Tongue disease

Tongue Disease in Humans: Often the reasons behind bothersome but non-fatal conditions like halitosis, tongue disease in humans can go beyond that; the results of fungal and viral infections or unwanted accumulation of pigments. Black hairy tongue, a disease caused by the excessive growth of a kind of mouth-residing fungi and catarrhal fever are the two most widely found tongue diseases amongst the humans and herbivorous animals respectively, whereas sore tongue and tongue cancer also occupies a large spectrum in the domain of human tongue diseases.

An overall picture of tongue disease: As mentioned earlier, tongue disease is a catch-all term that brings under its jurisdiction a large number of viral and fungal infections; add to it the tumors and cancerous growth and the list proceeds further. However, here we present an account of the most common ones to provide an overall picture of tongue diseases:

· Black Hairy Tongue: A disease caused by the excessive growth of a kind of mouth-residing fungi.

· Blue Tongue: A non-contagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of herbivorous animals, which have no reports of human transmission.

· Sore Tongue: A condition brought forth by the tongue rubbing against the teeth.

· Tongue Coatings: The root cause behind dragon-breath, it’s a disease brought forth by some of the tongue-residing potential pathogens.

· Tumors: Tumor(s) around or on the tongue signifies serious types of mouth cancer that begin as a small lump or thick white patch, often painless and tender, which turns into an ulcer with a firm, raised rim and a center that bleeds easily.

Black Tongue Disease: Lingua villosa nigra, as the Black Tongue Disease is known medically, doesn’t have a clear explanation behind its cause; however, a lot of people claim that it is the result of an overgrowth of the bacteria normally present in the mouth cavity that causes the discoloration. These bacteria create the red blood cell pigments or porphyrins that impart the tongue the black color. The papillae also sometimes grow profusely making the tongue look hairy. Triggered by poor oral hygiene and bismuth-containing medication, antibiotics can allay the agonies up to a great extent.

Blue Tongue Disease:A non-contagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of both domestic and wild ruminants, blue tongue’s clinical manifestation shows two syndromes of the blue tongue disease –

·Vascular insult of several organ systems.

·Reproductive syndrome.

The pathogenic virus with 24 serotypes belongs to the genus Orbivirus and is a member of the Reoviridae family. Blue tongue virus initiates a transient fever that may go up to 106F and swelling of the facial features. A muco-purulent nasal discharge bringing forth tongue cyanosis is the reason behind the name of the disease, which may later progress to severe results like petechial hemorrhages, erosions, and ulcers, apart from pulmonary edema.