View Full Version : White Tongue Anyone?
Hi
I am new here and have been looking through other posts for the past few days and it has helped me quite a bit so far. I have actually managed to get to 1pm today without googling symptoms!! Which is a miracle for me.
Yesterday I was in a terrible state - I have actually still got the headache from all the crying I did. For the past couple of weeks my tongue has hada white coating - no amount of brushing/scraping gets rid of this infact I have managed to make it sore. On googling (bad idea I know) I came across oral thrush which I have now diagnosed myself with. On looking further into this - I got freaked out as I noticed the main sufferers are those with HIV - which again i am now sure I have! Does anyone else have any other reasons for a white tongue? I have a doctors appointment tomorrow but I am struggling not to google!
In the past I have had various blood tests though not for HIV but am i right in saying that something would have flagged up as abnormal in these and they would investigate further? Most have came back clear.
Thanks for any advice that you can give me much appreciated.
my thoughts are oral thrush, things like antibiotics and using inhalers can cause it
This can also be a symtom of IBS .do you have any other symptoms,? Im sure you havnt got HIV,& its something if anything quite harmless. Stop worrying your doc will put your mind at rest. Luv Sue:hugs:
Hi thanks for your responses. I have very bad allergies and I have a constant stuffy nose which in turn makes me breathe through my mouth. I used to have a lot of problems with my stomach years ago but with diet I have managed to control that.
Thanks
I went down this exact route last year. White furry tongue, felt irritated etc. I got myself in a real stew over it. Saw numerous doctors etc. Turns out their was nothing wrong with me! I suffer from hayfever and also mouth breathe, which gave me a dry white coating on my tongue. Stress also causes a dry mouth. My advice would be to not look on the web, try forget about it and drink plenty of fluids!
I found that scraping the tongue made it worse. Just leave alone.
nataliean1982
10-06-09, 15:58
i have it too, its harmless.
I get it when I have low iron levels, so maybe eat more foods containing iron. You'll be fineeee
Chrissy xxxx
when my b12 was at it worst i had a very white fluffy looking tongue, have you been checked at all recently might be worth it if not.
don't worry white tongue have it quite alot myself mines normally caused by a secondry infection after i've been i'll with something else it also blisters and cracks i use an antibacterial mouth wash which helps a little bit you have a doctors appointment so you will be fine
Hi Donski,
First of all, please relax! I have had a lot of goings on with my tongue recently and have listened to the guys on the board here. Whatever you do, don't google!!!
Oral thrush is remarkably different to just having a white tongue and it's worth remembering that your tongue can appear white through eating/drinking dairy, low levels of b12 / iron and dehydration; even poor diet and hygiene can make your tongue go alsorts of colours!
However if it is Oral Thrush, it can be caused by overuse of mouthwash like listerine which has a high alcohol level and can upset the balance of Bacteria in our mouths which we all have. A Health professional told me this info and also said that if HIV were to blame, you would more than likely have other symptoms, not just the thrush
My advice - go see your dentist who will no doubt put your mind at ease and stop brushing your tongue so abrasively - it will only make it sore.
Stu
Hi
Thanks again everyone, I am a lot calmer now and managed to hold out until 3pm today before I googled anything :blush: . I do keep on symptom spotting but really the only other things i have is my allergies - though i have woken up really hot occasionally but I know this can be a sign of anxiety or just being hot!!
I am seeing the doctor tomorrow morning so hopefully she will be able to set my mind at rest further.
I know I have to stop googling as it always causes more worry and 9 times out of 10 the diagnosis you get on there is wrong.
I will post tomorrow to let you know what the doc said.
Thanks again
Glad to hear you are a bit calmer -take advice from a recovering hypocondriac and please don't google! :winks:
Let us know how you get on at the docs.
Stu
Hi
I am just back from the docs and he thinks it is unlikely to be oral thrush. He has done a swab for it and said if it is positive they will get the results back tomorrow and phone me. He said oral thrush is very common and there are a number of reasons people get it. I asked about HIV and he said it was unlikely as I would have other worrying symptoms. I forgot to tell him that once or twice I have woken up through the night with hot flush! Though I am putting that down to numerous factors such as the weather, alcohol and anxiety.
Thanks again for all your help.
Bailey2001
19-06-09, 08:57
Donski....i went through the same thought process as you regarding HIV and oral thrush....i convinced myself i had the deadly virus and rushed off to the GUM Clinic and Gps showing them my white tongue...all of them just looked at me like a mad man.........i didnt have HIV....i didnt have oral thrush....and neither do you! Please be assured :) phil
redballoons
19-06-09, 09:23
hi
This could be a symptom of being just generally run down. Almost everytime I get anything from a cold to flu etc etc I get white tongue no idea why just seems to be something that happens when my body is tired run down etc. my gran had oral thrush a while ago and she did have a white tongue but also spots on the side of her mouth and it looked sore not just white coating -
dont know if she just had it really bad or something
sophie
HI
I have just this minute got my results back from the docs - the culture swab came back normal! So I guess I just have a white tongue and its normal!
