Yesterday, Rachel came to me with a little problem. Her tongue was a little sore. She had me look at it. It was disgusting. Lauren described it best. It looked like it was balding. She had spots where there were no taste buds.
I called and left the pediatrician’s office a message. I needed an appointment for her ASAP. I was impressed that they called me back within the hour. We got her an appointment after work today.
Long story short….she has strep throat. But what led to that diagnosis is what freaked me out. It was her 
tongue!! She has what is called geographic tongue, aka benign migratory glossitis (or BMG).
I had never heard of it before. It is something that can’t necessarily be treated. It’s more of a nuisance that time will care for. But of course, I had to come home and check it out online.
I learned something very disheartening. BMG is common with people who have psoriasis. Psoriasis is known to be genetic. I have psoriasis. As if handing down fragile X wasn’t bad enough, lets slap on a topping of psoriasis. Talk about having some good genes….NOT!!!
For more info on all topics here are some links:
Genetic Disorders (with mentions of FXS and psoriasis)
I have that I and I don’t have psoriasis. Mine doesn’t look quite that bad, but it’s quite noticeable at times. I’ve always been told (by Eastern medicinal doctors) that it is a digestive issue and I need to stay away from certain foods.
Sorry to hear about the strep…yuck!
That’s interesting. I didn’t see anything about digestion issues. I’ll check into that too.
Yikes! I have never heard of that! My sister has severe psoriasis and actually is starting Remicade infusions today. But she doesn’t have BMG. Hope she feels better soon!
My sister has that.
Sorry to hear about the strep. I wish antibiotics were available OTC.
Poor thing…it looks uncomfortable. I hope she heals quickly!
Oh poor baby!!!
Wow I’m sorry to hear that. Like you haven’t been through enough right? I get strep at least 3 times a year so I know how painful that is. I’m sorry!!!
I have geographic tongue and I have found it always shows up in the middle of my “cycle” 1.5 weeks before and 1.5 weeks after my period. I read somewhere it has something to do with your zinc level and once i bought some zinc pills and it helped. It is no fun! But it is just part of my life! I also read it has something to do with allergies, asthma and eczema. My dad has eczema and i have allergies and asthma. So it makes sense. Hope she doesn’t get it too often!
I have geographic tongue. I just found out what it was called today. I only get it when i am pregnant. I have shown doctors previously while I was pregnant and they didnt know. It usually last my whole pregnancy. I have to do more research but I am a little more at ease knowing its not aids or some other infection. I will ask my new doctor what she thinks it is. I just wanted to add my thoughts on the issue. It is a little uncomfortable when I eat spicy foods but otherwise its not so bad besides the way it looks.
Hi there, I have geographic tongue, as well. My mom has psoriasis. I also have celiac disease and asthma. I’ve read a few things online that suggests that geographic tongue is a type of psoriasis, but I think the theory is relatively new.
My geographic tongue was really, really, bad before, to the point where I was embarrassed to talk, for fear someone might actually see my deformed tongue! I went to the doctor and he said it was geographic tongue and they don’t know what it is or what causes it. In addition to the geographic map on my enlarged and lopsided tongue, the teeth marks on it, etc., I told the doctor how my tongue would become irritated, and would swell up even more and turn bright red, if I ate any of the following: garlic, black pepper, and kiwi juice with seeds. He told me to stay away from those things and to avoid citrus.
Well, it turns out, that when I started my gluten-free diet for celiac disease, the geographic tongue cleared up completely! Now, I can eat citrus, garlic, black pepper, etc, no problem! The only thing now is that my tongue was left slightly larger than normal (so I have teeth marks on my tongue still, but not as bad as before), and I have fissures in my tongue still. But, that’s it. The geographic tongue returns only if I eat gluten.
So, I think a gluten-free diet would be worth trying… or, an elimination diet. I don’t buy the “it’s harmless” thing, because if the tongue is in that state, what else is going on in the body, down the digestive track, or elsewhere, that we can’t see? The special diet may do more good than clearing up an unsightly and painful tongue. I think it’s worth a try.
-Elle
Not a bad idea Elle. Her geographic tongue is gone now but I do wonder if diet could have helped her.
Wow, impressive tongue.
I have geographic tongue as well. I’ve had it since about first grade but it as never caused me any problems at all. I don’t have psoriasis and I don’t have allergies or acid reflux or anything else mentioned that may cause it, it just showed up one day
It has never hurt me to eat any foods although sometimes it itches and I have to scratch it on my teeth lol. I would not worry about it too much since I doubt it will do your daughter any harm, it’s just a nuisance because of its appearance. I actually find it kind of cool because it’s different and I’ve always loved the shock and awe factor that goes along with it. But anywhoo, don’t worry about it, those pesky little spots always go away on their own sooner or later. Good luck!
My 8 year old son has geographic tongue. I noticed it a few years back and brought it to the pediatricians attention at his yearly check-up. She siad it was nothing to be concerned about. Recently I noticed his tongue and decided to look into it further. When I found out that there seems to be a connection with psoriasis I freaked out just a bit but was not at all surprised. See psoriasis is an autimmune disease. Two of my brothers have it. I don’t, however, I do have three confirmed and a likely forth autoimmune disease[s]…..Multiple sclerosis, autoimmune hypothyroidism and vitiligo and possible antiphosphlipid syndrome. Long and short of it, I have kids with allergies and vitiligo and wonder what the unifying, underlying condition might be. After reading comment by Elle I plan to have my boys and myself tested for celiac disease. Thanks Elle! Jenny
My 6 year-old-son has geographic tongue. He’s had it since he was about 2 and a half. He also suffers from a severe peanut allergy. And I have psoriasis. In fact, I just found out that psoriasis and geographic tongue may be connected and I must tell you I freaked out. I am suffering from a stubborn scalp psoriasis that is hard to treat. It is extremely itchy and annoying.
