Tongue Pain (Glossalgia): Symptoms, Complaints, Signs

The following symptoms and complaints may occur along with Tongue pain (glossalgia):

Leading symptom

• Tongue pain (glossalgia) or burning of the tongue (glossodynia).

Associated symptoms

• Skin lesions
• Paleness of the mucous membranes

Warning signs (Red flags)

• Anamnestic information:
  • Child + fever + tongue pain + ulcers (boils) → think of: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMK; hand-foot-mouth exanthema) [most common cause: Coxsackie A16 viruses] or herpes simplex (here usually further symptoms such as: local lymphadenopathy (lymph node enlargement), gingivitis (inflammation of the gums), stomatitis (inflammation of the oral mucosa), pharyngitis (pharyngitis)).
• Candidiasis (synonyms: candidasis; candidosis: fungal infection) → think of: Diabetes mellitus or immunosuppression.
• Mucosal pallor → think of: Anemia (iron; vitamin B6, B12, folic acid).
• Local pain → think of: Aphthae or trauma (injury).
• Recurrent → think of: Map tongue or aphthae.
• Tongue ulcer → if not healed after a few weeks, a biopsy (tissue sampling) is required