Red spots on the tongue - causes and treatment methods

Types Causes Treatment methods Diagnostics Prevention
Toothache does not always bring us to the dentist. Quite often, problems are caused not by teeth, but by unpleasant sensations in the mouth, red spots on the tongue, and a burning sensation. These signs are characteristic of a variety of diseases, often systemic, but can serve as symptoms of glossitis - inflammation of the tongue.

Causes of the problem

A red spot on the tongue can be a manifestation of a variety of pathologies, for example:

• Vitamin deficiency
  Redness of the tongue is caused by a deficiency of B vitamins and niacin.

• Allergy
  Response to food, drinks, drugs

• The burn is
  not only thermal, but also chemical. The Internet is full of different, sometimes strange, advice. Experimenting on yourself can have sad consequences.

• Hormonal imbalance
  Red spots on the tongue often appear in women during pregnancy and menopause.

• Infections of various etiologies
  Bacteria and viruses provoke inflammatory processes, one of the symptoms of which is discoloration.

Red spots on the tongue are not yet a diagnosis. A doctor needs to conduct an examination to determine the exact cause.

Redness of the tongue may indicate various diseases.

What does this mean?

The appearance of red dots on the tongue can be caused by a number of reasons, including those that do not threaten health and life. However, in some cases, such rashes indicate the appearance of a specific disease.

Red dots can have different origins:

• wound, petechiae - slight hemorrhage (with a burn of the tongue, for example);
• telangiectasia, that is, spider veins;
• ulcer;
• erosion;
• epithelial tumor of malignant and benign nature;
• rashes (macula, papule, roseola).

That is why it is of great importance to seek medical help in the case when a person finds red dots on the root of the tongue, as well as on other parts of this organ, in his child or himself.

Diagnosis

It is difficult to independently distinguish relatively harmless manifestations of diseases in the form of red spots from serious disorders. Any rash on the tongue already indicates systemic problems, but some of them indicate serious cases.

Erythroplakia requires immediate surgical intervention. Therefore, it is better not to take the position “it will go away on its own,” but to consult a doctor.

Since spots on the tongue are a symptom of disease, examination is usually aimed at identifying the causes. Laboratory tests, flora tests, histology and medical history allow us to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Location: on the base

Pimples at the base of the tongue interfere with swallowing and even speaking, they hurt and cause a lot of trouble. The reasons for their appearance can be very diverse. It could be stomatitis, a fungal infection, a sore throat or pharyngitis. Only an experienced doctor can make a correct diagnosis. We can only suggest what you should pay attention to.

If a pimple appears on the base of the tongue, you should carefully analyze other symptoms - fever, enlarged lymph nodes, the presence of allergic reactions. For example, with a sore throat, pimples form in the throat quite often. They are painful, make swallowing difficult and cause pain when talking. In this case, the patient also has enlarged tonsils and submandibular lymph nodes, and an elevated temperature. As a matter of fact, acne and fever almost always occur either with a sore throat, or with tonsillitis or pharyngitis.

It is undesirable to ignore pimples on the tongue near the throat, since in particularly advanced cases they can interfere with breathing, which can lead to suffocation. Therefore, having discovered them in yourself, you need to contact an ENT specialist for a diagnosis.

Online consultation with a doctor if you are concerned about symptoms

If you are concerned about symptoms such as spots on the tongue, accompanied by burning, tingling, pain, then it is best to undergo an examination and consultation with a dentist. Because these may be signs of a more serious disease that should not be neglected, otherwise inaction will lead to the need for longer-term and more expensive treatment. Red spots on the surface of the tongue may indicate a fungal, viral, or venereal infection. It is often difficult to determine on your own what it is: glossitis, stomatitis, Kawasaki disease or something else. A specialist will help you understand the signs of the disease and etiology online. He will give professional recommendations, suggest treatment options and further actions.

General recommendations

For stomatitis in adults, treatment is carried out on an outpatient basis. The dentist can perform initial treatment of the oral cavity, then the patient will need to perform all the manipulations independently at home.

Antiseptic treatment of the entire oral cavity is a prerequisite for the successful treatment of stomatitis and the rapid recovery of the affected mucosa. For “disinfection”, solutions containing chlorhexidine, furatsilin or metronidazole are used. Dentists also recommend rinsing with a soda solution every 2-3 hours.

Locally in the affected areas, it is necessary to remove heavy plaque using gauze and apply anti-inflammatory and regenerating gels or ointments to the areas where ulcers accumulate. The procedure is unpleasant, but significantly speeds up recovery.

Treatment of stomatitis on the tongue in adults, subject to all prescriptions and recommendations of the dentist, takes no more than 10 days. Symptoms of the disease disappear after 3–5 days; a few more days are required to restore the affected tissues.

Disease prevention

Dental measures include:

• Regular thorough oral care.

