What Causes a Black Tongue and How Should It Be Managed?

The tongue is an important organ in the human mouth, and numerous taste buds are distributed on the tongue. This is also an important reason for humans to perceive flavors. For normal people, the tongue should be pink, and both dark or white tongues are abnormal phenomena. A small number of people find their tongues dark, what causes this and what should be done?

Generally speaking, most people have dark coating on their tongues when they have a fever. Some patients' dark coating will fade away after the fever is gone, but it will recur when they have a fever again. Therefore, there is a necessary connection between fever and dark coating.

According to surveys, more than half of patients have symptoms such as abdominal distension, constipation, and nausea. After treatment, the dark coating will fade away, and appetite will also recover. These symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction are mostly seen in patients with high fever, and are one of the symptoms of intestinal dysfunction or body poisoning. Stimulation by bacterial toxins causes gastrointestinal dysfunction, which lowers the pH value of oral saliva, increases the adhesive force between tongue cells, prolongs the protrusion of filamentous papillae, and is easily stained black by microorganisms, forming dark coating.

There are various bacteria, molds, and other microorganisms growing in the human mouth (including the tongue coating). They usually restrict and promote each other, maintaining a certain balance, which does not affect human health. However, if a large number of broad-spectrum antibiotics are used due to the necessity of treating diseases, the balance of these microorganisms will be disrupted. Some bacteria that are sensitive to antibiotics are killed, while molds that are relatively resistant to these antibiotics proliferate in large numbers. Since molds often produce various colors, various coatings ranging from brown to black may appear on the tongue.

Many foods can also cause dark tongue coating, such as sesame paste. Medications can also cause this phenomenon. If you have recently taken medication or eaten certain foods, the dark tongue coating is a temporary phenomenon, and there is no need to worry too much.

If the tongue is dark, it may be caused by kidney deficiency and blood deficiency. It is recommended to take traditional Chinese medicine for adjustment. Eat more walnuts, ginseng, leek, mutton, beef, etc. Regular exercise and drinking plenty of hot water can promote metabolism in the body. Eat more foods that nourish the blood and qi, such as red dates, goji berries, angelica, and astragalus. It may also be caused by indigestion in the gastrointestinal tract. It is recommended to use medications such as Domperidone, Omeprazole, Metronidazole, and antibiotics for treatment. It is recommended to have a gastroscopy test.