trends in medical imaging From gruesome cuts and festering flesh to ruthless eruptions of other horrifying torments, gore and terror erupt. But as recent incidents in Ohio show, the most disturbing sights aren’t always the most serious illnesses. The man there developed completely benign symptoms. His prognosis was good. He soon made a full recovery. But for any observer, a terrifying glimpse of his mild illness can cause intense discomfort and lasting trauma.
According to reports, the man briefly developed an unusual condition in which a shaggy carpet of green fabric covered his tongue. report in the New England Journal of Medicine. (dare I say Here’s an image of a man’s tongue.) The thick, fluffy mat of dirty fur was a form of hairy tongue syndrome. The most common color for this condition is black, which is also very annoying. However, in exceptional cases, repulsive rugs can also appear tongue-colored, brown, yellow, blue and green.
Doctors were initially puzzled by the unusual coloration, but they assumed the vague rash was a yeast infection and prescribed an antifungal. But even after he was put on a series of drugs, his mouth growth remained in its glory. Doctors at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center later diagnosed him with hairy tongue syndrome.
So what is the cause of this language’s wickedness? And why are there different colors? Doctors don’t fully understand First confirmed in 1557. Centuries later, the main hypothesis is that some combination of oral disorders is preventing the upper layers of the tongue from completing its normal cycle of shedding old cells, a desquamation defect. This can cause epidermal debris to accumulate and form long, hair-like structures on the tongue.
color and texture
The tongue is usually covered with small projections called papillae. The tongue has four main types of papillae: filiform, fungal, foliate, and circumvallate. Filiform papillae appear to be most affected in hairy tongue syndrome. They are densely packed on the top of the tongue and are the only papillae that do not have taste buds. In terms of shape, filiform papillae are conical or cylindrical projections, on top of which are numerous filiform projections called secondary papillae. Small structures assemble to create the roughness of the tongue, increasing friction between the muscular organs and food, assisting in chewing and other functions.
With incomplete desquamation, filiform papillae, usually less than 1 mm in length, can reach lengths of 12-18 mm. The thick tangles of tongue fibers that form trap bacteria, fungi, and other debris. The inhabitants of these mats may contain pigmented food residues and colorful microbes, which are thought to give their bushy tongues their hue. However, to date, no specific microorganism has been identified as responsible for hairy tongue or color.
Even experts don’t know how the whole process starts, but there are clear patterns and connections in people who develop the condition. Hairy tongue is most common in men and is associated with older age, smoking, alcohol consumption, excessive coffee or tea consumption, poor oral hygiene, certain cancers, and the use of certain drugs (mostly antibiotics). Some combination of oral inflammation associated with these factors is thought to cause the technicolor nightmare coat of the tongue.
The cause remains a mystery, but the treatment is simple. This condition is generally benign and self-healing. Often there are no symptoms associated with it, but some people complain of nausea, vomiting, loss of taste, dry mouth, pain, and bad breath. No medication is usually required. Standard treatment includes reassurance, oral care recommendations, and avoidance of potential culprits such as smoking. It usually resolves in a few days to a few weeks.
In the case of the Ohio man, he was a 64-year-old smoker who had completed a course of antibiotics to treat a periodontal infection weeks before his tongue symptoms developed. Doctors advised him to quit smoking and brush his tongue four times a day to help the cells slough off. Six months later, the man’s tongue had returned to normal, but he had not stopped smoking.
This story was originally Ars Technica.
