Why does my tongue have splits in it?

[izzymem]

Since i was about 11 I have always noticed my tongue to have splits in it. The are to the end part and are like gashes all over. I also have slight white patches which is from a candida problem. But i do not understand why I have splits in my tongue. Is my body lacking something?!?!?! Also have small red dots at the end??? help

[dot.hawkes]

I think that Gillian Mceeth woman says that splits on the top of your tongue are thru a lack of fresh fruit and veg in your diet. It must be a vitamin deficiency, go ask in a health food store and see your GP about the spots.

[Theland]

Anaemia - don't ignore this, it can lead to more serious conditions. Take iron rich foods, iron supplements, and vitamin C tablets to help you absorb the iron. But, talk to your GP soon.

[Ethel]

Lots of people have these splits, bumps, dots, ridges and so on and it is nothing to worry about.

Change in colour, texture and appearance of the tongue, lack of taste or 'funny' taste, or a persistent smelly coating of the tongue could be cause for concern, but everyones tongue is different, like a fingerprint.

No harm seeing the GP is you are really concerned though.

[Goodsoulette]

You could go to your GP to rule out serious problems. Do you smoke? Do you have digestive problems? (Candida suggests you do )Acid refulx will cause this.

Go to a Chinese herbal practitioner, the tongue is really important in their medical analysis, and can often tell what is wrong with you just by looking at your tongue. I strongly recommend it.

[badgerchops]

Izzy, i have almost the same thing. My split goes right down the middle of my tongue. If i apply pressure at the tip of my tongue you can see the definate split which is deep.

I have had people look at it before and i was told to change my diet slightly to see if i saw an improvement. i haven't noticed anything. It could be fruit because i do not eat much because i am allergic to apples, pears and grapes.

The thing is.. you have to live with it. its not like the crack will heal up now. i am 32 and i have had it since i was 14.

[samuel23]

I have splits all over my tongue. They don't hurt and they aren't really noticable unless I stick my tongue out. As a kid I always suffered from being very sensitive to strong flavours, mints, aniseed, vinegar, salty things, chilli, curry, etc would make my tongue really tingle.
I went to the doctor one day after eating some mustard (well I was only six or seven and kids do that sort of thing LOL) that made my tongue swell up. He told me that I have a condition known as 'exaggerated tongue' which means it is about ten times more sensitive than normal. Told me as long as I keep away from really strong flavours I'll be fine. Anyway, when I got to about 18 or 19 I started to notice that things that weren't absolutely fresh, like milk a couple of days old, or fish that wasn't really fresh, tasted a bit odd. The doc sent me to a specialist who told me that I wasn't unique (about 1 in 10,000 people suffer from some level of this) and he suggested that it was a benefit as I wouldn't ever get food poisoning as I'd be able to taste anything that was even the slightest bit 'off'. I have just had to learn to live with it, stick to milder flavours and avoid anything that I know for sure sets it off tingling.
Don't worry, if it doesn't hurt and the dots are always there it'll be part of this condition.