My son’s tongue flares up when he gets sick. He often gets sick and has sinus problems. His doctor also tells us it’s “harmless” and that they “don’t know what causes it” but there has to be a reason why he gets geographic tongue every time gets sick. It has to do with his immune system, allergies, my psoriasis…
Please anyone has any suggestions fell free to share.
Thanks
I am absolutely debilitated by this condition. It is horrible and defeating. Everything I have tried has failed. Im afraid to kiss my girlfriend or even talk to her when i have it. Its starting to get worse as i get older. It used to be like 4 times a year.. now its constant. Always there. I cant stand this condition. It drives me completely insane. I am constantly treating it and its taken over my whole life. How has no one figured out how to treat this thing yet.
I have had geographic tongue for at least 15 years. My mother has Psoriasis on her scalp. I tried Nystatin oral suspention a couple of times, it never worked. I was genetically tested for vitamin deficiencies and it was discovered I had a serious Folic Acid defficiency. I had a friend with geographic tongue and he got a B12 shot and it cleared-up for several weeks/months. Any connection?? I don’t know. No real relief for me with prescription Folic Acid. Bummer. I can’t eat anything spicy and walnuts and pineapple inflame my tongue (all very painfull). I sure wish I could find a fix!
I have BMG. I think the biggest factor is stress. If I am stressing it won’t go away. (he “ME”, stop freaking
I kiss my wife and she has never gotten it. Other then being uncomfortable it has no affect on your life.
Just googled “Tongue Symtoms”, and this is what I have by the looks of it. I have a really bad cold at this current time which I’ve had for 6 weeks. Been to the doctors today and I’ve been given medicine for it, didn’t think to shed light on this, as before I assumed it was just a burn mark on my tongue. However noticed I have two marks now
Oh yeah, I also have Psoriasis… great genes ay? ha
I have had what I thought to be geogrphic tongue since I was a kid of ten.
Doctors (and dentists) are always fairly dismissive of it but sometimes it’s quite painful and always unsightly.
I have tried everything to rid myself of this, all to no avail I’m afraid. One doctor thought it was a yeast infection but anti-fungals (via a dropper) only stemmed the problem for a week or so.
I thought that a low B12 count could be the problem, and Vitamin B12 sublingually (under the tongue) at very high doses brought some initial relief but no long term benefit. Also yoghurt and probiotics seem to calm the rawness but never brought a cure.
My tongue often looks exactly like the picture ‘bmg jpg’ and people assume I am terribly ill with something but for the most part [thankfully] I feel pretty good!
I have allergies and alittle asthma and I am sure there is a link there. My allergy hospital said that BMG is very common with allergy sufferers and most probably connected to wheat, very difficult to prove of course but abstaining from wheat hasn’t worked for me.
Hot drinks and spicy food are real aggrivators and should be avoided.
Salt water helps but best of all for me after years os searching are humble over the counter Strepsils! Don’t know what’s in them but taken over a period of 3-4 days (@6-8 per day) things start to clear up which at least gives some respite. Hope this helps.
I also have Celiac disease and suffer from Geographic tongue. I had it for years and was also told by my doctor and dentist it was nothing, even though it looked horrible. However, it cleared up when I stopped eating gluten. If I am exposed to gluten now, 2-3 days later like clockwork my tongue will freak out. My gastroenterologist said that tongue problems of this sort are very common in people with Celiac disease. So get tested! A simple blood test is the first step.
Kate’s story is similar to mine! We both stopped eating gluten, and the geographic tongue went away. One note… if you’ve got geographic tongue, get tested BEFORE you stop eating gluten, otherwise, your test will come back negative. And, even if your results come back negative, try avoiding gluten for two weeks and see if it clears up. Lots of people are sensitive to gluten without having celiac disease. Gluten is linked to all sorts of auto-immune diseases.
To Rachel’s mom (sorry don’t know your name) re: comment to my post, “Not a bad idea Elle. Her geographic tongue is gone now but I do wonder if diet could have helped her.” Awesome! What did you do to make it go away?
I do occasionally get a few marks on my tongue. I get that if I eat dairy, which I avoid. And, now that I’m on a grain free diet (in additon to no gluten, also no rice or corn), my tongue is always a healthy pink. The gluten-free diet alone cleared up the geographic tongue to the point where it was no longer an issue (no pain and embarrassment) but there were slight marks from time to time. Taking the gluten out of my diet cleared it up 95% and avoiding dairy and possibly rice and corn took care of the other 5%.
I have had MBG since I was a kid… usually it will flare up if I eat too much grain foods, or pineapple, or just am stressed out. I think all these contribute to a little bit of imbalance in our systems, and thus this happens. the clear patches actually start as blisters, that you rarely see, and they burst and then your tounge sort of sheds. (Gross huh?) You never know it’s shedding because of how frequently you swallow and exfoliate it with food.
The best treatment I’ve found, is actually swishing with Listerine. It burns like heck, but afterwards your tounge heals much faster than any other remedy. Good luck!
I have geographic tongue. I am 38. In high school I never had it. All of a sudden, around age 32, I just got it!?! I hate it. It is not painful just a little irritating. Mostly it is just ugly as hell! I had no idea that there was even a name for it until I went to my dentist and he said “oh… you have geographic tongue. Do you mind if I let my assistant see because it is very rare and I would like for her to see it.” I felt like a freak. The dentist went on to say that only like 1% or 2% of the population has it.