Courtesy: Alexa Mae Asperin (KRON)
A 55-year-old woman involved in a car crash developed an unusual infection: “black hairy tongue.”
According to a report recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the woman was in a car crash where she sustained severe injuries to both her legs.
Doctors from Washington University in St. Louis say when she developed an infection in her leg, she was treated with two antibiotics, including minocycline and meropenem.
A week later, that’s when doctors noticed her tongue had turned black and hairy.
The infection is characterized by an enlargement of little bumps on the tongue called “filiform papillae,” which turn a brown-black color, causing the tongue to look like it has sprouted fur, according to the NEJM.
Researchers say within four weeks of stopping the minocycline, the woman’s tongue returned to its normal color.
Black hairy tongue can reportedly be caused by several things including tobacco use, irritating mouthwashes, poor oral hygiene, and antibiotic treatments particularly tetracyclines.
The World Journal of Gastroenterology estimates that less than 11 percent of people will ever experience a black hairy tongue.
