Check Your Health by the Appearance of Your Tongue

Do you look at your tongue when you brush your teeth? Do you know that physicians recommend you to use a tongue scraper every time that you brush your teeth? A tongue scraper is very effective in relieving oral malodor caused by sinus dranage. In fact, the latest research associates the bacteria in our mouth to heart disease and other ailments. Bacteria causing halitosis(bad breath) can greatly be reduced by scraping the middle and back of the tongue.

Our tongue is an amazing muscle. It allows you to taste and also the tongue helps you to move your food around in your mouth so that you can chew and then swallow. If not for our tongue, it would be very difficult to actually even form words.

Our tongue also can tell us when we are sick. Our tongue is suppose to be slightly pale pink in color if we are healthy.

These Are Some Changes In Your Tongue's Appearance That Could Be the sign of health problems

smooth tongue-this could indicate anemia or a vitamin B-12 deficiency

Swollen Tongue-this could be a sign of infections to serious diseases. The tongue does sometimes widen on a person that has no teeth or dentures. Some of these can cause this side effect to be relieved by just taking antihistamines.

Leukemia
Down syndrome
Lymphangioma
Acromegaly
Myxedema
rhabdomyoma
Tumor of the pituitary gland
Cancer of the tongue
Beckwith syndrome
Hypothyroidism
Pernicious anemia
infection
Strep Throat
allergies

Taste Problems-can be signs of infection or side effects of certain medications. It could also be a sign of nerve damage.

Canker Sores or Ulcers on the tongue-this is usually caused by stress or fatigue. These lesions are usually very painful but will go away on their own and sometimes just appear for no known reason.

White coated tongue-usually this indicates that you are dehydrated.smoking or alcohol use can also cause this condition.

Hairy Tongue-this is a harmless condition but looks really bad in which the tongue actually looks like it is hairy or furry and sometimes has pain and swelling. Many times antibiotics are given for this.

Painful Tongue-many things can cause the tongue to become painful. here are some causes.

Pain referred frominfections or diseases of the teeth or gums
Pain referred from conditions of the heart
Dentures not sized correctly
Oral herpes
Anemia
Cancer of the tongue or mouth

Tongue tremor or (shaking)

overactive thyroid
different Neurological disorders

Red Tongue-this could be a sign of different nutritional deficiencies.

Geographic Tongue-if your tongue looks like bright red patches on top of the tongue and has a map like or "geographic" appearance with sometimes a type of "burning" you probally have this. It is harmless and usually goes away by itself but it is triggered by hormonal changes, allergies or even possibly stress can cause this. Sometimes Anti-inflammatory medicines are prescribed for this condition.

Difficulty moving the tongue-this is usually a sign of nerve damage. Sometimes it can be a sign of ankyloglossia, this is a disorder in which the band of tissues that attach the tongue to the floor of the mouth are, or have become too short and could result in speech difficulties or problems with chewing and swallowing. Sometimes the only way to solve this problem is through surgery.

Always remember to practice good oral hygiene that includes tongue scraping every day and eat a well-balanced diet .

For more information about this go to www.nytimes.com or www.sixwise.com