“Japanese Woman Develops Rare Black Hairy Tongue from Antibiotics: A Case Study”

2023-05-12 11:45:24

A woman who pioneered treatment for rectal cancer in Japan ended up with black fur on her tongue.

Black hairy tongue

A 60-year-old woman in Japan underwent treatment for rectal cancer about 14 months ago. He has been given the antibiotic minocycline as part of his treatment.

Minocycline is a common antibiotic used to treat everything from acne to pneumonia. The lady is taking 100mg of minocycline per day as prescribed by her doctors.

Credit: casereports.bmj

But the woman concerned was later diagnosed with black hairy tongue called BHT. According to doctors BHT means dark furred tongue, a benign reversible condition.

Also, it is caused by the deposition of many small concentrated dead skin cells in the papillae on the surface of the tongue containing the taste buds. A symptom of this disorder is,

Color change taste and

Tingling sensation in the back of the mouth, metallic taste, nausea, bad breath as well as color change and all related changes in taste can be felt.

After extensive investigations, the doctors confirmed that the use of the antibiotic minocycline was the cause of the black hairy tongue in the woman concerned.

Not only that, the doctors also reported that there was a change after 6 weeks of treatment. Although BHT is easy to diagnose and treat, it is very rare to see a tongue with black fur.

Affects men more

According to statistics taken by researchers around the world, the probability of having BHT is 1 in 1 million people. It is said to be almost 13% of the world population.

Also, this disease affects men more than women. Men are more likely to be affected by alcohol, tobacco and caffeine-based products than women, and are more likely to be affected.