Why is the baby's tongue black?

The oral health of babies is very important and is an issue of great concern to parents. If the baby has any disease, it is likely to show up on the tongue. The tongue of a healthy baby is pink in color and looks tender and pink. However, some parents find that their baby's tongue is black. So, what is going on if a baby’s tongue turns black?

Some mothers may encounter the phenomenon of their baby's tongue turning black, which can scare mothers. Most of them think that the baby has some serious illness. So what is the matter with the baby's tongue turning black?

If a mother finds that her baby's tongue is black, she should first think about whether the baby has eaten food or medicine that can easily stain the tongue black, such as sour plums, black sesame paste, etc. Medicines such as compound licorice tablets and iron supplements can also easily stain the tongue black, but this is only a temporary phenomenon and will return to normal after a while. Mothers do not need to worry too much.

Black tongue may indicate gastrointestinal dysfunction

If the baby's tongue turns black and is accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, constipation, nausea, and poor appetite, it is the gastrointestinal dysfunction that causes the black tongue coating. Generally, when the bowel movement is smooth and the internal heat subsides, the black coating will also disappear. After the black coating disappears, the appetite will also improve. Moreover, gastrointestinal dysfunction is also one of the symptoms of poisoning. Due to the stimulation of bacterial toxins, gastrointestinal dysfunction causes the pH value of oral saliva to decrease, which increases the adhesion between tongue cells and lengthens the keratin protrusions of the filiform papillae, making them easily stained black by microorganisms, forming black fur.

Black tongue may be caused by inflammation or infection

You should know that various inflammatory infections can also cause the baby's tongue to turn black, including pneumonia, pyelonephritis, gangrenous appendicitis, peritonitis, cholecystitis, lower limb phlebitis, suppurative osteomyelitis, pelvic inflammatory disease and sepsis. Infection, high fever, toxic stimulation and other factors can cause the filiform papillae of the tongue to proliferate excessively, and then be stained black by microorganisms, and the brown-black keratinized cells unique to black tongue coating appear, making the tongue dry, yellow and burnt.