White Coated Tongue
A white, coated tongue
(white tongue) is
a sign and symptom of what
doctors call Oral Thrush
or White Tongue.
Oral Thrush is an overgrowth of a
yeast (fungus) called
"candida." Candida is
normally found on the skin,
in the stomach, colon,
vagina, rectum, mouth, and
throat. Candida causes
health problems only when
there is an overgrowth in
one of these areas of the
body. The medical name for
thrush is candidiasis.
Oral
Thrush is an infection that
develops in the mouth and
throat and on the tongue
(white tongue symptoms).
Oral Thrush occurs when a fungus
called candida grows out of
control. Candida normally is
present in small amounts in
the mouth and on other
mucous membranes. However,
under certain circumstances,
candida can grow rapidly,
causing thrush. Thrush is
also called oropharyngeal
candidiasis, or OPC.
Oral
Thrush looks like white
patches of cottage cheese or
milk curds on the tongue or
other surfaces in the mouth.
In infants, thrush is often
mistaken for milk or
formula. The patches adhere
to the tongue and mouth and
cannot be easily wiped away.
However, with scraping or
rubbing (during brushing,
for example), the patches
may come off. The tissue
around and under the white
patches may be red and
raw-looking and may bleed.
If thrush becomes severe, it
can extend into the throat,
causing pain and difficulty
swallowing.
White Tongue Classics...
Classic symptoms of white
tongue - oral
Candidiasis include the
appearance of whitish,
velvety plaques on the
mucous membranes of the
mouth and tongue. If the
whitish material is scraped
away, the base may be red (erythematous)
with pinpoint bleeding. More
general symptoms of candida
infection include burning
pain in the mouth or throat,
altered taste (especially
when eating spicy or sweet
foods), and difficulty
swallowing. The corners of
the mouth may also become
chapped, cracked, and sore
(angular cheilitis). If the
immune system has been
severely compromised, the
infection may cover much of
the surface of the mouth and
tongue, and it may spread to
the esophagus.
Oral
thrush is most common in
infants and toddlers, in the
elderly, and in people who
are debilitated or whose
immune system has been
suppressed by disease or
medical treatments. Thrush
in infants is common and is
usually not associated with
other diseases. Infant
thrush that resists
treatment or recurs
frequently should raise
suspicions for an underlying
disorder. In adolescents,
young adults, and middle age
adults, an oral Candida
infection should always be
viewed as a possible symptom
of an underlying medical
problem, such as diabetes or
HIV infection, and should be
evaluated.
Candida albicans is a
yeast organism which is
always present in the mouth.
With frequent antibiotics, a
history of poor eating
habits, excessive stress, or
repeated flu and intestinal
illness, the normal, healthy
bacteria of the mouth are
destroyed. This permits the
Candida yeast to reproduce
unchecked and eventually
take control of once healthy
mucous membranes. From the
mouth, Candida spreads to
the remainder of the
digestive tract and
eventually into the blood
stream where it can effect
the entire body, especially
the endocrine and nervous
systems. It is the Candida
in the mouth that actually
"seeds" the rest of the body
with additional colonies.
Oral Thrush (a white tongue)
is diagnosed by swabbing a
sample of the affected
tissue and observing it
under a microscope. If there
is evidence of a candida
infection, then a culture
will be cultured to confirm
the diagnosis If you do not
seek treatment for these
symptoms, it is possible
that invasive, systemic
candidiasis may occur. The
medical establishment like
to push prescription drugs
at you so they recommend
that you take Oral
fluconazole, clotrimazole
troches, or nystatin
suspension. However,
nyastatin is hard on your
liver and that you can't be
on it for very long. And if
it doesn't get rid of it the
first time, you may have to
try again, however, overuse
of antifungal medications
may increase the chance that
they will eventually not
work (the fungus develops
resistance to medications).
If you want to know if you
have candida try this quick
and easy test, check out
this
saliva test. There are
other seemingly unrelated
symptoms that are caused by
systemic candida. If you
want to see if any of these
apply to you check out the
list of
yeast symptoms.
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