What Your Tongue is Telling You About Your Health

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Monday, July 20, 2009 |

A burning sensation

Burning mouth syndrome, also called oral dysesthesia, is a specific, not well-understood condition that goes far beyond simply eating certain foods that cause a temporary stinging sensation. The condition is characterized by pain and burning that can affect just the tongue or the entire mouth; the sensation may be constant or it may come and go throughout the day. For reasons that are not clear, burning mouth syndrome most commonly afflicts post-menopausal women. “It could be some damage to the nerves of the tongue that are somehow related to the hormonal changes of menopause,” Josephson says. Other possible causes include bacterial infections, dry mouth (a side effect of some medications), or nutritional deficiencies. A cure is elusive, but some of the current treatments for managing burning mouth syndrome include drinking water more frequently, chewing gum (to combat dry mouth), or taking anti-anxiety or anti-depressant drugs.
Pale and smooth

When people are suffering from iron-deficiency anemia, the tongue can take on an abnormally pale, smooth look. “That’s because when your body is dealing with a lack of iron, your blood doesn’t have the necessary oxygen-carrying capacity to keep the tissues red,” explains Josephson. And the result of that lack of oxygen in the blood is that all of the tissues—including the tongue—become pale and look, well, anemic. When the anemia is under control and the blood is once again well-oxygenated, the tongue will go back to its healthy pink shade.