Why do I have a yellow coated tongue? What does it mean and what causes the yellow film, stuff, coat or color? Discover more including causes, treatments, in baby, in toddler, in HIV and cancer patients and much more including Chinese medicine insight on this tongue condition.
A yellow tongue (coating, film, residue, layer or stuff) is temporary and harmless discoloration that makes its surface appear this color.
According to Mayo Clinic, it “is an early sign of a disorder known as black hairy tongue” and rarely a symptom for jaundice characterized by a yellowing of the skin and eye whites due to gallbladder or liver problems. Besides this cause, the other causes we will discuss later could also be responsible too.
This problem affects both adults and children (infants, toddlers or newborn babies) and it seems to affect some women particularly when they are pregnant, i.e., yellow coating tongue while or during pregnancy probably associated with hormonal changes.
Depending on the causes in your case, it could be accompanied by various symptoms. These symptoms include a dry mouth, bad taste in and burning sensation. Some people have a fever, sore throat, bumps (little bumps), a cold, bad breath (halitosis), red dots on the tongue, among other symptoms.
The problem could affect the various part of your tongue, i.e., you could have the discoloration on back, sides, under or even at the tip of the tongue. Sometimes, your gums, roof of the mouth, inside cheeks, and other parts of your mouth might turn to this color.
Finally, this discoloration tends to be common in the morning when you wake up, i.e., yellow tongue in the morning. It could also be yellow-green, yellow-white or orange. The problem can also be present at night or always. It all depends on what could be behind it.
Your tongue can tell you a lot about your general health, i.e., whether it is smooth, has map-like patches (geographic tongue), is wrinkled, scalloped, has bumps, is white, is hairy, is yellow, etc. So, what does having a yellow coated tongue means or what causes this problem?
The most common cause is dead skin and food buildup on papillae (the small projections on its surface) especially if the papillae get enlarged, swollen or rough.
This, coupled with colored pigments that bacteria or yeast in your mouth might produce can cause a yellowish tongue that may be swollen, i.e., “black, hairy tongue develops when dead cells build up on the papillae, inviting bacteria, yeast, and food to become trapped in them” [goaskalice.columbia.edu].
The black furry tongue or lingua villosa nigra is not always black as the name suggests. It can have white, brown, purple, tan, green or orange color shades, especially at its initial stages. When your yellow coated is due to the lingua villosa nigra, you are likely to have other symptoms such as:
Furthermore, having naturally long papillae can trap dead cells which can also get stained with various substances such as tobacco, food, etc. making your tongue’s surface appear yellow.
It is common to have a yellow film tongue after antibiotic especially after using antibiotics such as amoxicillin, ampicillin, doxycycline monohydrate, etc.
This is due to the shift of the right balance of oral microbes (yeast and bacteria) or what is referred to natural flora balance in your mouth. This change gives a conducive environment for the thriving of harmful yeast responsible for the color.
Excessive growth of bacteria in the mouth, especially the “gas-emitting bacteria on the tongue and below the gum line” [scientificamerican.com] are often known to cause the white or yellow tongue and bad breath. This is closely related to the lingua villosa nigra.
The type of mouth care product, especially mouthwashes can cause a color change. For instance, “regular use of mouthwashes containing oxidizing agents, such as peroxide, or astringent agents, such as witch hazel or menthol’’ [sharecare.com] is known to cause yellowish color.
Although rare, jaundice could also lead to not just a the tongue but also yellowing of your skin and eye whites. This color change is due to excess bilirubin, “yellow-colored pigment of red blood cells” [mayoclinic.org]. Jaundice has a high prevalence in newborns and infants but can also affect adults.
According to breakingmuscle.com, “a thick yellow coat in the back of your tongue might be an early sign of a urinary tract infection, while the same coat on the front section of your tongue is more likely an upper respiratory issue.”
It is possible to have a sore tongue with a yellow film after piercing, tooth extraction or after tonsillectomy.
The discoloration should last for two to three days, and it is associated with inflamed papillae, the cleaning agents used after these procedures or having other infections especially oral thrush.
However, if you have yellowish or green discharge, it is an indication you have a bacterial infection.
One of the signs that some people have when they suffer from “post-nasal drainage is if they develop a white or yellowish colored film or coating on the top or dorsum of their tongue” [breathcure.com] and bad breath.
Postnasal drainage is a condition where someone produces excessive mucus by nasal mucosa, and it accumulated on the back of the nose and throat. This problem is due to diseases and disorders such as rhinitis, acid reflux, allergy, swallowing disorders, sinusitis, among others.
Scarlet fever is known to cause a rough or coarse rash on various parts of the body including trunk, limp and face. It also creates red bumps on the tongue as well as a yellowish-white coat or film. When the film pills, it may end up having a strawberry color (red and beefy).
