Many parents, noticing that a specific plaque appeared in the childās language, most often perceive this as a serious problem and begin to find out the causes of this phenomenon. In modern clinical practice, when examining a child, specialists pay special attention to changes in the surface of the tongue. Various kinds of violations of the color of the tongue and its condition can signal numerous pathological processes in the children's body, including hidden ones.
It is very important to understand when a raid in children can be taken as a variant of the norm, and when such a phenomenon is considered a serious sign warning of the possibility of developing a hidden pathology.
So, why does a child have a plaque in the tongue?
Norm Option
Plaque on the tongue is normal only in those cases when it is soft, of low density and has a transparent white color. In most cases, it occurs in children in the morning, does not provoke bad breath and disappears, as a rule, after brushing your teeth. That is, such a phenomenon is not a pathology, especially when through such a plaque you can visualize the unchanged surface of the tongue itself, as well as when there is no pathological smell from it.
The occurrence of plaque in the tongue of a child is a consequence of natural processes occurring in the body, which at night actively tries to overcome the fungi and bacteria that accumulate in the oral cavity, which multiply in the oral cavity. The remains of food serve as a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, as a result of which a large number of leukocytes affecting the pathological flora enter the mucous membrane. Just they are the main component of the natural whitish film on the tongue.
Often there is a plaque in the tongue of a child at 2 years old. In older children, one can observe a thickening of such plaque in the summer and its decrease in winter and in the off-season, when it can turn yellow and become denser and drier. However, if such a phenomenon disappears after brushing the tongue and teeth, then there is no reason for concern.
Causes of occurrence
The cause of a raid on the tongue in a child may be eating habits. And since newborn children eat quite often, then a plaque on the tongue may be breast milk or the remnants of the mixture, as well as elements of the contents of the stomach after regurgitation.
In children with artificial feeding and premature babies, plaque is usually thicker than in those who eat breast milk. If the baby eats mixtures, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the bottles and nipples, as insufficient processing of the dishes can cause a plaque on the tongue.
Definition of ailment
Conventionally, there are some signs that parents need to pay attention to:
- Thickness and density of plaque. The dense layer in most cases signals serious problems. If plaque is not removed or removed only partially during oral hygiene, then a visit to the doctor should not be postponed. The same applies to cases where plaque quickly reappears.
- Location in raid language. The childās tongue may be partially or completely covered with a coating. Its diverse localization indicates the pathology of certain sections of the digestive tract.
- Plaque color. In some cases, plaque can become yellow, brown or green, which is a very unfavorable prognostic sign.
- Plaque consistency. It can be moist, dry, loose, curdled or oily.
Oral candidiasis
Children, most often the first year of life, are very susceptible to infection by a variety of fungi, especially representatives of the genus Candida. In this case, a plaque in the tongue is called thrush, and in clinical medicine this pathology is called candidiasis.
In the mouth of the infant, there is always a nutrient medium for the fungi that cause this disease. An additional factor is weak immunity in infants, which is considered the norm at this age. Therefore, in cases where the plaque in the babyās tongue becomes dense, acquires a curdled consistency, passes to the mucosa of the lips and cheeks, and under it foci of the hyperemic mucosal surface are visualized, these symptoms indicate the development of oral candidiasis. Be sure to alert the plaque in the childās tongue at 1 year or less.
Normally, small amounts of yeast are always present in the oral cavity. However, in the event of adverse conditions (decreased immunity, impaired microflora, taking medications), they begin to grow and multiply actively, which leads to the predominance of their numbers over beneficial mucous microorganisms. So there is candidiasis in children and a plaque in the tongue of a child at 3 years old can indicate this disease.
With this pathology, children experience discomfort or pain during eating, become moody, their appetite decreases. The temperature in this case, as a rule, remains normal. However, with a serious illness or the attachment of a bacterial infection, it can increase.
Infectious diseases
The formation of plaque in the childās tongue can warn about the development of some infectious pathologies, both bacterial and viral. This is a natural process of the influx of blood cells into the tongue, which are responsible for the immune system, in response to the multiplication of pathogens in the mouth. After the child recovers, such a plaque, as a rule, disappears. Its severity, density and localization may vary depending on the type of disease. For example, one of the signs of scarlet fever is a dense plaque of white color in the first days of the disease. Subsequently, the tongue is cleansed and acquires a bright crimson color, its papillae swell. With the development of diphtheria, plaque on the tongue has a gray tint. In this case, not only the tongue, but the nasopharynx and larynx are affected.
How to find out the cause of a raid in a childās language?
Localization of the raid
Some diseases of the digestive organs in children may clinically not manifest themselves and proceed unnoticed. In this case, the formation of plaque in the tongue helps to identify similar sluggish pathological processes. Medical studies have proven that the localization of plaque can directly indicate violations in a particular section of the digestive system. Plaque localized on the front of the tongue, as well as on the sides, indicates problems with the respiratory organs (bronchitis, bronchial asthma). A similar raid can also have children, often suffering from SARS.
