Of course, you've known yourself in the mirror since childhood, and you immediately felt that your tongue changed into something somewhat yellowish. Not very beautiful, right? Don't panic. A yellowish coating of the tongue in most cases is harmless and not too important. Let's talk about a yellow tongue in this article. What is it? So what causes this, and what do you feel when experiencing it? Well, what treatment options can help. Now, let's get down to the specifics of this so you can better take control of it.


What Is A Yellow Tongue?

Yellow tongue is that kind of disease that mainly develops due to the change in color of your papillae small bumps found on your tongue. The shades may vary from pale yellow, deep yellow to even darker yellow shades. It usually is short-lived and often easily cleared up with simple oral hygiene measures.


Causes Of Common Yellow Tongue

It is a symptom of many causes. A few of the major causes are mentioned below:


  • Poor Oral Hygiene: Irregular flossing or brushing causes the bacteria and dead cells to accumulate on the tongue which becomes yellowish in color.
  • Dry Mouth: Because the saliva production is less, causes dryness to the tongue and the bacteria grows there causing discolouration.
  • Dehydration: The colour of the body fluids is less; the mouth feels parched, and the tongue turns yellowish in colour.
  • Smoking: The chemicals in tobacco darken the colour and turn it to another colour in the tongue.
  • Diet: Sometimes after consumption of food or drinks with dark colors-coffee, tea, spices-a tongue may become temporarily yellowish colour.
  • Breathing from Mouth: The drier a tongue gets bigger its tendency to change its colour by breathing from the mouth, not from nose.
  • Fever: Sometimes a high fever may cause a change in the colour of the tongue.
  • Some Medicines: Some antibiotics change the chemical balance in the oral flora and therefore, normally, yellowish coloration always arises in the tongue.
  • On Set Jaundice: It is a very rare condition wherein the level of bilirubin in the blood is highly increased and thus causes jaundice. Yellowish coloration of skin and eyes.

Symptoms Associated With Yellow Tongue

Yellowish color symptoms of most problems that include the yellowish discoloration of the tongue. Most symptoms appear with the yellow colour of the tongue and underlying causative factors. These include the following;

  • Halitosis: Bad breath may be due to bacteria behind the yellow colour.
  • Dry Mouth: It causes yellow tongue because of dryness in the mouth.
  • Coating: The coating may seem thick and sticky yellow.
  • Taste: You could experience a change in taste, or metallic taste in your mouth.
  • Discomfort or Pain: Pain- Although this is unusual for some people, they may also experience a sore or aching sensation.

When to Call Your Doctor

Although the yellow tongue by itself does not present actual danger, at times, it can serve as a sign of warning of a more serious disease. Call your doctor if:

  • Develop yellowing that lasts more than a week or two.
  • You have sore or painful sensations.
  • You other symptoms included fever, unintended weight loss, or fatigue.
  • The common association it has is yellow tinting associated with an eyes or skin yellowing and can at sometimes represent jaundice.

View More: A Comprehensive Guide to White Tongue Causes Treatments


Differential Diagnosis

 The doctor will first try to identify the underlying cause of the yellow tongue by:


  • Medical History Review: Your history might throw some light on what may be the cause.
  • Physical Exam: A general examination of the mouth and the tongue might provide rather easy to explain causes for suspicion.
  • Ask About Symptoms: Other symptoms would bring down the cause still further. Blood tests or any other procedures for diagnosis would be necessary only in a very few exceptional cases for ruling out jaundice conditions. 
  • Treatment and Prevention: Almost all yellow tongue treatments mention the need to pay attention to the removal of the cause of this discoloration. These are the steps you can take to treat and prevent a yellow tongue:
  • Good Oral Hygiene: Brush your teeth at least twice every day. Brush your gums and your tongue too. Floss at least once every day. Use an antibacterial mouthwash that reduces bacteria within the mouth.
  • Hydration: Keep drinking water throughout the day. A moist mouth without food particles and germs is a good thing.
  • Quit Smoking: This will leave your mouth mostly much healthier except for a minimum of tongue discoloration.
  • Reduce Stain-Producers Foods And Beverages: Either reduce or avoid foodstuffs and beverages that stain your tongue or turn yellowish, such as coffee, tea, etc.
  • Tongue Cleaning: Either gargle with warm water, or use an interdental brush or a tongue cleaner to remove bacteria and the collection of dead cells.
  • Massage Dry Mouth: If you suffer from dry mouth, saliva substitutes or sucking sugar-free gum can stimulate your flow of saliva.
  • Consult Medications with Your Doctor: If you think it might have something to do with adverse effects of drugs you are on, consult your doctor. She will adjust the dosage or change you to another medication.

Home Remedies for Yellow Tongue

And if all of the above won't cut it, here are some home remedies that really might work if you need to address that yellow tongue:


Saltwater Gargle

These are washed away by a saltwater solution designed to minimize the few bacteria that are in your mouth.


Baking Soda

Mix a tiny pinch of baking soda in water and brush the back of your tongue with it to neutralize some of the acids that cause discoloration.


Probiotics

Oral bacteria would be kept at bay with the aid of probiotics.


Herbal Mouthwash

Apply the use of tea tree oil or aloe vera preparations for mouthwash action on the irritated mucosa in order to have soothing action with antibacterial activity.


Conclusion

A yellowish tongue, while by all means not something that someone would want, is usually much do about nothing in the majority of cases. Such simple measures as oral hygiene, drinking water, and not using potential discolouring agents may prevent and regulate the presence of such a yellowish tongue. If, however, the disorder persists together with other alarming symptoms, you should go to a doctor to eliminate other diseases that can provoke such an appearance.


Perhaps the biggest prevention methods against any such mouth diseases are proper oral hygiene and self-conscious awareness of one's health status. If you feel that something is not right, or you are cognizant of some unhealthy changes in the tongue or health status in your oral cavity, visit a healthcare provider.


Please book an appointment with the Best General Physician in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and all major cities of Pakistan through InstaCare, or call our helpline at 03171777509 to find the verified doctor for your disease.