A properly selected toothbrush, constant flossing, and rinsing your mouth after eating will help avoid inflammatory processes.

• Use a toothpaste that suits the purpose at this stage. You cannot use whitening or medicinal pastes constantly, only in courses.

General preventive measures:

• Healthy lifestyle
• To give up smoking
• Regular medical examinations

Treatment of glossitis of the tongue

First of all, the treatment plan depends on the type of inflammation. It is compiled individually, based on clinical and diagnostic data. For acute catarrhal glossitis, it is important to remove the irritating factor: replace the crowns or, conversely, put crowns on the damaged tooth. Change your eating habits, stop chewing nuts, hard candies, and crackers.

For a folded tongue, oral hygiene comes to the fore.

If lumps and papillomas grow during rhomboid glossitis, they are excised. Laser surgery allows you to do this quickly, with virtually no blood.

The main recommendation for black tongue is treatment of somatic diseases and smoking cessation. Liquid nitrogen is used to remove papillae, as well as applications to keratinized areas.

But there is a general approach to treatment:

• sanitation of the oral cavity;
• professional teeth cleaning;
• vitamin complexes;
• iron supplements for anemia;
• for pain - light anesthetics in the form of applications;
• for burning - oral baths and irrigation;
• physiotherapeutic procedures;
• checking for fungal infections.

There are many recommendations on the Internet for treating glossitis with folk remedies. No one disputes the anti-inflammatory properties of chamomile, sage and plantain. When a spot appears on the tongue, applications of sea buckthorn oil and aloe juice can bring relief. But these measures are temporary, they affect the symptoms, but the cause of the disease remains unattended. As a result, it is easy to miss the point when it was not difficult to fix the problem.

Glossitis is closely related to common diseases and psychological causes. Effective treatment is only possible using an integrated approach. How to treat glossitis and what examinations you need to undergo can only be advised by a qualified doctor. Glossitis can be cured quite quickly, but if left untreated, abscesses, tumors, and necrotic tissue changes can form. This is much more serious and the prognosis is not so favorable.

Expert opinion

Roman Borisovich Alekperov

orthopedic dentist

Experience: 24 years

Most often, red spots on the tongue are not accompanied by pain. A slight burning sensation or no symptoms at all creates a dangerous feeling that the problem will go away on its own. This can worsen the condition and cause serious consequences. If you have red spots on your tongue, consult a doctor. It is better to quickly take measures recommended by professionals than to spend a long time on treatment later.

Types of glossitis

All inflammatory processes are divided into chronic and acute, independent and secondary, accompanying other diseases. In any case, problems with the tongue indicate the presence of a disease, so it is better to consult a doctor immediately. Sometimes glossitis occurs without pronounced manifestations, but the doctor will definitely notice changes in the tongue during a routine examination.

Independent diseases (when only the tongue is affected) include several types of inflammation.

Acute catarrhal glossitis

Most often it develops as a result of mechanical damage from sharp edges of decayed teeth, unsuccessful dentures, candies and nut shells. It is a sign of allergies, acute respiratory viral infections or gastrointestinal diseases.

Patients develop red spots on the base of the tongue. Patients experience pain while eating and talking. The tongue swells and becomes covered with a thick coating. Saliva production increases.

Desquamative glossitis

It has many names: geographic tongue, migrating, exfoliative glossitis. It is he who begins with red spots on the tongue. This occurs due to epithelial detachment (desquamation).

The reasons are not completely clear, but diseases play a certain role in the development of inflammation:

• stomach and intestines;
• edocrine glands;
• hematopoietic organs.

Infectious diseases can provoke inflammation

and
vitamin deficiency
.

All of them disrupt tissue nutrition and, as a result, the epithelium begins to slough off. The red spots are growing. As the spots increase in size, the process of keratinization begins in the center, and the keratinized areas, on the contrary, begin to flake off. This is how glossitis “migrates” from one part of the tongue to another. At the same time, its outline resembles a map, hence the name “geographical”.

In the vast majority, desquamative glossitis is discovered during routine examinations. For a long time it does not cause any inconvenience. But in advanced cases, the tongue begins to react to spices and sours. There are complaints of tingling and burning. The tongue becomes covered with cracks, which can become infected. In this case, the disease is accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes, general malaise, and weakness.

Diamond-shaped glossitis

This is an inflammation of the tongue in which red spots have clear boundaries

and
geometric shape
.

Among the reasons are:

• congenital nature of the disease;
• housing and communal services diseases;
• candidiasis of different nature and location.

There are 3 types

rhomboid inflammation. The flat look is the easiest, patients are unaware of it, and only a doctor can see the characteristic red spots on the root of the tongue.

The lumpy and papillomatous types are irritating with the sensation of a foreign body in the mouth. Sometimes patients complain of a burning sensation.

