coated, hurts or burns, this is often an indication of physical illness. Tongue coating in particular is a film that covers the upper side of the tongue and can often be wiped off.
Similar to dental plaque, bacteria are present in this and depending on its composition, this film sticks to the tongue to a greater or lesser extent. It can spread particularly well on the tongue and adhere there, because there are many taste glands and furrows on the surface of the tongue, between which a deposit is easily possible. It is usually rubbed on by careful oral hygiene and eating.
Causes for tongue coating
Tongue coating occurs in the most common situations and is often caused by a very harmless cause. It usually consists of dead cells, food remnants and the bacteria found in the oral cavity. There are various foods that support the binding, such as onions, coffee, tea or alcohol.
After consuming such drinks and foods, one very often notices an unpleasant film on the tongue. The coating on the tongue is usually rubbed off by the food, but the faster you gulp down your food the better it adheres. Since the chyme is not transported around in the mouth long enough, the coating on the tongue cannot be rubbed off.
Another cause is insufficient oral hygiene. If the teeth are not clean enough, the tongue also tends to get plaque. Furthermore, there are also various diseases that cause plaque on the tongue.
A fungal infection of the oral cavity causes a whitish coating and often also causes a burning sensation in the tongue. In rare cases, infectious diseases such as diphtheria, scarlet fever or typhoid fever also cause a coating on the tongue. But smokers also have an increased tendency to a coated tongue due to tissue remodeling.
The cells of the oral mucosa and the surface of the tongue change and the smoke can then settle there or discolour settled food remains and dead cells. The coating then has a brown color. As described above, a dark coating on the tongue is not uncommon after long-term antibiotic treatment.
A “black hairy tongue” often develops, whereby the tongue also sometimes becomes somewhat thinner. However, these changes are reversible and disappear again relatively quickly after the medication is discontinued. Should this side effect occur, it should be discussed with the treating physician and then it should be decided whether a change of medication can be made if necessary.
When a cold occurs, the immune system is very weak, viruses have an easy time and in most cases viscous saliva is produced. The cell remains form a white coating, which is difficult to remove because of the inflammation and the low saliva production. The coating spreads over the entire tongue, but in the case of inflammation of the pharynx, it mainly affects the back third of the tongue.
Accompanying symptoms here are sore throat, rhinitis, cough or hotness. The coating on the tongue is harmless in this case and disappears as soon as the cold has healed. Resting and medication against the cold are the methods of choice here to remove the coating in the long term.
If the coating on the tongue is caused by a fungus, it is called oral thrush. It is an infectious disease of the mouth and throat, which is often found in prosthesis wearers. It is mainly caused by the yeast fungus Candida albicans.
It attacks the cheeks, lips, tongue and palate and forms a whitish coating. If this is wiped off the affected areas, an inflamed, reddish swollen oral mucosa is visible. Sometimes it bleeds when touched.
At the beginning of the disease, only isolated white spots on the tongue are visible, which in time merge into larger whitish areas. Various other symptoms occur. Frequently there is dry mouth, bad breath, taste disorders and a burning sensation of the oral mucosa.
Often babies, people with weakened immune systems or older people are affected by a fungal infection. The reason for this is the weakened immune system, which cannot fight the fungus sufficiently as an intruder. Taking antibiotics as well as insufficient oral hygiene may also contribute to this.This disease is always treated with an antifungal agent (antimycotic), which prevents further spread.
The HIV infection severely impairs the immune system. Pathogens that cause the disease then have an easy time and spread faster than in healthy people. A fungal infection often occurs in HIV-infected persons.
Often the question then arises whether this symptom is a sign of the acute or the already existing infection. It can be assumed that this symptom occurs only in a late phase of the disease, because a certain pre-damage of the immune system must already be present for the fungus to spread. With the healthy one mushrooms have bad maps, a spreading can take place only with bad state of health, if no more sufficient defense forces are present.
This could be interesting for you: Symptoms of an HIV infectionThe constant smoke that penetrates the oral cavity changes the surface of the tongue. Due to the constant strain, the cells are remodelling and becoming rougher, a kind of horny layer forms in the oral cavity. This causes an increased formation of coating on the tongue.
The coating on the tongue of smokers is often yellow to brownish and is intensified by coffee consumption. In addition, many smokers also interact with periodontitis, as they are more susceptible to this disease than non-smokers. The increased coating of the tongue is then usually accompanied by an unpleasant bad breath.
When piercing a tongue piercing, a coating of the tongue develops at the wound site, which is triggered by the healing process, and the tongue swells in this area. Yellowish wound secretion emerges, which should be removed with a cotton swab. The plaque can be removed carefully with a toothbrush. Around the piercing can be cleaned mostly only very badly, because this area burns through the wound. In addition mouthwashes with disinfecting agents like Chlorhexamed should be used, so that a bacterial inflammation does not spread further.
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