This has been going on for well over six months now.. took me 3 months to see a ENT Specialist who said nothing was wrong with me ! He did not understand the amount of discomfort that I am in some days worse than others and now I feel like im going crazy .. im going to get a second opinion in another 3 months but my tongue constantly looks like this.. feels dry, always coated and I scrape my tongue and it doesn't change a thing.. even drinking water makes my tongue feel weird
Oral Thrush is easy to detect. Especially, you seeing an ENT... So he/she could have diagnosed it already if he/she had noticed this Oral Thrush. Maybe, this is just discomfort or dry mouth. Dry mouth is a symptom that leads to a lack of saliva. Individuals with dry mouth do not have enough saliva to keep the mouth wet.
To learn more about dry mouth, I suggest you visit here at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187640.php
And the next time you go see an ENT or any oral expert, it is best you provide all the details even though he/she doesn't ask. Like what medicine are you taking, providing your medical records, what kind of foods are you taking(carbonated, sugary, gum, dry, acidic, spicy, hot or cold, alcoholic drinks), also do you smoke? How is your oral care? Questions like these should be brought up to have an interactive relationship with the ENT during the session. I hope these helped and my best wishes to you!
Have you tried Googling "White Coating on Tongue"? There are several conditions that can cause this, as well as several at home remedies. Have you Googled "Oral Thrush" to see if your symptoms match? Based on your picture, it doesn't look like you have oral thrush. Of course, I'm no doctor. Perhaps you can get in to see a dentist sooner.
Dentist or doctors ? I have looked at photos and it still leaves me at a dead end, I’m really thinking oral thrush and I just searched white coating on tongue and everything is popping up for oral thrush.. it looks very similar in some photos but there’s a possibility that it could be something else
Same here. Both doctors or dentists, not giving me a proper diagnosis of this condition. They say it is common and could be scraped off. But even if I do so, it keeps coming back. I guess this is connected with stress, dry mouth, and much more. Also it leaves a foul odor when the white coating starts building up. Someone help. I've been using this product TUNG brush and GEL which I find a bit effective rather than a tongue scraper. Maybe you can give this a try.
I was told stress could be a factor also the ENT Specialist said it could be from Acid reflux and I was sent home with directions to buy some sort of special pillow that will elevate me when I sleep. Acid Reflux, GERD, Oral thrush .. all of these things have me in question but Im waiting for a second opinion hoping they put me on some sort of medication because this is not such a fun period in my life right now as a 23 yr old *sigh
I was also told this and gave medication like PPI's to reduce the acid levels coming up the throat but I couldn't act normal like as everyone doing so. Yeah this is such annoying and always makes me highly conscious about it all the time. I am 28 btw. Maybe you can try staying hydrated and see if that works.
Wow I just read about the PPI Medication .. that’s some heavy side effects and I read about some studies that were done with this medication .. as far as staying hydrated I drink about 4 water bottles throughout the day at work but my tongue feels even drier when I do drink water .. chewing gum helps for a few minutes but when I’m done my tongue feels absolutely horrible
This does not look like thrush to me but I'm no doctor. And I have learned something about thrush recently and it may very well apply to you. I have an autoimmune disorder called Sjogren's syndrome. One of its symptoms is a dry mouth. You are much more prone to thrush when you have this condition. And because your mouth is so dry the typical white patches that happen when you have thrush do not appear in your mouth. I went years with every dentist and oral surgeon and you-name-it specialist telling me that I had burning mouth syndrome. They came up with that because I kept telling them it burns when I eat. Then one day I have to have a sore on my tongue biopsied. The oral surgeon submitted the biopsy to a lab requesting that they check for cancer but also that they check for a fungal infection. Lo and behold I had a fungal infection. There where no white patches not even a whiteness like your tongue has. So he treated me for thrush and my tongue problem went away. I have since learned that the white patches will not show up if you have a very dry mouth but it doesn't mean you don't have thrush.
