What is Black Hairy Tongue?
By Tim McMahon, Author of Healthy Tongue Secrets Revealed
Black Hairy Tongue is a tongue problem characterized by a blackish or brownish discoloration or staining of the taste buds (filiform papillae) on the surface of the tongue and what makes it “hairy” is the elongation of the papillae. Such changes often begin at the dorsal posterior (top back) of the tongue and work their way forward. But never involve the undersurface where there are no taste buds. Black Hairy Tongue in “doctorese” is known as ” lingua villosa nigra”. 
What causes black hairy tongue?
A black hairy tongue obviously has two different problem components- the first of course is the coloration and the second is the lengthening of the papillae or taste buds. And they are related in that as the taste buds get longer they tend to allow things to get trapped between the papillae more easily. Papillae can actually get up to 15 times their normal length.
As things get trapped there they get stained and attract bacteria which begins to grow and make matters worse.
Interestingly, one thing that may allow the bacteria start growing in the first place is taking antibacterial medication. At first this doesn’t make sense but the drugs kill off the good bacteria and allow Candida (or yeast) to grow. When you stop taking antibacterial drugs the Candida flourishes and begins to take over causing all kinds of seemingly unrelated issues. Continue reading
Black Tongue
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. Black Tongue is also known as Black Hairy Tongue or in “doctorese” “lingua nigra”. It is characterized by a blackish or brownish discoloration or staining of the filiform papillae and may include an elongation of the papillae. Such changes often begin at the back (posterior) of the tongue and work their way forward. But never involve the undersurface. 
These changes often result in the growth and discoloration of the papillae and may begin with the circumvallate papillae at the back of the tongue.
Hairy tongue is thought to be the result of inadequate “shedding” of the outermost layer of the papillae. The color may be the result of pigment-producing bacteria or fungi normally present in the mouth and an abnormal accumulation of pigment residues, keratin and other debris on the tongue. Keratin is a type of protein that makes up skin and nails and hair. Continue reading
Thrush Tongue
By Tim McMahon, Author of Healthy Tongue Secrets
Thrush is a condition of the tongue that is quite common in babies but often affects adults as well. Thrush is simply an overgrowth of “Candida Albicans” which looks like white fur. Candida is a strain of yeast that thrives in dark moist places, especially in warm human bodies, although it can be found in everything from birds to horses. In the tongue to the right it is easy to see the thrush coating primarily because there is a patch where the thrush has actually peeled off leaving a bare patch of raw tongue underneath.
This does not indicate that the patient is getting better but probably that the thrush had simply gotten so long that the tongue shed its coating of papillae to get get rid of it. To verify that the white coating is actually Yeast the doctor will simply scrape it a bit and run a simple test to comfirm the diagnosis of oral thrush.
Yeast is a controversial topic with two extreme positions, many people say it is the cause of almost all major illnesses… while many in the medical establishment say that it is prevalent in everyone and relatively harmless unless your immune system is compromised. The truth (as in most things) is probably somewhere in between.
Yeast is a form of fungus, education and research scientists have described over 1500 species of yeast and it is estimated that these only represent 1% of the total forms of yeast. With so many different species of yeast it is no wonder it is so difficult to determine how to treat it. Some like bread yeast and brewers yeast are beneficial while others like Candida albicans leads to opportunistic oral and genital infections in people. There are also lesser known strains of yeast like Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida stellatoidea, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis, Candida guilliermondii, Candida viswanathii, Candida lusitaniae and Rhodotorula mucilaginosa. There is some debate as to whether systemic fungal infections weaken your entire system or simply take advantage of an immune systems that has already been compromised like in the case of AIDS. Continue reading
Pigmented Tongue
Pigmented tongue is primarily due to adrenal failure and a disease called Addison’s disease that results in the edges of the tongue getting black spots. This is an extremely serious disease that can result in death if not closely monitored. A proper diagnosis of this problem is essential. Adrenal function can be tested, but before you begin getting alarmed I must tell you that it is extremely rare with only 1 in 100,000 people getting it. Because of its rarity it is often misdiagnosed by doctors as Geographic Tongue or Black Tongue which are considered ”benign”.
However if you have read much on this site, you will know that I consider your tongue a primary indicator of your overall health and so no tongue issue should be ingnored, but instead should be used to help point you to your particular deficiency.
