Blog About Health & Medicine

The tongue can give the doctor a clue to diagnosis. Coating or furring of the tongue is not really diagnostic of any one condition.

It is often furred in smokers, in mouth breathers and in those with poor oral hygiene. And it becomes coated during the course of any feverish illness or even with a simple digestive upset.

The tongue becomes dry and coated in dehydration and this can be a good indicator of the fluid balance of the body.

Where the tongue is coated in some parts but smooth in others is called the “geographic” tongue as it looks like a map. There are usually no other symptoms.

It is believed that this is due to emotional factors and seen only in anxious individuals. It requires no treatment.

In the past mothers used to worry whether their children were tongue-tied.

The frenulum is a band of tissue under the tongue which anchors it to the floor of the mouth. True tongue-tie is rare. The frenulum is short and this prevents the child from extruding the tongue.

If the child can put the tongue beyond the bottom teeth there is no problem.

Some tongues have deep fissures or cracks and an older generation of doctors looked for this sign as one indication of syphilis. But some people have inherited this condition and with them fissures in the tongue are normal.

An ulcer at the side of the tongue can come from an ill-fitting denture or a broken tooth. It can also be due to cancer.

In some anaemias the tongue loses it papillae (the taste buds) and becomes smooth, shiny and sore.

Leukoplakia is a pre-cancerous condition. The tongue becomes dry with a thick, white deposit like dry, cracked, old paint. This is mostly seen in elderly heavy smokers with poor mouth hygiene.

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Many examinations, even in the non-clinical subjects, are oral rather than written. Why, then, do we become inarticulate with our patients?

Perhaps it’s because of lack of time — too many people to see in too few hours. Perhaps it is because of lack of teaching in this respect in the medical school — an over-concentration on disease rather than on people.

Whatever the reason, this lack of communication does exist.

Most doctors would be unprepared to enter into a debate with a patient as to the merits of one antibiotic over another, based on that patient’s reading of an article in a magazine.

But I do think that every patient has the right to expect a simple explanation of what the doctor thinks is wrong with him and what he intends to do about it. And what side-effects he may expect from the treatment.

It doesn’t take long — perhaps two or three minutes. But I think that these two or three minutes are the most important part of the consultation.

Most consultations with the doctor are for minor illnesses — the patient really wants reassurance. And if he doesn’t get it, he is dissatisfied.

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