Signs & Symptoms of Disease of the Tongue

The tongue is a sensitive, flexible and powerful muscle in the mouth. Its surface is covered with 5,000 to 10,000 tiny taste buds that allow you to detect the differences among sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavors. Your tongue helps you form intelligible words and ear-catching whistles. It helps you slurp up ice cream and lick envelopes. Most people generally do not think about their tongues much—until they happen to see or feel something unfamiliar, such as a blister, discoloration, growth or spot. These signs and symptoms can be harmless, but they might be an indication that it’s time for a trip to the doctor.

Your tongue has white creamy sores on it.

• A cottage cheese–like substance inside your mouth can be a sign of oral thrush. This usually occurs when the good and bad bacteria in your mouth get out of balance due to immune-suppressing diseases or the use of antibiotics. Some diseases that can promote the growth of candida (the cause of oral thrush) are vaginal yeast infections, diabetes mellitus, cancer and HIV/AIDS. Initial treatment for healthy adults with oral thrush is eating yogurt without sugar or taking acidophilus tablets to restore the balance of good and bad bacteria. If this does not work, your doctor can prescribe medication to rid you of the candida fungus.

Your tongue has a rough white patch that won’t wipe off.

• The development of a rough white patch on your tongue may be leukoplakia (which means “white patch”). This condition is not well understood but is most closely linked to excessive alcohol use, smoking and chewing tobacco and other irritations to the mouth. Though the majority of leukoplakia is not harmful, a small number of cases may be precancerous. If you stop smoking and drinking, leukoplakia usually decreases or disappears. If this does not work, the white patch can be surgically removed by an oral surgeon.

You have red blisters on your tongue and on your hands and feet.

• If you have a fever and a sore throat and feel terrible, in addition to having a blistered tongue and sore hands and feet, you may have hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). This disease is usually passed from child to child, but can also infect adults. It is a mild disease that usually resolves itself with proper bed rest and plenty of fluids. Practice good hygiene just as you do to avoid the flu and you will not have to worry about HFMD.

Your tongue is black, yellow, patterned, or furry.

• Black hairy tongue, yellow tongue, geographic tongue, white tongue—all these signs and symptoms sound frightening and somewhat disgusting, but they are almost always completely harmless. These signs can result from poor oral hygiene, the use of antibiotics, the use of Pepto-Bismol or some mouthwashes or smoking. Adopting a regular routine of good oral hygiene, along with the cessation of smoking and of using medications and mouthwashes that encourage these conditions, usually does the trick. Never stop taking prescribed medications without consulting your doctor.

Your tongue is painful or has a persistent lump on it.

• Pain that is not caused by a sore or cut, or a lump that last more than a few weeks, may be a sign of mouth cancer. Some risk factors for mouth cancer include excessive use of alcohol, use of tobacco products orally, infection with HPV (human papillomavirus) and the spread of cancer from other parts of your body. Treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy or a combination of these treatments. As with most cancers, the earlier mouth cancer is detected, the higher the probability of recovery.