Plaque in the center of the tongue
A plaque in the center of the tongue indicates problems in the stomach. If they cover the lateral surfaces and the posterior region of the tongue, then the likelihood of developing diseases of the urinary system is high. The root of the tongue encrusted with plaque indicates the development of pathologies of the large or small intestine.
Secondary symptoms may indicate a childās digestive system diseases: belching, bad breath, nausea, bitterness in the mouth, intestinal colic, stool instability, bloating.
Dysbacteriosis
This phenomenon in a child is always the result of certain malfunctions in the body. The intestines of healthy children are populated by a sufficient number of beneficial bacteria, however, when the pathological flora begins to prevail, dysbiosis syndrome develops. Antibiotics, impaired intestinal motility, infectious diseases, allergies, fermentopathy, and unhealthy diet can lead to such a violation.
When such pathologies occur in children, the tongue is covered with a yellowish or white coating of various localization. Most often this occurs in the form of white spots on the tongue. This is what a yellow plaque in a childās tongue means.
Caries
Caries infection is a chronic focus of inflammation in the oral cavity. And the pattern in this case is that the body is trying to cope with this pathological phenomenon. To the mucous membrane of the oral cavity there is an influx of cells of the immune system, with a large accumulation of which a pronounced plaque on the tongue and gums in children can occur.
Anemia
Iron deficiency in children is a fairly common condition associated with a decrease in hemoglobin in the blood. By reducing the number of red blood cells, the transport of carbon dioxide and oxygen is disrupted, and the body begins to experience severe oxygen starvation. As a result of this, the child has signs such as a feeling of tiredness, fatigue, drowsiness, dry skin, moodiness, restless sleep, decreased appetite and the appearance of white plaque in the mouth.
Dehydration
When the childās body does not receive the necessary amount of fluid or there is a reason for its rapid loss, the mucous membrane of the pharynx and tongue begins to dry out intensively, and the protective functions of saliva significantly decrease. As a result of this, infection with a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection is possible, which provokes the formation of a specific plaque in the childās tongue. White or yellow plaque in a childās tongue is not the only sign of dehydration. Such a condition is usually accompanied by thirst, passivity, lethargy and crying without tears.
Stomatitis
This disease is characterized by inflammatory processes in the oral mucosa. With stomatitis in a child, a plaque in the tongue is always present, but its severity, localization or consistency may be different depending on the factors of the occurrence of the pathology. The accompanying symptoms of this disease can be all kinds of ulcerative lesions of the oral cavity in a child, fever, hyperemia and swelling of the tongue. Stomatitis can also be allergic in nature.
Brown color
Doctors call the following causes of brown plaque in the childās tongue:
- Violation of the digestive tract, a digestive problem.
- The state of dehydration of the body as a result of elevated temperature or a small amount of fluid in the body.
- Lack of B vitamins.
- The intake of fats in food, food poisoning.
- The response to some medications.
"Geographic" language
In children, this phenomenon is observed quite often. In this case, whitish spots of irregular shape appear on the tongue, thus the language becomes like a geographical map. The causes of this phenomenon at the present stage of development of medicine have not been fully investigated, but it is known that in children the process of desquamation of epithelial cells in the tongue is disturbed. As a rule, this condition does not require therapy. Some doctors suggest that the cause of this phenomenon is digestive or oral diseases, but there is no exact confirmation of this yet. What to do when flying in the language of a child at 3 years old or any other age?
Diagnosis and treatment
If a child develops a plaque, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician who will examine the patient, prescribe the necessary diagnostic tests to determine the causes of this symptom, and prescribe treatment. In this case, the doctor takes into account the history of the child and his complaints about other unpleasant symptoms, if any. Some laboratory tests are also carried out, which can confirm or deny the presence of certain pathologies in the children's body.
When a tongue raid in a child at 2 years old (or any other age) caused by a fungal infection of the oral cavity, antifungal medications, rinsing and rinsing the throat, treatment with special tampons and external hygiene products are prescribed. For various types of stomatitis, local and systemic antiseptic drugs are prescribed. In infectious pathologies, specific anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, immunostimulating therapy is prescribed (depending on the type of pathogen). In diseases of the digestive tract in children, treatment of a specific disease is prescribed: esophagitis, gastritis, enterocolitis, duodenitis, etc. Plaque on the tongue, as a rule, disappears only when the correct therapy for the underlying pathology is carried out.
With plaque caused by anemia in children, it is necessary to introduce iron-rich foods into their diet. In addition, medications for iron and various vitamin complexes are prescribed.
If necessary, deworming is carried out (antiparasitic therapy), since the appearance of a child's plaque in the tongue may indicate helminthic invasion.
With caries or other dental pathologies, sanitation of the oral cavity and teeth is performed. If the child often suffers from respiratory diseases, specially selected immunostimulating therapy helps to get rid of the pathological plaque in the tongue.