Treatment
Treatment is sometimes unnecessary and will usually go away but may affect another area of the tongue. While there is no known cure or commonly prescribed treatment for geographic tongue, there are several ways to suppress the condition, including avoiding foods that exacerbate the problem. Some individuals report relief from chewing mint leaves or sucking on a mint candy or gum during a flareup. Some people in the UK who have sensitivity to certain fruits, e.g., strawberries, tomatoes, pineapple etc., have been prescribed zinc supplements by health professionals, which has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the incidence of the condition. Some people affected by geographic tongue also report that taking vitamin B supplements causes the condition to go away temporarily. Steroid ointment may be applied topically for symptomatic patients. Triamcinolone Acetonide Dental Paste USP,0.1% can be applied to affected area at bedtime, and symptoms will cease by morning. Burning may also be reduced by taking antihistamines. The condition is usually asymptomatic and insignificant; persistent pain is rare. For some sufferers, Zinc lozenges can be used. Marked improvement should be evident after two days, relatively normal health in four days of treatment. Varying in the severity, doctors and dentists may prescribe anesthetic mouth rinses, pain relievers or zinc supplements.
Geographic tongue is not contagious.
Read more about this topic: Geographic Tongue
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child’s duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing. Neither will I administer a poison to anybody when asked to do so, nor will I suggest such a course. Similarly, I will not give to a woman a pessary to cause abortion. I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art.”
—Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 B.C.)
“If the study of all these sciences, which we have enumerated, should ever bring us to their mutual association and relationship, and teach us the nature of the ties which bind them together, I believe that the diligent treatment of them will forward the objects which we have in view, and that the labor, which otherwise would be fruitless, will be well bestowed.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)