degenerative


Tongue Issues – Episode 106

Born With…

Ankyloglossia is also known as a tongue tie.  It is a result of a short frenulum.  This issue is easily corrected if it interferes with eating and talking.

Macroglossia is am abnormally large tongue.  This is one of the visible characteristics of Down’s Syndrome.  It is described as the tongue looks and feels to be bigger than space in the mouth.

Infected With…

Strawberry tongue

The tongue can appear extremely red and papillae are swollen to look like seeds on a strawberry.  This is a symptom of several conditions.

  • Kawasaki Disease is a rare but serious childhood disease.  The blood vessels become inflamed, and this includes the blood vessels in the tongue, making it appear red.
  • Scarlet Fever is caused by the same bacteria as strep throat.  The infection goes from being just in the throat to the bacteria toxins spreading in the bloodstream.
  • Toxic Shock Syndrome is when the bacteria called Staph aureus (yes, this is the staph that lives on your skin and can cause wound infections) gets into the bloodstream.  This is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately.

Hairy Tongue

White hairy tongue appears as patches on the sides of the tongue.  It can happen when someone who is immunocompromised gets the Epstein-Barr Virus. (Epstein-Barr is a virus that causes mild childhood illness or a disease we know as Mono when teens and adults.)

Black hairy tongue is a little more obscure with several possible root causes.

  • Smoking, excessive coffee or tea consumption, excessive alcohol consumption, or soft diet can lead to the inability to shed dead skin cells.
  • Antibiotic overuse leads to overgrowth of fungus or bacteria.
  • Overuse of peroxide-based mouthwash causes oxidation and discoloration of the skin cells.

Function Lost

Motor Neuron Disease occurs in the later stages of ALS or Lou Gerig’s Disease when the nerves and muscles of the tongue for speech and swallowing become affected.

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