4.10 Burning tongue
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agk's Library of Common Simple Emergencies

Presentation
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The patient is very uncomfortable with a 
burning sensation of the tongue or mouth. There 
may be xerostomia (reduced salivary flow), 
dental disease, geographic tongue, candidiasis 
or no visible explanation for the pain.

What to do:
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- Treat specific causative factors such as 
   candida infections or dental problems.
- Provide symptomatic relief with a one-to-one 
   mixture of Benadryl elixir and Kaopectate, 
   or prescribe viscous lidocaine.
- If the etiology is uncertain, refer the 
   patient for a comprehensive medical 
   evaluation.

Discussion
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Burning tongue or burning mouth symptoms are 
usually caused by xerostomia, candidiasis, 
other chronic infections, referred pain from 
the tongue muscles, dental disease, reflux of 
gastric acid, medications, noxious oral habits, 
blood dyscrasias, nutritional deficiencies, 
allergies, inflammatoriy disorders, psychogenic 
factors, or unknown causes. Geographic tongue 
results from loss of filiform papillae from 
patches on the dorsal surface of the tongue. 
The location of the patches may appear to shift 
over a period of weeks. It is usually not 
painful and does not require specific 
treatment.

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 from Buttaravoli & Stair: COMMON SIMPLE EMERGENCIES
 Longwood Information LLC 4822 Quebec St NW Wash DC
 1.202.237.0971 fax 1.202.244.8393 electra@clark.net
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