Blueish tongue

Question

Should one be worried when one repeatedly has blueish discoloration of the tongue?
Is this a sign of shortage of oxygen? Can it occur in young children? Is it part of CF?

Answer

Dear questioner
Children and adults with an oxygen deficit (low oxygen saturation in the blood) can have a blueish coloration of the lips, the tongue, the mucosae and the fingers.
There is not really a strict correlation between oxygen desaturation and turning blue. This indeed also depends on the amount of red blood cells in the circulation. Mostly when there is blue discoloration, especially when it is seen by lay people, it will be a sign of serious decrease in oxygen content. Especially when not only the lips and the finger tips but also the tongue is blue. By just peripheral cooling (in a cold environment) one could see blueisch discoloration of the finger tips and the lips, without the tongue and other central parts of the body turning blue.

In case of CF, when the disease is advanced, shortage of oxygen can occur. This can be present chronically in a very ill patient, or happen acutely as the consequence of a complication such as a pneumothorax. In that case there will also be pain, rapid breathing and difficulty in breathing.

So as you can read blueish discoloration of the tongue without any other complaint would be rather unusual. Peripheral cooling with blueish lips and fingertips is more common.

Of course we do not give specific advice here. In case you are worried about that type of symptom you should talk to your doctor.

Prof. Kris De Boeck

03.05.2012