Thanks everyone for your replies. The moral of my story is do not under any circumstances google!
D xx
Bailey2001
19-06-09, 14:21
HI
I have just this minute got my results back from the docs - the culture swab came back normal! So I guess I just have a white tongue and its normal!
Thanks everyone for your replies. The moral of my story is do not under any circumstances google!
D xx
told ya so :) glad you are reassured..
I also have a white tongue as a result of low iron.
YearsTooLate
20-06-09, 10:22
Something to consider about HIV is that it's really not terribly common. It got a lot of attention, so we know about it, but it's really a rather weak little virus that is terribly over-represented.
Great news Donski - thanks for the update. No more googling ever ever ever !! :)
Check some of my posts about this out. I got myself into a right panic about this as I had a white tongue which wouldnt go away. Then I got these white bits along the sides that wouldnt go away. What did I do ? Googled. Of course this said there was only one explanation HIV and that at this stage I would be dead within 18 months. Well that was approx 2 1/2 years ago and I'm still here feeling quite healthy so I would say dont worry. I spent time trying different mouthwashes, scrubing the sides of my tongue with a dry towel which did work but then it would be back 2 days later. This went on for about 18 months and all of a sudden it went. It's come back prob twice since but then just goes away on it's own. I never google anyhting anymore, in fact this is the first time I have been back to this site in about 6 months and I never allow myself to think about HIV anymore, just thought I would pop in today to see what's up.. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Hey there
Stu is right, oral thrush and a white tongue are two totally different things.Oral thrush is very painfull and ususall quite profuse.
You know its totally amazing what transformations happen in your body when you are anxious and stressed and espesially for any lentgh of time too. Driness of mouth, eyes and less blood in the place beucase the blood is going to your main muscles for 'fight or flight' causes the mucous membrances to produce thicker less watery mucous and causes white tounge - somtimes feels like its stuck to the roof of your mouth feeling
White tongue - dehydration and anxiety without a doubt, but the problem here is anxiety not your health and reasuring you is not the way forward cos it just makes us start looking for another reason for our 'feeling' that there is something wrong.
The problem you have is that'feeling' that there is somthing wrong - its innaccurate -there is nothing wrong just HA
Lisa
xxxx:hugs:
TammyWammy66
09-07-09, 00:22
Hello Donski,
I have the same thing as you,I have had it over a month now. My doc told me on monday that it is a yeast infection in my mouth and prescribed nystatin 100000 4 times a day and told me to rinse and spit it out. I would ask your doctor if this is what you got.
Tammy
Hi
. I asked about HIV and he said it was unlikely as I would have other worrying symptoms. .
Did he also say what these symptoms would be?
I've gotten oral thrush even from being too stressed out! I actually HAD 3 different doctors suggest HIV to me! Then I was tested and it came back negative. So they don't know why I get it, but I think it's stress. I also saw an ENT a month or so ago and my tongue was starting to feel thrush-like and he said it was just a furry tongue. In my experience, oral thrush is very distinct. The first time I ever had it, it spread to my throat and it was the worst throat pain ever in life (and I had my tonsils out before!). I couldn't even eat bread it hurt so bad. All I could was drink water. Anything else burned like heck!
Anyway, I've had it so many times now (let's say twice a year for about 6 years) that I've learned to tell when it is coming and it always starts with my tongue now. The biggest tell-tale sign, at least for me, I get a very distinct taste in my mouth. The best way I could describe it would to be almost similar to way bleach smells, but not as strong. Probably not the best description but its the only thing it kind of tastes like. Then I notice that my tongue is fuzzier than normal (I always have a coated tongue--I think from smoking). Then it gets patchy because the fuzzies start to fall off. It feels like your tongue is burned kind of. Also, if you suck your tongue and saliva in your mouth really hard and then spit it into a tissue, you will see the fuzzies in the tissue. These symptoms never fail for me, I always get a positive thrush culture.
I'm not saying these will be the symptoms for everyone but this is what happens to me almost every time. If anyone on here ever has any questions about oral thrush, please feel free to PM me. And don't assume HIV! As I said, even my doctors were suggesting it and it came back negative. I waited forever to get tested (years) because I was so scared. But I am in a monogamous relationship for 8 years. It just didn't make sense.
No worries! No HIV, diabetes, etc. Normal, healthy people can get oral thrush!
I know exactly how you feel, my wisdom tooth got infected and i was put on anti-biotics, after i stopped taking them, for about a week my tongue was white, and i had this constant feeling like i had a hair stuck on it. In the end i was panicking thinking, if its a side effect it should have gone by now, so i had it looked at, it wasnt thrush, which my mam kept telling me it was, but just a bacterial infection, i had some gel that i rubbed on it and last night it all flaked off! I have very bad nerves at the moment, so i was told its likely got so bad due to stress, being than most of us here are in a constant state of panic, its likely yours is caused by stress, I thought it was HIV too, turned out i was just stressing myself over nothing.
I had my blood tested as well 2 weeks. Not for HIV but the CBC. The doctors say everything is allright. Then for several days my tongue was dark pink, then pink and now white again.
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