Imagine a tongue where the upper surface of the tongue turns black or brown in color and in some cases the papillae elongate (get longer). Doctors consider this to be an unsightly condition but not harmful. They call it black tongue. It can be extremely distressing and put a severe cramp on your social life. Many people with tongue problems become so self-conscious that they dont want to open their mouths in public and often begin restricting their social activities.

Another potential tongue problem is hairy tongue. This involves a lengthening of the tongue papillae, causing the tongue to appear hairy or furry. Again, this is not considered to be a harmful disorder, but does of course cause worry.

If your tongue looks like you have been chewing cotton, you might have candida or a yeast infection. Often a white, cottony coating on the tongue is one of the first signs that yeast is a problem. Other possible causes of this symptom can be local irritation, smoking, and alcohol use. In addition to a uniform white coated tongue, the tongue may be covered with white patches.

Fissures, furrows, or cracks are extremely common and if you begin watching for them you will start to see them everywhere. They are so common that some doctors consider them almost normal. They are not normal and something can be done, although it often takes a bit of effort.

Geographic Tongue is one of the more colorfully named tongue disorders. It is often associated with inflammation, or glostitus, and with psoriasis by some doctors.

Pigmented Tongue is a serious tongue condition as it is associated with an extremely rare disease called Addison's disease. Often by the time Addison's is discovered, it is too late. Possibly because it is so rare, most doctors have never seen a case of Addison's before.

Tongue Cancer is of course another serious condition, and is often associated with tobacco use.

A beefy enlarged tongue is fairly common and once again is not taken very seriously by the medical community. It can cause speech problems and other discomforts. Distended purplish veins under the tongue may be a symptom of a Vitamin B2 deficiency, poor circulation, or congestion.

Tooth marks or scallops around the edges of the tongue are another problem often considered a symptom of edema, or too much water being retained in the body.

There are quite a number of things that can go wrong with your tongue and although most of them are considered "minor" or "benign", they can be very irritating, disturbing, and possibly indicators of other conditions in the body that really should be addressed in order to obtain optimal health.

Hope for unhealthy tongues!

For more information and my recommended resource on treating the sorts of unhealthy tongue problems discussed above, visit my Geographic Tongue resource site.