Yellow tongue — a yellow discoloration of your tongue — is usually a temporary, harmless problem. Most often, yellow tongue is an early sign of a disorder known as black hairy tongue. Rarely, yellow tongue may be a sign of jaundice, a yellowing of the eyes and skin, which sometimes indicates liver or gallbladder problems.
Self-care is usually all that's needed to treat yellow tongue, unless it's related to another medical condition.
March 15, 2018
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- Goldstein BG, et al. Oral lesions. http://uptodate.com/home. Accessed Jan. 21, 2015.
- Wolff K, et al. Disorders of the mouth. In: Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2013. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Jan. 21, 2015.
- Longo DL, et al. Jaundice. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 18th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com. Accessed Jan. 21, 2015.
- Jaundice. The Merck Manual Professional Edition. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/hepatic_and_biliary_disorders/approach_to_the_patient_with_liver_disease/jaundice.html. Accessed Jan. 27, 2015.
- Geographic tongue. American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. http://www.aaomp.org/public/geographic-tongue.php. Accessed Jan. 27, 2015.
- Bruce AJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 9, 2015.
- Salinas TJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 9, 2015.