Black “hairy” tongue

With desquamative glossitis, the epithelium peels off too much. When the keratinized epithelial cells stop exfoliating at all, they speak of a “hairy tongue.” The size of the papillae increases. They change color as a result of the interaction of iron in food and oral microflora. Most often, the papillae become black or brown.

The reasons may be:

• gastritis;
• colitis;
• infections;
• tuberculosis;
• venereal diseases;
• smoking;
• alcoholic drinks in excessive quantities.

The disease develops gradually and for a long time patients do not pay attention to the changes. Therefore, the sight of a “hairy” tongue can cause a lot of stress. Patients complain of burning, itching, dryness, and foreign body sensation. Sometimes, when talking, gagging occurs. Taste sensations often change.

Folded tongue

This congenital anomaly is detected in children and adults. It is diagnosed less often in children due to the fact that the folds are small. During the period of intensive growth, in puberty, with the growth of muscle tissue, the tongue also increases, the folds appear more clearly. Characterized by changes in the shape and size of the tongue. The transverse folds are smaller, the longitudinal folds are well defined. The main problem of pathology is the accumulation of food debris and bacterial waste products in the folds. This is a favorable environment for microorganisms. They penetrate small cracks and provoke the development of other forms of glossitis. In particular, in 50% of cases, a folded tongue is combined with migrating glossitis. Often inflammation is caused by fungal infections, such as candidiasis.

There is no specific treatment. In the presence of a fungal infection, drugs with a fungicidal effect and ointments against the fungus are prescribed. It is recommended to carefully observe oral hygiene and, along with brushing your teeth, clean your tongue with special scrapers.

Glossodynia

Glossodynia

is a burning mouth syndrome. It usually starts with the appearance of red spots on the tip of the tongue. The tongue is sore and tingling. Pain appears, which subsides while eating, but intensifies in the evening. In 80% of patients, saliva production decreases. The tongue swells, desquamation (detachment of the epithelium) begins. The tongue becomes covered with cracks.

Where to contact

Any dentist will be able to help with advice, but it is still better to contact multidisciplinary clinics. The larger the clinic, the more patients, which means the doctors’ experience is much wider. In addition, high-quality specialists are rarely seen in modest dentistry on the outskirts of the city; they mostly work in large centers. Another reason to contact a multidisciplinary center is that they pay great attention to improving the qualifications of doctors, including in therapeutic dentistry.

The table shows contacts of 5 clinics where you will be advised about red spots on the tongue.

Why do red dots appear?

Red dots on the tongue most often appear with stomatitis (inflammatory processes of the oral mucosa). There are quite a few direct causes of the development of stomatitis, but most often it is a viral infection, for example, of a herpetic nature.

Other factors also include pathogenic bacteria (streptococci, staphylococci), poor nutrition, fungi (for example, candidiasis), thermal or mechanical injuries, side effects of a number of medications, anemia, hormonal imbalance, decreased salivation, and dehydration.

The next common cause of red dots is allergies. It most often differs in food origin. You can suspect it when keeping a food diary. In this case, it is convenient to note the relationship between the appearance of a rash and the use of a specific product.

What are the reasons for red dots and white coating on the tongue? More on this below.

Pale tongue tone

Also, red dots on the tip of the tongue without plaque occur with anemia, but the organ itself turns pale, which is very easy to confuse with deposits. When detecting spots on the tongue, a person does not need to immediately worry and panic. First, you should observe your own condition and check whether such spots disappear within a few days. If there are no changes, even after adjusting the diet and the absence of bad habits, it is advisable to still go to see a doctor and take all the tests required to diagnose the disease, as well as undergo an examination.

Diagnosis and treatment

To diagnose glossitis in adults, the following basic methods are successfully used today.

• Examination
  An experienced dentist in 95% of cases is able to diagnose glossitis based only on visual data.
• RPR test
  A special test that detects antibodies to the cardiolipin antigen.
• Scraping
  It is taken from the surface of the tongue to exclude syphilis, whose symptoms are similar to glossitis.
• PCR
  The most modern and accurate diagnostic method for identifying a wide range of infectious pathogens.

Treatment of glossitis depends on the form of the disease and analysis of concomitant diseases, but in any case it should be comprehensive:

• enhanced oral hygiene;
• general strengthening therapy aimed at increasing immunity;
• local treatment with antiseptics;
• strict diet;
• targeted medications (for example, for candidal glossitis - antifungal agents).

You can find out more about how to treat glossitis of the tongue in the article.

How is therapy carried out?

Treatment of the symptom in question first requires identifying the source of the problem, that is, the primary cause. If the change in the condition of the tongue is the result of an injury or allergy, then the patient needs to reconsider his diet, eliminate the allergen and be more attentive to the condition of the oral cavity, try not to injure the mucous membrane with foreign objects.

