One doctor shared all the things your tongue can tell you about your health — from the color and coating that can tell you when you’re sick to specific things to look out for that make early signs less common diseases can be.
In addition to her job as a specialist in rheumatology, Dr. Siobhan Deshauer from Canada has become a popular social media star who frequently shares tips on staying healthy on her YouTube account.
She has accumulated more than 918,000 subscribers on the platform.
In a recent video, Dr. Siobhan broke down the different things she can determine about a patient’s body – just based on how their tongue looks and behaves.
A doctor has shared with you all the things your tongue can reveal about your health – including certain things to look out for that can be early signs of rare diseases
dr Siobhan Deshauer from Canada broke down the different things she can determine about a patient’s body – just based on how their tongue looks and behaves
According to the doctor, there’s quite a bit that medical professionals can find out by looking inside your mouth.
She said they could even tell if you have things like a vitamin deficiency, an autoimmune disease, or a neurological disorder.
Should your tongue be red or pink? What do small bumps on it or a white coating around it mean? And how much saliva should you produce?
From what you should be concerned about to what’s perfectly normal, here’s what the different things happening to your tongue say about your health and the signs to look out for that you may be are unhealthy.
The size and color of your tongue: If it’s red and smooth, you may have a vitamin deficiency
according to dr Siobhan, the size and color of your tongue can tell you a lot about what’s going on inside your body.
She explained that if you’re “healthy,” your tongue should be “pink and have little bumps” — known as papillae — on the surface. But if it’s darker or smoother, that could mean something’s wrong.
“A normal healthy tongue is pink with little bumps,” she said. “But if your tongue looks red and smooth — we call it glossitis — it could be due to a lack of nutrition.”
The doctor added that it’s also important to pay attention to the size of your tongue – because if you notice it getting bigger or changing shape over time, it could be an early sign of a rare condition.
according to dr Siobhan can tell a lot about what’s going on inside your body by the color of your tongue. She said if you’re “healthy,” your tongue “should be pink and have little bumps.”
However, if it is darker or smoother, it could mean something is wrong and you may be suffering from a “nutrition deficiency.”
“If your tongue suddenly gets bigger, it’s probably an allergic reaction or an infection,” Siobhan said.
“But if this happens slowly over time and your tongue keeps growing, [it’s probably] Hypothyroidism, when your body doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone, or acromegaly, when it produces too much growth hormone.
“It could also be amyloidosis, which is where amyloid proteins get deposited in your organs, including your tongue, which would cause them to grow.”
The doctor added that it’s also important to pay attention to the size of your tongue – because if you notice it getting bigger over time, it could be an early sign of a rare condition
“If your tongue keeps growing, [it’s probably] Hypothyroidism, when your body doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone,” she said
The coating: A thin, white coating on your tongue is normal, but if it doesn’t go away or resembles cottage cheese, you could have an infection
dr Siobhan explained that if you have a white coating on your tongue that “looks like cottage cheese milk curds,” it could mean you have a yeast infection called thrush
However, if you notice white areas that are “flatter and harder,” it could be something else called leukoplakia — a plaque that develops when the tongue is irritated
dr Siobhan explained that while a thin, white coating on your tongue is perfectly normal, if you notice it’s not going away, it could mean you have an infection.
She told her followers: “If you brush your tongue, the white coating should go away. But if not, it could mean you have thrush or oral candidiasis — a yeast infection.”
The medic explained that thrush often develops when someone starts taking antibiotics because it “changes the bacteria in your mouth and gives yeast a chance to multiply.”
She said it would usually cause white spots to form on your tongue that “look like cottage cheese milk curds.”
However, if you notice white areas that are “flatter and harder,” it could be something else called leukoplakia — a plaque that develops when the tongue becomes irritated, usually from using tobacco or alcohol.
“It’s important to keep an eye on this as the patches can develop into cancer, so talk to your dentist or doctor if you notice any of this,” Siobhan added.
Another thing to look out for is white areas that appear “spiky” and cause a “burning sensation in the mouth.”
Another thing to look out for is white areas that appear “spiky” and cause a “burning sensation in the mouth,” which is likely a sign of a skin condition called lichen planus
“Finally, if these white patches are mostly on the side of the tongue, it could be hairy leukoplakia,” the doctor concluded. “It’s caused by the virus that causes mono”
In addition, the doctor said you could be suffering from a “serious illness” if your tongue turns a very dark red and develops particularly prominent bumps resembling a strawberry.
“This sounds like lichen planus,” the doctor said, adding that the condition is “somewhat puzzling” but “tends to improve when treated with steroids.”
“Finally, if those white patches are mostly on the side of the tongue, it could be hairy leukoplakia,” she concluded.
“It’s definitely the rarest thing. It is caused by EBV (Epstein-Barr virus), this is the virus that causes mono.
“But a lot of people get mono and they don’t get this tongue problem. This could also be an indication that something is wrong with the immune system.”
In addition, the doctor said you could be suffering from a “serious illness” if your tongue turns a very dark red color and develops particularly prominent bumps that resemble a strawberry.
