How to differentiate tongue cancer? Patients need to pay attention to their diet

Usually, people suffer from tongue cancer due to environmental factors. If people find that their tongue movement function is limited and they have symptoms of difficulty swallowing, they need to go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible and make a differential diagnosis of tongue cancer. So, what are the differential diagnosis methods for tongue cancer?

Differential diagnosis of tongue cancer:

1. Traumatic ulcer

It is more common in the elderly, and is prone to occur behind the lateral edge of the tongue. There is often an irritant in the corresponding area. The ulcer is deep, with a gray-white pseudomembrane on the surface and a soft base. It can heal on its own after the irritant is removed.

2. Tuberculous ulcer

Most cases occur on the back of the tongue, and occasionally on the tip and edge of the tongue. The ulcer is superficial, purple-red, with irregular edges, and appears as a rat-bite-like insidious lesion with a small mouth and a large bottom, with no infiltration at the base. Patients often have a history of tuberculosis.

Once tongue cancer is identified, in addition to proper treatment, more attention should be paid to diet. Things to note about tongue cancer patients’ diet:

1. Avoid smoking and drinking. Smoking and drinking are not only detrimental to the patient's recovery, but also harmful to the normal body.

2. Avoid fried, smoked, pickled, grilled, moldy and other high-calorie and high-fat foods.

3. Do not eat sticky, greasy, hard and difficult to digest foods, as they will increase the burden on the patient and be detrimental to later recovery.

4. You can eat more foods such as Poria cocos, yam, shiitake mushrooms, figs, radish, almonds, sea cucumbers, kelp, konjac, etc., which have certain anti-thyroid cancer functions.

5. You can eat more foods such as dried persimmons, asparagus, coix seeds, turtles, walnuts, mushrooms, etc., which can enhance immunity and improve body resistance.

Things to note when caring for patients with tongue cancer:

1. Observe whether the drainage tube is unobstructed to prevent it from falling off, twisting, or leaking. Record the color, quality, and quantity of the drainage fluid and report any abnormality in a timely manner.

2. Lie flat without pillow, tilt the head to the healthy side, and apply brake to the neck to prevent pulling the vascular pedicle of the pectoralis major muscle. 24 hours after surgery, the patient can sit in a semi-recumbent position, pat the back, and turn over frequently to prevent the occurrence of hypostatic pneumonia and bedsores, and keep the room temperature at 22-25℃.

3. Observe the survival of the skin flap after surgery and measure the temperature with a skin thermometer. If the skin flap is pale and the skin temperature is lower than 2-3 degrees 72 hours after surgery, it means insufficient arterial blood supply. If the skin flap is dark red and the skin temperature is lower than 3-5 degrees, it is mostly due to venous reflux obstruction.