In the case of pigmented tongue being a sign of adrenal failure, you must also look at a milder problem of reduced adrenal function. In other words instead of your adrenal glands completely quitting it just slows down! Some doctors do not recognize this as possible and so refuse to look at the possibility.
Other doctors like Jonathan Wright M.D. (medical columnist for Prevention magazine and author of several books on Nutritional Healing) argue strongly that there are definitely levels of function and many problems like chronic fatigue might be explained by this problem. It always seemed obvious to me that if a complete failure of something causes certain symptoms, a partial failure or reduced function would cause the same thing in a milder form.
In other words, if a complete failure of the adrenals caused extreme fatigue, a slowing down of the system might cause mild fatigue. Doesn’t that seem rather obvious? So what are the symptoms resulting from complete adrenal failure?
The major symptoms of adrenal failure come on slowly and they are:
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1) Chronic worsening fatigue (tiredness)
2) Muscle weakness
3) Loss of appetite
4) Weight loss
5) Nausea
6) Vomiting
7) Diarrhea
(8) Low blood pressure (causing dizziness and fainting)
9) “Tanning” or darkening of skin even though it is not exposed to sunlight.
10) Irritability
11) Depression
12) Salt craving
If you are experiencing a pigmented tongue and/or any of the above symptoms you should have your adrenal function tested immediately. Discuss with your Doctor the possibility of Addison’s disease and look into the Natural ways of boosting adrenal function.
More Resources:
One of the best books I’ve seen on natural ways to boost adrenal function for those with reduced adrenal function is “The Adrenal Fatigue Formula” for more info check out their website.
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 Adrenal Fatigue Book |
You might also want to check out Super Immunity. In this book, some things seemed obvious to me at first (but then I’ve been studying health and nutrition a long time.) So I’m not sure whether these things would be obvious to everyone. Interestingly some of his hints were the same things my grandmother told me many years ago but I never knew why but Jon gave some very good reasons for them. And bringing them back to mind has made me more conscious of trying to do them again.
But it’s not all old information. I learned something in just the first chapter! Did you know that three quarters of your energy is used to process your food? I didn’t! Jon goes on to explain how to make your digestion more efficient so you can free up that energy for other things. If you’d like more information about Jon’s book “Super Immunity” go to: Super Immunity
You may also find my book Healthy Tongue Secrets useful in boosting your overall health.
If you would like more information before you decide see:
3 Words Doctors say about Geographic Tongue that Make Me Mad!
Is There a Cure for Geographic Tongue?
Hairy Leukoplakia
Hairy Leukoplakia is entirely different than Black Hairy tongue or Hairy Tongue. In Hairy tongue the filiform papillae elongate and look like hairs on the tongue. But in Leukoplakia there are white, raised, vertical ridges on the sides of the tongue although in some cases it can occur under the tongue or inside the cheeks. It is thought by some to be caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.
The virus connection
The Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV, is related to herpes and is one of the most common human viruses. 
It occurs worldwide and almost everyone becomes infected with EBV sometime during their lifetime. About 95% of all adults in the U.S. have been infected by the time they reach 40 years of age. When infection with EBV occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, it often causes infectious mononucleosis.
Once acquired, EBV lies dormant in some cells of the body’s immune system. If the immune system is compromised, it can flare up. It will often subside if antiviral treatment is taken.
Oral Hairy Leukoplakia (OHL) is a white coating that looks much like oral candidiasis (thrush). But thrush can be scraped off. The white ridges of oral hairy leukoplakia do not scape off. Because it is primarily associated with a compromised immune system, Oral hairy leukoplakia frequently occurs in people who have HIV and indicates that they have moderate to severe immune system damage.
In addition to HIV, it has also been noted in people with other forms of immune deficiencies including those associated with chemotherapy, organ transplant, and leukemia. OHL has also been noted with Behçet syndrome and ulcerative colitis. Smoking more than a pack of cigarettes a day increases the chances of developing Hairy Leukoplakia in men who are HIV positive, perhaps because of the added strain on the system.
The risk of developing Leukoplakia doubles with each 300-unit decrease in CD4 count.
Acyclovir® (Zovirax®) is a common antiviral treatment used for things like shingles and herpes. I have taken it for shingles and it works very quickly to kill the virus. A natural antiviral is available as a healing oil from AMOils
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If you would like more information before you decide see:
3 Words Doctors say about Geographic Tongue that Make Me Mad!
Is There a Cure for Geographic Tongue?