If the culprit is a certain disruption in the functioning of the internal systems, then you cannot do without the help of a highly specialized doctor - a general practitioner or dentist, depending on who you contacted, will redirect you to a gastroenterologist, endocrinologist or immunologist.

An ultrasound will help determine the cause of the pain.

But for symptomatic treatment, it is advised to resort to traditional medicine. Many medicinal herbs have long been famous for their antiseptic, soothing and wound-healing properties. Just remember: the use of all kinds of infusions and decoctions for mouth rinsing is allowed only with the consent of the attending physician. Additionally, experts prescribe antifungal drugs, vitamin complexes and immunomodulators. If the tongue is very painful, painkillers must be prescribed.

Red dots on the tongue and white coating

In some cases, the appearance of red dots is also accompanied by a yellowish or white coating, which is expressed to a certain extent. When it appears on the root of the tongue, the doctor will most likely discover intestinal or stomach pathologies in the patient. These may include, for example, chronic gastritis. In this case, the therapist will most likely refer the patient to a gastroenterologist.

A tongue covered with a white coating and red dots is often accompanied by bad breath. In this case, the cause could be her illness (for example, stomatitis) or diseases of the intestines and stomach. In some cases, the source of pathological signs is insufficient oral hygiene, so you need to brush your teeth on time and use rinses after meals.

Signs of deviations from the normal state of the tongue

It is quite possible that, once you look at your tongue, you will see a rather unsightly picture. Symptoms of deviation from the norm:

• A coating of various colors, thicknesses, and with different locations of spots appears on the back of the tongue;
• The sides of the tongue are bright red;
• The taste buds look uneven, some of them increase in size and begin to disturb with unpleasant sensations, taste sensations change, their intensity weakens;
• The oral cavity becomes unusually dry;
• In some cases, the appearance of pain and burning is diagnosed;
• There is an unpleasant odor from the mouth;
• After cleaning the tongue, the plaque appears again after a short time.

In the plaque that appears on the tongue, laboratory testing can reveal leukocytes, pathogenic microflora, and exfoliated epithelial cells.

This video will tell you about plaque on the tongue due to gastritis:

Diagnosis of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract by language

The tongue will tell you about gastrointestinal diseases.

Modern gastroenterology does not specialize in diagnosis based on the appearance of the tongue. However, an attentive person suffering from such pathologies can distinguish the symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases:

1. Acute gastritis - a viscous, dense coating of white-gray color is visible on the entire surface of the tongue, with the exception of the tip and side parts. The mouth feels dry and has an unpleasant acidic taste. Perhaps, instead of dryness, increased salivation will appear. In acute gastritis, similar symptoms include heartburn and sour belching, cutting pain in the epigastric region 1-2 hours after eating, weakness, headaches, diarrhea, heaviness in the stomach. With inadequate treatment, acute gastritis becomes chronic.
2. Chronic gastritis - light deposits on the tongue are replaced by occasional dark gray deposits. To the previous symptoms are added such characteristic signs of chronic gastritis as astheno-neurotic syndrome, constant irritation, aching pain that intensifies some time after eating. About 40% of all cases of acute gastritis become chronic. This condition is fraught with the spread of the process to the duodenum and the development of gastroduodenitis.
3. A stomach ulcer in combination with gastritis affects the condition and appearance of the tongue - its surface becomes bright red, with gray spots of dense plaque that are difficult to clean. This picture is complemented by signs of stomatitis and cyanosis. The patient feels a burning sensation and the production of saliva increases.
4. Oncological damage to the gastrointestinal tract, as well as the presence of internal circulation, is reflected in the condition of the tongue by the appearance of evenly spaced white plaque of increased viscosity, excessive saliva production, and a burning sensation in the oral cavity.

Preventive measures

Simple preventative measures will prevent the onset of the disease. Basic rules of behavior and hygiene:

• Fruits and vegetables should always be washed before consumption.
• Food should not be excessively hot, cold, spicy or rough.
• The chewing process should be slow, which will prevent tongue biting.
• Personal hygiene should be observed: dental and oral care.
• It is necessary to have individual cutlery and a toothbrush.
• The brush should be renewed monthly. Change immediately after an illness.
• Regular visits to the dentist are recommended. It is necessary to treat diseases of the teeth and oral cavity in a timely manner, remove tartar and plaque, because these are the main sources of infection in the mouth.
• It is necessary to maintain adequate physical activity, which will increase immunity and the condition of the entire body.

Any pimple, growth or tubercle on the mucous membrane, both in an adult and in a child, requires close attention. You should not treat the bumps yourself; only a doctor can do this.

You should not pierce or try to squeeze out pimples on the mucous membrane; such actions can lead to negative consequences: the growth of foci of inflammation, the appearance of open wounds as a result of injuries.

The best thing a person can do if they have bumps on their tongue is to see a dentist or therapist. Such a decision will speed up recovery and prevent possible complications.