So this is getting to be a long message and I do apologize but I just wanted you to understand that if it burns your mouth or your tongue to eat certain foods then in all likelihood you do have thrush. Your problems going to be getting a doctor to believe that you have thrush when there's no white patches in your mouth. You might try going to the website called Sjogren's syndrome Foundation. There is an article or something on there that I read about this issue. Maybe if you print it out and show it to your dentist or doctor they will believe you. What I don't understand is why doctors are refusing to treat something when the cost of treating it is minimal at best. And I'm not talking specifically about the cost of the medicine which is cheap but also the risks involved in using that medicine if you're wrong. I wish you the best, keep us posted and let me know how you're doing on getting a treatment.
Try sprinkle some salt and then brush on the back of your tongue where the coating builds up. This trick helped me always.
acc925 is right... googling your symptoms usually helps. Try taking a clear picture of your mouth and use the Google Images Search. Upload the image and google compares that photo with other photos. Then look at the sources of the photos to see their description provided by their respective websites.
Can you pls tell me what medication and for how long it was prescribed to you ? I have the ecxact same problem, its been two years now and so far no answer, the doctors tell me thats a normal tongue but I know how I had it before. Pls help me, I will appreciated SO MUCH. THANYOU
I'm sorry to be this way but you couldn't be more wrong about thrush being easy to detect. I struggled for years with a painful tongue and dry mouth while every dentist or oral medical person I saw blamed it on burning mouth syndrome. I knew it wasn't that but all they heard was that my tongue burned.
Anyway I had a sore on my tongue that did not want to heal so I had it biopsied to check for cancer. The oral surgeon also requested the lab check the biopsy for a fungal infection. Sure enough they found a fungal infection. The doctor treated it with a drug called Clotrimazole and at the end of the treatment my tongue was all better. I had absolutely no visible symptoms of thrush. It was because of this that I started to do some investigating. Number one I had a history of dry mouth and dry eyes. Not one of these oral medical doctors (nor my eye doctor) suggested that I might have Sjorgren's Syndrome. I have since battled both of these symptoms and since beginning two years ago when I started prednisone I kept getting case after case of thrush until finally an ENT suggested that I take some of the thrush medicine daily. Now I can eat mostly pain free. Brushing my teeth is not painful any more (the mint would burn my mouth).
I find that Clotrimazole works better then Nystatin which is what they usually prescribe. You will have to ask specifically for it. Then in order to help with the dry mouth there are a few things that can help. There is something called Xylimelts that you can purchase from Amazon (I think Walmart also sells it). I did not get much relief from them myself but some people do. As for prescriptions there are two drugs prescribed for thirst. One is called Pilocarpine. This one caused me stomach upset so my doctor prescribed me cevimeline. It works great but it is more expensive of course.
I hope my info helps. Let me know how things go.
Unfortunately as you drink water you rinse the saliva from your mouth. Saliva is a lubricant and water is not so you basically get stuck between a rock and a hard place when you drink a lot of water. I drink a ton of water all day and even though I know its making maters worse I get so dry I can't go very long at all without water. I try taking little baby sips throughout the day. My rhuemmy also has prescribed me something to produce saliva. It's called Cevimeline. It works pretty good but it's fairly expensive. The cheaper drug is called Pilocarpine but it upset my stomach.
I apologize for sharing the wrong information... Nonetheless, it is good that you feel better and aren't feeling any more pain.
Thank you very much for your response, next week I have an appointment with another ENT and for the first time with an infectious disease physician. I will let you know what they say . Thanks a lot .
Your are lucky that you diagnosed the issue and wish you good health .I have sore throat and white tongue for year now .my stomach is also bloating doctors are not able to diagnose the issue .I have swollen taste buds at extreme back of tongue .
hi kacy, I hope youre all good now and can share some information with me, I am in the same boat and Im desperate looking for help. I've seen a quite a few doctors and have performed numerous test and all negative. I miss my healthy pink tongue. pls share any info thanks.
hey i'm actually still dealing with it .. some days are better than others as i keep a tooth brush at work and tongue scraper and some mouth wash.. thai tea, milk tea, coffee, tea.. ive learned that makes my tongue feel super dry.. im just trying to deal with it /: