It seems that the strange case of a child in Canada who among other symptoms presented a surprising yellow tongue has initially revolutionized the scientific community , although after the pertinent analyzes, he has been diagnosed with a disease that, although it is very known, it may be surprising that it had a symptom that suddenly, the child’s tongue turned yellow.
The strange case of the boy who has a yellow tongue: This is what I’ve been through
The case of the boy with the yellow tongue has become known, following a report published on July 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine that recounted the case of a 12-year-old boy who went to the hospital after have a sore throat, dark urine , abdominal pain, pale skin and most surprising of all : a yellow tongue that had been suffering for days.
According to tests carried out at the Toronto hospital, the boy suffered from jaundice , a condition that often causes yellowing of the skin and eyes. However, in very rare cases, the ailment can also cause the tongue to turn bright yellow, as reported by The Mayo Clinic (a nonprofit organization for medical practice and research).
What is jaundice?
Jaundice occurs when a yellow chemical called bilirubin builds up in the body; This accumulates during the normal breakdown of red blood cells. According to medical evidence, the boy’s jaundice was caused by a rare series of events.
What diseases did the child have?
The boy started with an initial problem of anemia , which is a low red blood cell count, and also suffered from an infection due to the Epstein-Barr virus , which usually infects people in childhood. On the other hand, the little boy was also diagnosed with cold agglutinin disease, a rare autoimmune disease in which a person’s immune system attacks and destroys their own red blood cells.
This attack occurs in cold temperatures between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius. In fact, during the winter months, symptoms can get worse. Doctors suspect the Epstein-Barr infection triggered the boy’s cold agglutinin disease. After receiving a blood transfusion and receiving treatment with oral steroids for seven weeks, the child is already recovering and also doctors have reported that his yellow tongue has disappeared and has returned to the pink color that it usually has.