“This is a classic symptom of strep, but it can also occur with Kawasaki disease, a serious disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels in children under the age of five,” she added.
The amount of saliva you have under your tongue: Dry mouth can be an early sign of an autoimmune disease
There is another important aspect of your mouth that Dr. Siobhan said it can be an early sign you have an illness: how much saliva you produce
There is another important aspect of your mouth that Dr. Siobhan said it can be an early sign you have an illness: how much saliva you produce.
She explained that when she looks under her patients’ tongues, she “expects to see pools of saliva,” meaning a good amount of spit has accumulated.
She explained that when she looks under her patients’ tongues, she “expects saliva to pool.”
But if there are hardly any, they may have something called Sjogren’s syndrome – an autoimmune disease.
“It’s an autoimmune disease that can affect the whole body, causing very dry eyes and a very dry mouth,” she explained.
“Some people with Sjogren’s hardly produce any saliva. You can imagine how uncomfortable that would be.
“It causes major problems with her dental health, plus her tongue can become so dry that it becomes painful and cracked.”
However, she reminded her viewers not to freak out if they start suffering from dry mouth, as Sjogren’s syndrome is extremely “rare” and there are “much more common causes” of salivation deficiency, such as side effects of certain medications or not drinking enough water.
Hairy Tongue: Some people can actually grow hair in their mouths, but don’t be alarmed if it happens to you
If you notice hair growing on your tongue – Dr. Siobhan said you shouldn’t worry. In fact, she said it’s more common than you might think and is caused by a build-up of the protein keratin
If you look in the mirror and suddenly notice hair growing on your tongue, Dr. Siobhan, you shouldn’t worry.
In fact, she explained that it’s more common than you think and is caused by a buildup of the protein keratin — which makes hair — on the little bumps on your tongue.
She said she saw a case of a man who was intubated for 11 days straight after a medical emergency – and when he woke up he was horrified to find his tongue was furry.
‘Why is that happend? Probably a combination of things. He’s a smoker, he was on a lot of different antibiotics in the ICU and he wasn’t eating, so there wasn’t any food to naturally scratch his tongue,” she said.
“But fortunately it is reversible. With much brushing and scraping, his tongue returned to normal.’
Tongue Ulcers: While it’s normal to get mouth ulcers here and there, if you notice them popping up in your mouth frequently, you may have a medical problem
dr Siobhan explained that while canker sores are painful, they shouldn’t be a big concern as they’re not contagious and usually go away within a week or two without treatment
Canker sores, also known as canker sores or aphthous stomatitis, are very common — in fact, one in five people in the US gets them.
dr Siobhan explained that while they’re painful, they shouldn’t be a big concern as they’re not contagious and usually go away within a week or two without treatment.
But she added that if they pop up frequently and take a long time to heal, an illness could be causing them.
“When I see a patient who has recurring mouth ulcers, I can think of a long list of conditions that we need to think about,” she said.
“It could be lupus, Crohn’s disease, Bechet’s disease, reactive arthritis, vasculitis, PFAPA syndrome, folate deficiency, B12 deficiency, herpes, HIV, an allergic reaction, or pemphigoid.
But she added that if they pop up frequently and don’t go away anytime soon, a condition could be causing them. Additionally, a canker sore that doesn’t go away could be an early sign of cancer
“Or, if you’ve never had ulcers in the past and they come on suddenly, you should talk to your doctor to make sure it’s not related to any of these conditions.”
In addition, a canker sore that does not go away after a while can be an early sign of cancer.
“If you have one that doesn’t go away after a few weeks, or if you feel a new lump on your tongue, you have to think about cancer,” the doctor warned.
“You need to go and have your doctor check it out right away. Tongue cancer doesn’t usually hurt or cause problems early on. So if you notice anything, go and check it out to be sure.
How agile it is: Paying attention to how you move your tongue can help you identify a neurological disorder early on
And while the way you move your tongue doesn’t say much about your health, paying attention can help you identify a neurological disorder early on
according to dr Siobhan, there are four different movements you can perform with your tongue: roll, trefoil, fold and twist.
She said it’s normal not to be able to do all the movements — in fact, only five percent of people are able to do all the movements.
And while the way you move your tongue doesn’t say much about your health, paying attention can help you identify a neurological disorder early on.
“If you could do the movements now but find you can’t do it in a year, you would ask yourself, is there a neurological problem?” she explained.
Another thing to look out for is something known as the Mallampati score — which is how much of your throat you can see when you open your mouth and stick out your tongue
Another thing to look for inside your mouth is something known as the Mallampati score — which is how much of the back of your throat you can see when you open your mouth and stick out your tongue.
“It’s basically an assessment tool to determine how difficult it will be to intubate a person and put a breathing tube down their throat,” the doctor added.
“It can also inform you about your risk of sleep apnea, a condition in which your breathing stops and starts again many times during sleep.
“If you have a high Mallampati score and you know you snore, it’s probably a good idea to get a sleep study to determine if you have sleep apnea.”