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What Causes A White Coating On The Tongue Of A Teenager?
Question: Hi, my son, 15, has chronic swollen glands. enlarged circumvallate papillae, white coating on his tongue, headaches, swimmer's ear and sore body. He suffers from environmental allergies causing post nasal drip. He has had mouth infections on and off for 2 years now. The ent said it is infection of tongue base and tonsil fossas. He prescribed cortisone asthma pump to spray on the infected tissue. It did react to Vavirex, Nystatin etc but never cleared up. He has an iron deficiency.
Brief Answer:
The immunity of your child seems to be low
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through the mentioned complaints and have checked the attached image. The white coating on the tongue is due to a condition called candidiasis which occurs when our immunity is low. This is what is predisposing you to environmental allergies and viral infections which cause cough and cold. The tonsils are lymphoid organs which mediate the immune process but in such a case, the tonsils themselves might get infected and the ENT doctor should have remarked correctly. This same reason is the cause for the swelling around the circumvalate papillae. Cancer is unlikely to be the cause behind all these.
At the moment, the things to be done are:
* Ask your son to use Candid mouth paint thrice daily
* Steam inhalation
* Gurgling with lukewarm water multiple times a day
* Taking iron supplements for iron deficiency anemia
* Taking of plenty of green leafy vegetables since they contain plenty of dietary fibers
* Taking plenty of rainbow fruits and vegetables (colorful fruits and vegetables of all sorts) since they contain plenty of antioxidants
* Playing and rigorous physical activity for one hour daily
* Tonsillar surgery is no needed unless the frequency of infections is several times a year (>7) for at least a few years
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
The immunity of your child seems to be low
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone through the mentioned complaints and have checked the attached image. The white coating on the tongue is due to a condition called candidiasis which occurs when our immunity is low. This is what is predisposing you to environmental allergies and viral infections which cause cough and cold. The tonsils are lymphoid organs which mediate the immune process but in such a case, the tonsils themselves might get infected and the ENT doctor should have remarked correctly. This same reason is the cause for the swelling around the circumvalate papillae. Cancer is unlikely to be the cause behind all these.
At the moment, the things to be done are:
* Ask your son to use Candid mouth paint thrice daily
* Steam inhalation
* Gurgling with lukewarm water multiple times a day
* Taking iron supplements for iron deficiency anemia
* Taking of plenty of green leafy vegetables since they contain plenty of dietary fibers
* Taking plenty of rainbow fruits and vegetables (colorful fruits and vegetables of all sorts) since they contain plenty of antioxidants
* Playing and rigorous physical activity for one hour daily
* Tonsillar surgery is no needed unless the frequency of infections is several times a year (>7) for at least a few years
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your reply. What is Candid mouth paint?
He does not have tonsils anymore.
1. What is the benefit of steam inhalations?
2. Do you think gurgling with ozone enriched water could help. How many times a day?
3. Or colloidal silver?
4. How will we know if it could be from reflux? I am very worried that he has battled it for longer than 2 years already and I did not take it more serious.
5. Is the cortisone advisable? The ent seem to think that there is a 60% chance of healing. If not, he will have to cut away the infection which he says ia very painful procedure. That seems very drastic.
I appreciate your response.
He does not have tonsils anymore.
1. What is the benefit of steam inhalations?
2. Do you think gurgling with ozone enriched water could help. How many times a day?
3. Or colloidal silver?
4. How will we know if it could be from reflux? I am very worried that he has battled it for longer than 2 years already and I did not take it more serious.
5. Is the cortisone advisable? The ent seem to think that there is a 60% chance of healing. If not, he will have to cut away the infection which he says ia very painful procedure. That seems very drastic.
I appreciate your response.
Brief Answer:
Questions answered one by one
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back.
1. In steam inhalation, water vapor is inhaled. Water in the form of vapor can reach deep inside and can help in diluting the cough and can thus provide relief.
2. & 3. Ozone enriched water is just a marketing gimmick and a meaningless thing if you have some sense of chemistry. No clinical trials have proven it to be useful. I would not recommend it. Same about colloidal silver.
4. Reflux could indeed be a cause. But it would not increase the propensity of catching cold and post nasal drip.
5. Cortisone will bring down the local inflammation but may worsen the infection. In short, cortisone may be used for short spans (few days) if required but I would not recommend a long term use. It can provide short term relief.
Discuss with the ENT doctor whether he feels in favor of the justification of a surgical removal of the tonsils. I do not understand what you mean by 'he does not have tonsils anymore.' Do you mean that they have already been removed surgically?
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Questions answered one by one
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back.
1. In steam inhalation, water vapor is inhaled. Water in the form of vapor can reach deep inside and can help in diluting the cough and can thus provide relief.
2. & 3. Ozone enriched water is just a marketing gimmick and a meaningless thing if you have some sense of chemistry. No clinical trials have proven it to be useful. I would not recommend it. Same about colloidal silver.
4. Reflux could indeed be a cause. But it would not increase the propensity of catching cold and post nasal drip.
5. Cortisone will bring down the local inflammation but may worsen the infection. In short, cortisone may be used for short spans (few days) if required but I would not recommend a long term use. It can provide short term relief.
Discuss with the ENT doctor whether he feels in favor of the justification of a surgical removal of the tonsils. I do not understand what you mean by 'he does not have tonsils anymore.' Do you mean that they have already been removed surgically?
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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