TONGUE, WHITISH AND THICK
Description and Possible Medical Problems
Everyone’s tongue feels coated at one time or another, especially after a few drinks, but a whitish, thick tongue is an indication of oral candidiasis, commonly known as oral thrush.
Oral thrush is caused by the same fungus that causes vaginal yeast infections in women. Candida albicans is a fungus that exists in your body in relatively small numbers. It can rapidly multiply to create oral thrush.
Treatment
Frequently, oral thrush strikes when your immune system has been disturbed in some way. This might be due to illness, to certain medications that can affect your immunity, such as antibiotics or corticosteroids, or to chemotherapy. If not treated, the infection can spread to the roof of your mouth as well as to the tonsils and esophagus. If you think you have oral thrush, see your doctor, who will recommend an antifungal prescription medication such as Mycelex tablets, which slowly dissolve in your mouth, or a nystatin mouth rinse, both of which should be used three to four times a day. Unlike a vaginal yeast infection, oral thrush is not caused by an underlying yeast infection, so home remedies such as drinking cranberry juice and eating yogurt are not effective.
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