Normally, in a healthy person, the tongue should be pink. A shallow fold passes in the middle of the muscular organ. By touch, the patient should not complain of pain, and taste buds on its surface should be clearly visible.
A light white coating may be present on the surface of the tongue. This condition does not pose any health hazard.
How to inspect the language?
An examination of the tongue should be in the morning, before eating, after the oral cavity is rinsed with water. To ensure reliable results, it is recommended to carry out the procedure in bright daylight, in front of a mirror, near a window. We advise you to open your mouth wide and pronounce a lingering sound "Aaaa" or "Uhhh". Noticing that the muscular organ took an unusual color for you, you should pay attention to the state of your body.
Why does the language become raspberry?
Having discovered that you or your child has a raspberry tongue, you should understand the reason for the appearance of such a sign. It should be noted that the crimson color of the muscular organ does not always indicate some serious illness.
Language is an excellent indicator for the detection of a disease. As already mentioned, normally a person’s tongue is colored pink. But if the body is affected by pneumonia, scarlet fever, tonsillitis, and some diseases of an infectious nature, then it is painted in raspberry color. There is even such a medical term - “raspberry tongue”.
If the tip of the organ is painted a light red or raspberry shade and at the same time there is a white coating on the back, then this may be a sign of gastritis (an inflammatory process in the stomach).
If the patient has a burning sensation in the area of the tongue, then most likely this symptom indicates that the acidity of the stomach is reduced. It can also indicate anemia or a lack of vitamin B12.
The organ acquires a dark red or dark crimson hue in cases of severe poisoning with fungi, salts of heavy metals, as well as in the presence of chronic renal failure.
This color can be triggered by the use of food containing red pigment. For example, beets or products that include artificial colors.
Raspberry tongue in a child
In a child, a raspberry tongue may be a sign that he ate a certain product or drank juice, which includes a dye.
Even the candy eaten by the baby can lead to a change in the color of the surface of the muscle organ. A steady raspberry color can cause beets, both fresh and boiled. In this case, the degree of coloration may change over a period of time.
To understand whether dyes were provocateurs, you can offer your child to drink water or eat a crust of bread. After that, the intensity of the raspberry color should be reduced.
Raspberry tongue with scarlet fever
Raspberry tongue may indicate the presence of a serious illness - scarlet fever. In addition to color changes, the structure of the muscular organ also changes. In appearance, it becomes brilliant and smooth, since the number and size of the taste buds are sharply reduced. However, the symptoms in patients affected by scarlet fever clearly show that the raspberry color of the tongue is far from the only sign that parents should pay attention to. In children suffering from this disease, a tiny rash appears in the form of dots of bright pink color within two days. In addition, the child rises to 39-40 degrees.
Signs of general intoxication appear: migraine, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, enlarged tonsils, which turn red and are covered with a white coating. A child may complain of severe colic in the abdomen. His face is completely covered with a rash, and the area of the triangle near the nose and lips remains unpainted.
A week after infection, the skin begins to peel off at the sites of the rash. This process lasts about three weeks.
Scarlet fever is a dangerous infectious disease. For the most part, they are ill for children older than 2 years. After this ailment, the patient may develop rheumatic joint damage.
As a rule, during treatment, the patient is prescribed antibiotics and antiallergic drugs. Bed rest is recommended. To weaken the signs of intoxication, heavy drinking is recommended. The patient should be isolated from household in a separate room. He is allocated personal hygiene items and cutlery. The duration of treatment for the disease depends on the degree of damage to the body. As a rule, it takes 6-8 days. In especially difficult cases, the patient is recommended to be hospitalized.
Raspberry tongue with angina
A raspberry-colored tongue can also be noted with a disease such as angina. Her tongue turns red and glistens. A strong increase in temperature is also noted. In extreme heat, the body becomes a raspberry color.
Tongue discoloration in Kawasaki disease
A raspberry colored tongue, covered with pimples, may indicate the presence of such an ailment as Kawasaki disease. This is a rather rare syndrome that is observed in babies under 5 years old. Will a raspberry tongue only indicate a disease? Symptoms of this ailment are extremely extensive. It is characterized by high fever, fever. Without medication, the duration of the disease can be about 2 weeks, and sometimes more.
The baby's skin is covered with flat spots of a red tint. Skin neoplasms may resemble a rash observed with scarlet fever or measles. Most of all, redness manifests itself in the area of the arms, legs and groin. During the first seven days, the patient's eyes are affected by conjunctivitis. The lips are covered with small cracks, from which blood can ooze. The glands of the patient are in an enlarged state and blush. Raspberry tongue in a child is noted already from the second week after the onset of the disease.
Kawaski disease can cause the expansion of coronary vessels in the heart. The result of this process can be myocardial infarction and even death. Therefore, the patient should be under the supervision of a doctor who can choose the necessary treatment regimen.
Tongue coloration in gastrointestinal problems in adults
Serious problems with the gastrointestinal tract, in particular the presence of gastritis, may be indicated by the bright raspberry color of the tongue with a touch of white. In this case, the plaque intensity will not differ evenly. At the edges of the muscular organ and on the tip, it will be expressed to a lesser extent, and in the center - to a greater extent. A burning sensation in the tongue will be a sign of a drop in the level of acidity in the stomach.
What are the symptoms besides raspberry tongue? The disease can manifest itself in neoplasms on the surface of a muscle organ. For example, it is covered with white bloom around the edges, and in the middle there is an extensive spot of bright red color. If you turn to a competent doctor, he will immediately be able to determine that the stain is evidence of damage to the upper areas of the gastrointestinal tract. Spots in the tongue for an experienced specialist can be a clue to the clinical picture without various methods of additional examination.
To get rid of such an ailment, rinse the mouth with strong chamomile tea. Potato juice also has an excellent effect. It can be obtained from fresh root crops. This method has proven itself from the best side.
Redness of the tongue during poisoning
Raspberry tongue in an adult can indicate severe intoxication of the body with toxic substances, for example, salts of heavy metals, arsenic or mushrooms. The muscle becomes dark crimson.
Vitamin B12 deficiency
With a low level of vitamin B12, severe anemia can occur in the body. It is provoked by the poor digestibility of the vitamin in the body and its insufficient intake with food. Vitamin B 12 deficiency is especially bad for nerve cells and bone marrow. In this condition, the patient has a bright raspberry tongue.
Taking antibiotics
If a person often uses antibiotics, and besides, he does this without the supervision of a doctor, then he may subsequently find redness of the surface of his tongue. The muscular organ is not completely stained, but only along the edges and in the center.
If such problems occur, you should immediately consult a specialist, since unlimited intake of drugs can cause pathological changes in internal organs, and a red spot in the middle can signal a stomach lesion.
If a person actually often uses antibiotics a lot and this method of treatment is the only one for him, then you should replace the drug with another drug, also belonging to the group of antibiotics. A flushed tongue may indicate an allergic reaction.
Conclusion
Raspberry tongue, the causes of which are diverse, is a sign of various pathological conditions of the body.
This symptom occurs with infection of the body, gastrointestinal tract damage and intoxication. To establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment should consult a specialist. A change in the color of the muscular organ does not always indicate the presence of a serious illness, but rare pathological processes are sometimes noted. Therefore, do not hesitate to go to the doctor.