Tongue Problem

Jagjit Singh Dalal; Monika Dalal

doi:https://

IMAGES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

TONGUE PROBLEM

Jagjit Singh Dalal^1,2, Monika Dalal^3,4.

¹Department of Pediatrics, Pt. B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Institute Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India,
²Department of Pediatrics, Deen Dayal Hospital, New Delhi,
³Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pt. B.D. Sharma Post Graduate Institute Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, India,
⁴Obstetrics and Gynecology, Deen Dayal Hospital, New Delhi.

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Dr. Jagjit Singh Dalal, H.NO.44, ST.NO.11, Jawahar Nagar, Hisar-125001 {Haryana}, India.
Email: drjagjitsingh@hotmail.com

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Spot Diagnosis

What is the diagnosis?

Geographical tongue. It is an inflammatory condition of the tongue affecting approximately 2 percent of the population. {1} Geographical tongue is typically seen less than four years of age but can occur in older children .Most children are asymptomatic but some complain of tenderness or pain with salty foods. Irregular smooth patches are seen on the tongue in pattern that changes from day to day .The cause is unknown .Geographic tongue is more common in psoriasis but most children { More than 90 percent} who have geographic tongue never develops psoriasis. No treatment is needed unless some foods cause discomfort in which case avoidance of those foods for a while is usually sufficient. If needed, topical corticosteroid can alleviate the symptoms. {2}

Conflicts of interest: None

References:
1. Jonathan AS, Phelan J, Kerr AR . Biology and Pathology of the Oral Mucosa. In Freedberg et al. Fitzpatrick`s Dermatology in General Medicine. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill. 2003: 1208
2. Philips R, Orcherd D, Starr M. Dermatology. In: Cameron P, Jelinek G, Everitt I, Browne GJ.eds. Text book of paediatric emergency medicine, 5th ed. Elsevier Health Sciences. 2006: 365

E-published: October 2010 Vol 7 Issue 10 Art No. 64