Geographic Tongue from CPAP?

Recently, I noticed some red patches on my tongue which look like the papillae have been rubbed off. I think I might have geographic tongue which is strongly correlated with (but not necessarily caused by) a fungal infection of Candida. Anybody get this after being on CPAP? I am two years into it and just noticed this now. I'm fairly certain I've never had this before CPAP.

Lately, I have noticed that my mouth is dry (with no leaks) and I keep my tongue plastered to the roof of my mouth with the help of my PAPCap. You can also see the scalloped edges of my tongue, which I feel is far too large for my mouth. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Password for images is: swiftfx



(Enhanced the 2nd image for contrast)

Sounds as if it is from your tongue drying out. No doubt keeping your mouth closed and the increased pressure is contributing to that. Aging also does not help. Sorry, dude. Those things happen.

You might want to try Biotene to help moisten your mouth before you go to sleep:

http://www.biotene.com/

Hope that helps.

JohnBFisher wrote:Sounds as if it is from your tongue drying out. No doubt keeping your mouth closed and the increased pressure is contributing to that. Aging also does not help. Sorry, dude. Those things happen.

You might want to try Biotene to help moisten your mouth before you go to sleep:

http://www.biotene.com/

Hope that helps.

Will do. I gotta stop by Rite-Aid tonight anyway. Thanks!

Saw my doc yesterday. The white coating on my tongue couldn't be scraped off. She definitely confirmed thrush. Bystatiin rinse is working quickly. I also got some Biotène toothpaste. My question is: Do I want more or less humidity on my CPAP at night? I'm thinking more to help prevent dryness.

Thx!

Geographic tongue is not "correlated with a candida infection", but such an infection can appear like geographic tongue. I've had a geographic tongue all my life--it's an inherited and benign genetic trait. My mom had it and one of my daughters as well. The only problem we experience is that acidic foods can be irritating.

It's often mistaken for various conditions. They tried to kick my little one out of nursery school because of her "tongue lesions" when hand, foot, mouth disease was going around, but she'd already had it! I had to educate the staff about geographic tongue.

Some of the patterns can be amusing--looks like crop circles sometimes!

I guess you will have to stop licking the baby clean!

BlackSpinner wrote:I guess you will have to stop licking the baby clean!

ROTFL!!!

(The baby IS adorable...and so clean looking.)

Does your Doc have you on any of the dry inhalers for COPD or other lung problems. Mine did. It is called Thush if you are inhaling any of that CR*P, get your Doc to write a script for the antifungals that kills Candida. Not serious in someone your age, but very annoying. Especially if its down in your throat...that nasty noise to clear your thoat is bad, but OMG for the people around you.

I just finished a course of medication to clear thrush which came about from nasal sprays. Are you using any sprays? If so, you may want to drink some water afterwards to flush your throat.

Agreed, Thrush can easily be caused by a combination of nasal or oral steroids (such as for asthma or allergies) and either a bout of a bad cold, or use of antibiotics. Both knock down the good bacterial in your throat and allow the bad stuff (in this case a kind of fungus) not affected by the antibiotic to flourish. The bad stuff gets bolstered by the steroid when you don't have the good bacteria there to keep it in check.

It can happen without the antibiotics as well, sometimes the balance is just off a bit.

The good news is that it wouldn't be impacted by a dry mouth, as both the flora and fauna would get wiped out in the absence of moisture =) So yes, it's a bad thing, but probably unrelated to the CPAP.

NOTE: I am not a doctor, just a guy who has asthma and uses inhaled steroids and had to sit through this lecture from my doc on a few occasions. Follow your doctor's advice before mine =)

Sorry that should have read Nystatin rinse in my last post, which seems to be helping. Not using any sprays or inhalers at all. However, my doc and I are in the middle of investigatiing a possible autoimmune/inflammatory process happening with me. My doc was under the impression that my tongue issue was NOT geographic tongue because I don't have the white demarkation lines/circles. However, I have found photos of geo tongue that look like mine.

I'm petrified that my immune system isn't working properly.

Your son is a lot cuter than your tongue!

Breathe Jimbo wrote:Your son is a lot cuter than your tongue!

This is quite true.

tattooyu wrote: My question is: Do I want more or less humidity on my CPAP at night? I'm thinking more to help prevent dryness.

I am hoping someone will address this question. I am having the same issues you are and also wonder about the humidity. I have turned mine up but have not seen a difference.

Jeanette

newhosehead wrote:

tattooyu wrote: My question is: Do I want more or less humidity on my CPAP at night? I'm thinking more to help prevent dryness.

I am hoping someone will address this question. I am having the same issues you are and also wonder about the humidity. I have turned mine up but have not seen a difference.

Jeanette

Jeanette, you have a fungal infection (thrush) on your tongue, too? The Nystatin rinse is starting to really help. But why did I get this in the first place?