The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine (대한한방내과학회지)

The Society of Internal Korean Medicine (대한한방내과학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

A Case Report of Black Hairy Tongue Treated with Traditional Korean Medicine

한방 치료로 호전된 흑모설의 임상 증례

  • Nam, Seong-uk (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Lee, Jae-hyung (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Lee, Jung-eun (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Ha, Na-yeon (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Ko, Whee-hyoung (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Hwang, Mi-ni (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Kim, Jin-sung (Dept. of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University)
  • 남성욱 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 이재형 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 이정은 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 하나연 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 고휘형 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 황미니 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과) ;
  • 김진성 (경희대학교 대학원 임상한의학과)
  • Received : 2017.03.27
  • Accepted : 2017.05.26
  • Published : 2017.05.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Black hairy tongue is a benign medical condition, which is characterized by elongated filiform lingual papillae, with a typical carpet-like appearance on the dorsum of the tongue. We describe the case of a 70-year-old Korean female with black hairy tongue, who complained of black hairy tongue accompanied by xerostomia. The patient was treated with Jibaekjihwang-tang-gagambang and electric acupuncture for 13 days. Black hairy tongue was evaluated by its visual appearance and by calculating hue-saturation-brightness (HSB) and red-green-blue (RGB) values of images of the tongue using a photo-edit program. Salivary flow rate (SFR) was evaluated to evaluate oral dryness. After 13 days of treatment, the black fur disappeared, and the brightness and RGB values of the black fur increased. In addition, the SFR increased. We conclude that Korean medicine could be the treatment choice for black hairy tongue.

Keywords

References

  1. Gurvits GE, Tan A. Black hairy tongue syndrome. World J Gastroenterol 2014;20(31):10845-50. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i31.10845
  2. Li KS, Byun HJ, Kim BJ. A case of black hairy tongue following the use of psychotropic agents. Korean J Dermatol 2007;45(1):107-9.
  3. Committee of Digestive Diseases, National Korean Medicine College. Gastroenterology. Seoul: Koonja publisher; 2009, p. 33.
  4. The Compilation Commitee of Oriental Medical Dictionary. Oriental medical dictionary. Seoul: Jungdam publisher; 2010, p. 1936.
  5. Zhang X. Treating 35 cases of black fur with the the Fuzi Lizhong decoction. Clinical Journal of Chinese Medicine 2012;4(23):66-7.
  6. Farmer AG. Hairly tongue (lingua vilosa). J Oral Med 1977;32:85-91.
  7. Avcu N, Kanli A. The prevalence of tongue lesions in 5150 Turkish dental outpatients. Oral Dis 2003;9:188-95. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1601-0825.2003.02933.x
  8. Sarti GM, Haddy RI, Schaffer D, Kihm J. Black hairy tongue. Am Fam Physician 1990;41 :1751-5.
  9. Poulopoulos AK, Antoniades DZ, Epivatianos A, Grivea IN, Syrogiannopoulos GA. Black hairy tongue in a 2-monthold infant. J Paediatr Child Health 2008;44:377-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2008.01307.x
  10. Cheshire WP. Unilateral black hairy tongue in trigeminal neuralgia. Headache 2004;44:908-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4610.2004.04173.x
  11. McGrath EE, Bardsley P, Basran G. Black hairy tongue: what is your call? CMAJ 2008; 178:1137-8. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.071611
  12. Powell FC. Glossodynia and other disorders of the tongue. Dermatol Clin 1987;5:687-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0733-8635(18)30712-5
  13. Nakajima M, Mizooka M, Tazuma S. Black hairy tongue treated with oral antibiotics: a case report. J Am Geriatr Soc 2015;63(2):412-3. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.13260
  14. Kim HS, Kim WW. Black Hairy Tongue Induced by Antibiotics in Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Journal of Rheumatic Diseases 2008; 15(1):96-7.
  15. Kim TH, Kwon YH, Kim JK, Lee GY, Kim WS, Kim KJ. A Case of Black Hairy Tongue. Korean J Dermatol 2007;45(6):589-91.
  16. Seo GS, Kim DW. The Clinical Study of Tongue Change in Diabetes Mellitus Patients as Oriental Diagnostic Method. The Journal of Oriental Medical Surgery, Ophthalmology & Otolaryngology 1999;12(2):212-21.
  17. Yoon YK. Dongeui Bangje and Chubang Haesul. Seoul: Eui Sung Dang; 1998, p. 290.
  18. Kim JY, Kim JS, Son JH, Seon JK, Kang K, Jang SW, et al. Efficacy of Gamiyukmijihwang-tang on Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis. Korean J Orient Int Med 2012;33(2):231-42.
  19. Blom M, Lundeberg T. Long-term follow-up of patients treated with acupuncture for xerostomia and the influence of additional treatment. Oral Dis 2000;6(1):15-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-0825.2000.tb00316.x