My 5 month old grand daughter has a discoloration of black towards the back of her tongue. She has no sores in her mouth, and exhibits no signs of cold or flu. She has not had access to anything black to eat. She is on soy formula and has been eating baby food for about 4 weeks. She is a healthy 21 lbs. Should I be concerned?
Hi. Welcome to Chat Doctor . I have gone through your query and can understand your concerns. As per your complaint it seems that blackish discoloration on the tongue of 5-month-old is most commonly due to poor oral hygiene maintenance that leads to abundant deposits of food debris and also bacteria and fungal overgrowth over the tongue leading to formation of a dark coating over the tongue. It is a condition called Black Hairy Tongue. It is however harmless and can be gradually removed if proper oral hygiene and cleaning of tongue is done. You should start cleaning her tongue using a soft toothbrush. Give her solid foods to eat. Use a tongue scraper to gently clean her tongue. Feed with plenty of water. If she tugs and pulls her ear again and again then there must be probably infection still present in ear and for this consult a Pediatrician and get evaluated and get a proper ear examination done so that she can be advised antibiotics oral as well as ear Chat Doctor. . Hope this information helps. Thanks and regards.