Tongues are more than just a muscle you use to speak and taste food. It is a very important organ that gives details about your health and provides a window to the other bodily functions. Many doctors ask their patients to stick their tongue out to see any possible signs of any disease. You can too check what your tongue says about your health yourself.A tongue gives various indications to your health. It changes color and texture if something different is happening in your body.
Different colors and textures can mean different things. While some signs are normal and quite common, others are a serious symptom to a deadly disease.
A normal tongue should be pink, not red. A bright red tongue indicates excessive heat in the body and lack of some essential nutrients.
A purple tongue indicates lack of blood flow which can lead to lack of oxygen. When the body is not provided by enough oxygen, it turns purple. Moreover, high cholesterol levels can also turns the tongue that way.
Other reasons behind a purple tongue may be the cold climate or because of eating cold foods.
A pale or yellow tongue indicates low hemoglobin levels and low blood pressure. It can also be associated to lung problems.
It may look really unpleasant, but a black tongue is quite common. It is usually found among smokers due to the excessive mouth debris.
Just like the black tongue, a white tongue is also quite common and is the outcome of excessive mouth debris stuck in the tongue “hair” called papillae.
A red tongue in children can be a sign of scarlet fever. In this case, the child should be taken to the doctor immediately.
If you have red tongue along with an uncomfortable mouth, it may be a cause of deficiency in Vitamin B and Niacin.
A brown tongue is a very clear and important signal to a skin cancer called melanoma. If your tongue shows any such signs it is very important to visit the doctor.
Red Spots can be an indication to lack of an important compound known as bioflavonoids found in Vitamin C.
Dryness in tongue is an indication that you need to cut off on your dairy and sugary diet.
A swelling in tongue can indicate a serious allergic reaction that you might not even be aware of. Deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause this problem too.
Dryness can also be a symptom of stress and anxiety. Stress cause the salivary glands to swell and cause dryness.
