From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, a healthy tongue should appear as “pale red with thin white coating”. In daily life, we often notice that many babies have thick tongue coatings. The tongue coating of babies can reflect their health status, especially newborns, who often have issues with spleen and stomach disharmony that require parents’ timely attention and treatment.
For babies still in the breastfeeding stage, milk residues left after nursing are also a common cause of white tongue coating. This situation is quite normal and usually does not require special treatment; it will naturally improve over time. If parents are concerned, they can gently wipe the baby’s mouth after nursing.
Babies who start consuming formula milk may sometimes show signs of internal heat or constipation. Most formula milks on the market contain additives, and babies may have a more sensitive digestive system after initial contact with formula milk, requiring some time for adaptation. Constipation not only affects the baby’s comfort but also makes the tongue coating appear whiter. It is recommended to dilute the formula milk by adding more water to avoid it being too thick. Lightly massaging the baby’s abdomen after feeding can help promote intestinal peristalsis and accelerate digestion.
Some babies with white tongue coatings may have gastrointestinal problems or weakened constitution due to long-term illness. If a baby’s tongue coating is not only thick but also has irregular textures or even a geographic tongue appearance, along with symptoms like picky eating, preference for cold foods, kicking off the blanket while sleeping, restlessness, easy sweating, and yellowish complexion, the diet should be light, avoiding fried or grilled foods. Providing more vegetables, green leafy vegetables, a moderate amount of millet or Job’s tears porridge with some lean meat can help the baby’s body recover.
In addition to physiological adjustments, a common misconception among parents in feeding is forcefully feeding a child. In reality, a child’s unwillingness to eat at times may be due to partially undigested food in the stomach and lack of appetite. Faced with a child’s refusal to eat, parents should not excessively intervene but allow the child to seek food when truly hungry. As children age, they will gradually develop regular eating habits without the need for excessive pressure.