There are many other reasons. Others include:
These are just but a few of thick yellow coating or plague on the tongue. There are many others, some of which we will discuss in what follows.
Chinese medicine has a way of interpreting this tongue discoloration concerning your general health, weather condition or cause.
To be able to understand what any tongue discoloration means in Chinese medicine, you need to have some knowledge of how Chinese medicine works.
Oral thrush (also known as oral candidiasis) is a possible cause. When Candida albicans, a fungus which usually is in your mouth lining overgrows, it can cause some symptoms which include creamy yellowish or white lesion on your tongue, inner cheek, “roof of your mouth, your gums or tonsils, or the back of your throat” [mayoclinic.org].
This coating often brushes off and might cause slight bleeding when you scrape it off.
Oral thrush is common in babies especially infants or newborns as well as older adults.
However, it can affect anyone, and it is likely to have other symptoms such as soreness (burning sensation), redness, cottony mouth feeling, inability to taste, cheese-like bumps, among others which can help you determine whether it is thrush or not.
Is there a yellow tongue HIV connection or it is just a fallacy? No. This is a rare sign or symptom of HIV or AIDS that is not specific to having HIV.
When you have HIV, the coating is often caused by certain types of oral disease since you have compromised immunity or weakened long after diagnosis (not in early stages). One such common infection is oral thrush that can make your tongue to appear white, yellow or other colors.
Sometimes you can have white or yellow sore spots on your tongue. These spots can be painful blisters, injury swellings or swollen papillae (small, little or tiny raised bumps that have taste buds).
They are often due to infections such as canker sores, cold sores (oral herpes and not the genital herpes STD), swollen buds, allergic reactions, tobacco use, dental appliances, tongue piercing, or any other infection.
When you have them, they can make it sore and or make swallowing difficult. If you mainly see yellow ulcers on your tongue, they are most likely to be canker sores especially if they have a red border while the inside is white or yellow.
These spots or bumps can affect children, toddlers, newborns, infants or adults and they can be on any part. Depending on the cause, do not be surprised if the yellow spots on your tongue come with other symptoms such as a sore throat, fever or cold.
We have seen many causes of yellow gunk, buildup, coating or film. Some people often get afraid of thinking it might be oral cancer.
However, cancer is the least likely cause of this problem unless you have other evident oral cancer symptoms.
Sometimes, you could be having this tongue discoloration may occur together with a sore throat. This could also have various symptoms such as an earache, swollen glands, cough, fatigue, bad breath, yellow mucus, sores, and stuffy nose. Some of the common cause of a sore throat and a yellow tongue include:
This condition is due to a bacteria known as streptococcal often found on tonsils and throat.
Its symptoms include high fever, pain in swallowing, severe sore throat, swollen lymph nodes (or glands) and tonsils as well as white and yellow spots often at the back of your tongue and on tonsils.
Mono is a viral infection commonly referred to as mono or kissing disease. Saliva transmits it.
Symptoms are often in adolescent, and young adults, as opposed to children, they include fever, fatigue, skin rash, headache, swollen lymph nodes, a sore throat and “tonsils become swollen and develop a whitish-yellow covering” notes the State of Ohio University.
Other causes include allergic reactions, oral or throat cancer, inflamed tonsils and adenoids, postnasal drainage (causes yellow mucus or film on the tongue and sore throat), sinus infections, among other conditions.
If you suffer from a yellow under the tongue, some of the common causes include biliary colic, alcoholic hepatitis, hepatitis A and B, mononucleosis, viral hepatitis, gallbladder disease, gallstones, and Epstein Barr infection.
Besides sickness such as Jaundice in children, sickle cell anemia, cirrhosis, are the other uncommon cause.
Having a small yellow bump or sores under tongue could be an indication of canker sores while a lump could indicate oral cancer or swollen salivary glands or stones.
In babies (newborns, infants or toddlers), it can be caused by many things including oral thrush (the most common). Others that can cause this problem include acid reflux, canker sores (if the baby is unable to breastfeed since canker sores are painful white or yellow ulcerative spots in the mouth), among others.
Newborns, infants or babies too can develop black hairy or hairy tongue which will be accompanied by bad breath, itchy or burning sensation,
In most instances, treatment will involve good self-care since the condition is harmless. The most effective way to handle this issue is by dealing with the underlying cause. Some of the treatments or remedies that often help include the following:
If you are not sure about the cause yours, it is advisable to see a doctor for further help. Sometimes a differential diagnosis might help uncover what could be behind it since as we have seen, there are many possible causes.
If you have a yellow tongue always and it persists even after trying the various treatments and remedies, it is a good idea to see a doctor especially if the white part of your eye turns yellow and or your skin, see a doctor since it might be an indication you have jaundice.
