Tongue Pain

If you had to lose one of your five senses -- touch, smell, sight, hearing, or taste--which one could you live most easily without? When asked, most people seem to believe that living without hearing or sight would be devastating. Ask someone with a tongue disorder, however, what it's like to live without a sense of taste, and they will tell you that this condition can be just as debilitating.

Tongues

• A tongue is not one of the parts of the body that people generally think much about. Pain or discomfort of the tongue, however, should not be ignored. In addition to signaling a possible permanent loss of taste, such pain can be a sign of other serious problems. They can be successfully treated if attended to immediately.

Changes in the Tongue

• Tongue discomfort can be an important tool in diagnosing many disorders. Individuals can often forestall the development of more serious conditions and complications by being alert to changes in their tongue and seeking out early treatment.

  Some changes to be alert for are: difficulties in moving the tongue; taste abnormalities; enlargement of the tongue; color changes; black tongue; hairy looking tongue; tongue pain.

Causes of Tongue Pain

• Each of the symptoms outlined above can be a temporary, but each can also indicate the need for a professional examination and treatment. Health care professionals generally suggest waiting a day or two to see if the problem clears up on its own before scheduling an appointment.

  Some causes of tongue pain are anemia, cancer, problems with the teeth or gums (including infections), viruses (canker sores, oral herpes, ulcers), heart problems and glossititus (tongue inflammation).

Chinese Medicine and Tongue Pain

• Chinese medicine sees a correlation between tongue discomfort and arthritis or sinus or digestive problems. Tongue abnormalities can also be associated with insomnia or may accompany menopause. Practitioners of Chinese medicine will treat the conditions accordingly with herbs and accupuncture, but again, an individual must remain an active participant in the treatment, and search out other treatments if this avenue is not successful.

Be Aware

• As with all health issues, an individual should carefully consider what else is going on in their body when trying to think about what could be causing a new pain or discomfort. Ill-fitting dentures can cause tongue pain, as can the drug Lipitor, which is prescribed to treat high cholesterol.