The health warnings that your tongue has are changes in color, coating, texture changes, pain, trouble with movement of the tongue and growths.
When a tongue changes in color such as yellow, orange, red, black, white, gray, green, blue or purple it can be a sign of an underlying health issue.
A purple tongue could mean you have poor blood circulation, Kawasaki disease or a heart condition.
A tongue that is overly red in color can mean a vitamin B deficiency like B12, low iron or low folic acid.
Having a white coating on your tongue can mean dehydration or infection.
Being dehydrated can cause a thick white coating on your tongue.
Having a tongue that is smooth or covered in raised patches or has hair like growths can also indicate a health issue or if you have pain, soreness or a burning sensation.
Having difficulty moving your tongue or unusual growths can also indicate a health problem that should be seen by a doctor.
Other conditions that can occur with a tongue that is not healthy include oral thrush, tongue swelling, oral herpes, tumorous cancer, acromegaly (giantism), amyloidosis, sarcoidosis and hypothyroidism.
If you have any tongue changes that do not go away within a few weeks you should see a doctor.
A healthy tongue should look pink in color and be covered with tiny bumps called papillae.
The tiny bumps contain taste buds and also assist in chewing of food.
Signs of an unhealthy tongue are different coloration aside from pink, spots or patches like white, brown or black spots or open sores.
The bad signs on your tongue are.
Change in the tongues texture such as smooth, covered in raised patches or hair like growths.
Change in tongue color such as yellow, dark red, black, brown, purple or white.
Complete or partial loss of taste.
Trouble moving your tongue.
An enlarged or swollen tongue.
These symptoms can indicate a health issue that should be checked out by your doctor.
You can get rid of white tongue by brushing the tongue with some toothpaste or use of a tongue scraper and use mild fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash.
Also be sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water daily, brush your teeth using a soft toothbrush.
If the white tongue does not go away by doing the following then it can be caused by a medical condition that should be checked out and treated by a doctor.
You should be worried if your tongue is white and it gets worse or does not go away within a week or so of brushing your tongue and using mouthwash.
Most cases of white tongue are simply caused by buildup of bacteria and dead cells on the tongue although other health issues can lead to and cause a white tongue and may need medical treatment.
Stress can cause a white tongue.
Other causes of a white tongue besides stress are iron deficiencies, nutritional deficiencies, imbalance of good bacteria in the gut, overloaded and overworked digestive system and even bacteria and dead cells on the tongue.
The vitamin deficiency that causes a white tongue is iron deficiency which causes the tongue to also look smooth and pale because of the lack of hemoglobin in the blood.
The autoimmune disease that causes white tongue is oral lichen planus and also Leukoplaki which are both autoimmune disorders that affect mucosa inside the mouth and can cause white discoloration of your tongue and gum and inner cheeks.
Dehydration can cause a white tongue and a white tongue can be a sign that you're dehydrated or mildly dehydrated.
Severe dehydration can also cause organ failure and death so it's important to stay properly hydrated.
Stomach problems such as an overburdened digestive system can lead to and cause white tongue.
The overworked or overburdened digestive system can result in slow digestion and improper function that causes a buildup of bacteria or yeast that is known as candida which causes a white tongue.
A white tongue most often indicates that you have some trapped bacteria, debris (like food and sugar) or dead cells on your tongue.
Although in rare cases the white tongue may indicate other health conditions.
A white tongue sometimes mean you're sick or have an underlying health condition.
However not all cases of a white tongue mean you're sick and can simply be caused by bacteria or dead cell buildup on the tongue.
The most common cause of white tongue is a buildup of dead cells and bacteria on the surface of your tongue.
Using mouthwash and brushing your tongue and teeth daily can help prevent the buildup of the dead cells and bacteria on your tongue and prevent a white tongue.
In some rare cases a white tongue can be caused by other health issues or even a side effect of some medication.
If the white tongue does not go away with brushing of the tongue and keeping your mouth clean or gets worse then you should see a doctor about it.
A bad liver does not usually cause a white tongue although a bad liver can cause a yellow tongue with a yellow coating.
A thick white coating on the tongue indicates you have a condition called Candidiasis that is an overgrowth of yeast in the body also known as oral thrush.
If the coating of the tongue is a yellow color then it can indicate major digestive stagnation, high cholesterol, liver/gallbladder disease, diabetes.
You can get oral thrush for a variety of reasons such as poor oral hygiene, dry mouth, medical conditions, smoking, having chemotherapy or radiotherapy to treat cancer.
While a white tongue often indicates thrush, it can be a sign of another condition.
Several oral conditions have similar symptoms to thrush, causing them to sometimes be mistaken for thrush.
Candida on the tongue looks like white patches on the inner cheeks, roof of the mouth, tongue and throat.
With Candida of the mouth or tongue you will usually have soreness, redness or a cotton like feeling in the mouth and loss of taste.
The mouthwash that is best for white tongue is Listerine total care mouthwash which is clinically proven to be effective at killing bacteria and treating white tongue and oral thrush.
The medication that is used for white tongue or oral thrush is antifungal medications such as Nystatin (Nystop) and fluconazole or Diflucan.
However if syphilis is causing the white tongue then you will need antibiotics such as penicillin to kill the bacteria.
Hydrogen peroxide is good for oral thrush as the hydrogen peroxide can help kill the fungal infection and bacteria in your mouth.
You should gargle with some hydrogen peroxide for 1 minutes at least 2 to 3 times per day to help get rid of the oral thrush faster.
2 signs and symptoms of oral thrush are white patches also known as plaques in the mouth that can often be wiped away and leaves behind red areas that can bleed slightly and loss of taste or an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Other signs and symptoms of oral thrush include a painful or burning sensation in your mouth, cracks at the corners of your mouth and redness inside your throat and mouth.
Oral Thrush is not an STD although oral thrush can sometimes be triggered through sexual contact with someone who has an STD.