What Causes Redness In Tongue With Trouble Tasting And Dry Mouth?

Posted on Thu, 24 Mar 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 Answered on

Tue, 31 May 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I have a very red tongue and no sense of taste and a dry mouth

Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Dry mouth causes such symptoms, but what causes a dry mouth? Listed below

Detailed Answer:
Hello sir and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. The cause for the tongue redness and trouble tasting is the dry mouth. But the dry mouth itself is just a symptom and could be due to a list of conditions, which I shall share with you for your reference sir:

+Infections: Diabetes, anemia, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, mumps, HIV, Alzheimer's disease, etc.

+Side effect of medications: Pain killers, anti-obesity pills, anti-histamines, etc.

+Dehydration

+Surgical removal of salivary glands

+Nerve damage

+Smoking

+Chewing tobacco

+Radiation or chemotherapy

In my opinion, if you cannot relate to any of these causes, then dehydration could be the most likely cause. If you have hardly consumed any liquids a while before these symptoms appeared, then your presentation can be resolved simply by upping your fluid intake (at least 3 litres).

I hope you find my response both helpful and informative. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I am always here to help.

Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar