The patient’s tongue turns ‘BLACK and hairy’ due to a rare reaction to a common antibiotic
- Unidentified woman in her 60s was diagnosed with ‘black hairy tongue’
- Doctors in Fukuoka, Japan revealed that it was caused by the use of minocycline
A cancer-stricken woman’s tongue turned black and hairy after a rare reaction to an antibiotic.
The patient, in her sixties and from Japan, took minocycline to counteract the side effects of her chemotherapy.
Doctors shared photos of her tongue in the Case reports in the British medical journal. They also claimed that she had developed gray skin on her face.
They revealed it to be “painful” and described it as being covered with a “brownish-black spot,” dotted with “hair-like” growths.
The woman, who was not named, was diagnosed with a “black hairy tongue” (BHT) – a harmless condition often caused by poor oral hygiene.
The woman in her 60s from Fukuoka in southern Japan gained a carpet of painful black and brown hair four months after switching to the drug. She was diagnosed with a ‘black hairy tongue’ (BHT) – a harmless condition often caused by poor oral hygiene. Doctors revealed it was caused by minocycline, which she was given to counter the side effects of her chemotherapy
But it can also be caused by antibiotics that change the number of bacteria in the mouth.
Doctors revealed that minocycline was to blame.
The date of the incident was not revealed in the case report of doctors at Fukuoka University in southern Japan.
The woman was battling rectal cancer and had started chemotherapy 14 months earlier.
A side effect of the drug she was taking is skin lesions, which is why she was given minocycline.
While it may look alarming, BHT is temporary and harmless.
The distinct appearance is usually caused by a buildup of dead skin cells on the papilla — small raised projections on the surface of the tongue that contain taste buds.
Tobacco, irritating mouthwashes, and certain antibiotics can cause it.
BHT has also long been documented in the medical literature as a side effect of several drugs, including erythromycin, minocycline, doxycycline, and penicillin.
Doctors switched the woman from minocycline to other drugs.
A follow-up appointment six weeks later revealed her facial pigmentation and BHT had “significantly improved,” medics said.