Sunday, May 13, 2007

Black Tongue

When I brushed my teeth this morning, my spit came out black. I looked in my mouth and discovered to my great alarm that my tongue had a nasty black coating. The parts I could reach came off with the toothbrush, but it went all the way down my throat, and I couldn't scrub back there without triggering my gag reflex. Gargling with Listerine didn't remove the color.

My first thoughts were that this might be related to either my acid reflux disease or to sinus drainage. I'd felt headachy and nauseous all day yesterday, but I had assumed it was my usual reaction to heat and pollen. I've never awakened with a black tongue before, though, so whatever was going on was most certainly not usual.

Afraid I'd caught something horrible, I turned to Google. This led me to a MedHelp forum post that said the black tongue was caused by--I kid you not--chewing Pepto Bismol tablets the night before! The Mayo Clinic website confirmed that this was a possible cause.

Whew! I'm glad it's nothing serious. But I swear I'm going back to liquid Pepto after this.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Ok, that is totally disgusting!!! But good to know.

Unknown said...

Omg! I woke up to the same thing and just read this blog...I also chewed pepto bismal tablets the night before...good to know!

M said...

The same thing happened to me! I was feeling sick yesterday and today so I kept popping Pepto Bismol tablets...and realized today while brushing my teeth that I had a black tongue. I was freaked out until I googled it.

qd pie said...

OMG...my daughter thought she was dying until we looked on google and found out that Pepto Bismol tablets left her with a black tongue and there is no telling what else it did...NO MORE TABLETS FOR US ONLY LIQUID

qd pie said...

omg...IT WAS THE PEPTO BISMOL...my daughter thought she was gonna die until we read a post on the internet thanks to google...she had a pb tablet and her tongue was black... i wish i could sue for keeping her out of school and a high physician bill...

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for posting this blog. I actually swigged the pepto liquid last night before I went to bed which caused my black tongue, so no one is safe.

Carolina said...

Listerine with peroxide component will turn your tongue grey /black and kill all the good flora in your mouth

Bubba Watson said...

thank you for this post, you saved my life.
i woke up this morning for the first time in my life with a black tongue. And i was totally freaking-out. i thought i may have been posioned or ate something bad. i tried to brush it off with my toothbrush but coulf only get the stuff where i could reach. So i searched it in Ask, and i found your blog. And its right on the money! Last night i took some Pepto Bismol because i was feeling nausea.

Unknown said...

I used the liquid pepto bismol and it did the same thing.

M {squared} said...

I had this same scare this morning! Thank you for this information! I too chewed Pepto tablets last night! How crazy is this? Lol

Infohog said...

Do you know I have been worried all effing day. I googled this morning and came up with lung cancer or tuberculosis. Last night right before I went to bed I took a Pepto-Bismol tablet, which I never do. I can cancel that pulmonologist appointment! This blog is a lifesaver!

Unknown said...

Me too i had an upset stomach and woke up to a nasty charcoal color as i was brushing my teeth. I was sure i was going to the e.r

Unknown said...

The liquid pepto bismol turned my tongue black this morning also.