# Does your tongue smell? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089 "2016-12-07T03:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/1 "2016-12-07T03:42:31Z")
Odd question, I know. I recently had a minor bout of thrush in my mouth. I didn’t know I had it until I went to the doctor for my ears feeling “full”. He figured the thrush was causing some blockage in my eustachian tube. It was interesting, because I had noted a weird taste in my throat as well (not a bad taste, just different, actually kinda nice in a way). Anyway, I took medication to clear it up. I _think_ it’s all clear, but that taste is still there, though my ears are fine, and otherwise no issues. This is where it gets weird: I’m worried about my breath. If I touch my tongue with my left index finger, the finger smells. If I touch my tongue with my right index finger, it doesn’t smell. And of course, I don’t recall ever smelling my finger after touching my tongue before I had the thrush. :smack: So, all of you, if you touch your tongue, does your finger smell? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/2 "2016-12-07T04:01:13Z")
Did you consider that your left index finger smells? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/3 "2016-12-07T04:17:48Z")
My nose smells. My tongue tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/4 "2016-12-07T06:26:15Z")
Get a tongue scraper, a WaterPik and some dental floss. Most people’s mouth’s don’t smell that great if you really analyze it. Your mouth is a bacterial cesspool that can easily get out of whack and foul smelling especially if medication disrupts the ecosystem. It is easy to correct simple dental hygiene issues with the tools listed as long as you use them consistently but chronic gum disease is a greater concern. Most adults have some degree of gingivitis and that can only be addressed by professional deep cleanings. It only takes a $2 tongue cleaned to scrape that crap off. Repeat as necessary. WaterPiks can pressure wash your mouth even in between surfaces. Dental floss can get where the WaterPik can’t even reach. When your mother said you had a potty mouth, she wasn’t kidding but not not for the reasons she claimed. The human mouth is disgusting and sensitive. It takes some effort to make it consistently fresh. ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/5 "2016-12-07T09:34:29Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > My nose smells. My tongue tastes. A: My dog has no nose. B: How does he smell? A: Awful! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/6 "2016-12-07T11:31:39Z")
My tongue doesn’t smell, but my eyebrows sure taste weird when I lick 'em. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/7 "2016-12-07T12:02:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Get a tongue scraper, a WaterPik and some dental floss. Most people’s mouth’s don’t smell that great if you really analyze it. Your mouth is a bacterial cesspool that can easily get out of whack and foul smelling especially if medication disrupts the ecosystem. It is easy to correct simple dental hygiene issues with the tools listed as long as you use them consistently but chronic gum disease is a greater concern. Most adults have some degree of gingivitis and that can only be addressed by professional deep cleanings. > > It only takes a $2 tongue cleaned to scrape that crap off. Repeat as necessary. WaterPiks can pressure wash your mouth even in between surfaces. Dental floss can get where the WaterPik can’t even reach. > > When your mother said you had a potty mouth, she wasn’t kidding but not not for the reasons she claimed. The human mouth is disgusting and sensitive. It takes some effort to make it consistently fresh. I did get a tongue scraper and not only scrape my tongue morning and night, but also brush it (as well as floss at night and brush morning and night). But seriously, I know al spit kinda smells, but I can’t tell if mine is different in a bad way or not. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/8 "2016-12-07T12:21:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > My tongue doesn’t smell, but my eyebrows sure taste weird when I lick 'em. How YOU doin’? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/9 "2016-12-07T13:39:31Z")
Ok, if everyone could please swipe their left index finger on their tongue and smell the finger, then do the same with their right index finger, then I think I could get to the bottom of this very serious, very important issue. You’re my _top people_ everyone. So please consider that Top People are working on this issue right now… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/10 "2016-12-07T13:46:43Z")
How can you possibly think this is a problem with your tongue, when it manifests differently depending on the finger you use? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/11 "2016-12-07T14:08:43Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > How can you possibly think this is a problem with your tongue, when it manifests differently depending on the finger you use? Weird, isn’t? Left hand finger smells good right now. Swipe tongue = smell. Right hand finger smells good right now. Swipe tongue = no (or faint) smell. Aliens? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/12 "2016-12-07T15:13:24Z")
So left hand has something on it that smells when it is made wet. How is this not obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/13 "2016-12-07T15:14:49Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > My tongue doesn’t smell, but my eyebrows sure taste weird when I lick 'em. I know a way we could _make_ it smell… ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/14 "2016-12-07T17:55:57Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > So left hand has something on it that smells when it is made wet. How is this not obvious? But over the course of 3 weeks now? I was joking about aliens, but obviously it is aliens. They must be putting my left index finger somewhere when I sleep at night. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/15 "2016-12-07T20:43:55Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > But over the course of 3 weeks now? > > I was joking about aliens, but obviously it is aliens. They must be putting my left index finger somewhere when I sleep at night. What else is different when you do your test? Are you touching a different side of your tongue? Are you smelling your finger with a different nostril? If nothing else is different, but the outcome has a difference, then the thing that _is_ different (your left vs right finger) is the cause of the difference. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/16 "2016-12-07T21:41:03Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > What else is different when you do your test? Are you touching a different side of your tongue? Are you smelling your finger with a different nostril? > > If nothing else is different, but the outcome has a difference, then the thing that _is_ different (your left vs right finger) is the cause of the difference. It’s actually very strange. BUT, my real question was whether a tongue is supposed to smell. It’s one of those things I never thought of before, and now that I’ve had a fungal infection in my throat, I find myself concerned whether my breath stinks. I can do the 'ole breath into cupped hand thing, but I smell nothing. I swiped a paper towel over my tongue and there’s no smell. But my finger? P.U.! This leads me to believe that my mouth smells like the ass end of a dead cow (or horse). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/17 "2016-12-07T23:51:51Z")
Of course. What else could it be? ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/18 "2016-12-08T01:00:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Of course. What else could it be? Aliens! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/19 "2016-12-08T06:55:11Z")
I think it must be. If I touch my tongue, your finger smells, but only the left one. ---
**Author:** ![OleOneEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f14d63/32.png) [@OleOneEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleOneEye)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089/20 "2016-12-08T07:57:58Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I swiped a paper towel over my tongue and there’s no smell. What about toilet paper? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-tongue-smell/774089.md?page=2)