Episode 106 - Tongue Issues

The Pharmacist Answers Podcast

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 a large tongue. This is one of the identifiable characteristics of Down's Syndrome. It is described as the tongue appears 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 inflammatory disease. Because this involves the blood vessels becoming inflamed, the blood vessels in the tongue are also affected.
• Scarlet Fever is caused by the same bacteria is strep throat. The infection goes from just being strep throat to being scarlet fever when the bacteria toxins spread in the bloodstream and cause widespread symptoms.
• Toxic Shock Syndrome is when the bacteria called as 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 a few possibilities of causes.

• Smoking, excessive coffee or tea consumption, excessive alcohol consumption, or soft diet - inability to shed dead skin cells
• Antibiotic overuse - overgrowth of fungus or bacteria
• Overuse of peroxide-based mouthwash - oxidation

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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