White coating on tounge

Hi, Has anyone heard of or had a white coating on the tounge? I cannot seem to get rid of it. Brushing and scraping the tounge is not doing anything to remove it. About ready to call the doctor. Any help will be helpful. Thank you, Debbie K

Hi Debbie, I haven't had surgery yet but just yesterday I was searching the web and a white tongue was a sign of dehydration. You should look it up for yourself just to make sure, but I believe you need more fluids. Diana

Thank you Diana, will get more fluids in. I am 3 1/2 weeks post-op and don't want to mess up the good work so far. Debbie K

That has been my experience as well with the white tongue. Try getting in more fluids and see if that helps. Maggie

Thank you Maggie, I talked with the nurse at the Dr office and they also suggested to up the fluids. Debbie K

Sounds like Thrush to me, call your doctor.

Thank you Lauren, Not to sound stupid, but what is Thrush? I will give the Dr another call. Debbie K

The only reason Thrush occured to me was because there are lots of illnesses going around right now and they can take many forms. for instance my son got strep throat and instead of me catching the normal strep throat I got beta-strep instead which effected my intestinal track and vaginal tracks. I caught strep there instead of in the throat. So with all of what I call the creaping krud going around you could have caught Thrush instead of say strep or a cold. So asking the doctor to look at it would not hurt. its a simple culture to find out what it is. there are pictures of it on the internet. Thrush is the widely used term for a common fungal infection caused by Candida albicans. Usually this takes the form of trivial vaginal or mouth infections, although it can affect the body more widely and seriously on rare occasions. Oral Thrush This may cause a sore mouth and throat, and as well as redness, it is characterised by white discharge on the surface. Babies, especially those being bottle fed, may suffer from this, as well as adults. Causes The cause is a fungus which is found widely in nature (Candida albicans), and indeed, is frequently present in the mouth and motions of people in good health. It seems that it is at periods when the defence mechanisms are down that it actually causes a problem. This can be when physically or mentally "run down", in women either pregnant or on the oral contraceptive pill, in diabetes and people either on steroids, or whose immune systems are suppressed. Antibiotics, which deplete the naturally occurring bacteria, which are useful to the body, as well as the invading bacteria which they are being used to treat, may disturb the natural balance of the body and lead to thrush developing.

I has that coating on my toung shortly after surgery and it was thru**** made my mouth taste like garbage!!!!! yech!! I would call the doc.

Thanks Denise, I've given the Dr a call and will see what he says. Thanks again Debbie K