The doctors did not reveal how long the patient had been using tobacco products.
In a bizarre medical case, a man in Ohio, in the United States, visited the doctor with a green tuft of hair on his tongue. A study detailing the unidentified man's condition was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It said the man was aged 64 with current tobacco use and sought medical attention with two-week history of tongue discolouration. The doctors said in their diagnosis that the hairy tongue was the result of "an abnormal coating" of skin cells.
The coating is formed when filiform papillae - tiny conical protrusions containing taste buds - become enlarged and discoloured due to a build-up of debris and bacteria, the July 6 study further said.
"Hairy tongue may appear brown, white, green, or pink, depending upon the specific cause and other factors, such as mouthwashes or even candy," as per the American Academy of Oral Medicine.
Experts said the hair-like coating can grow to nearly an inch long if the tongue is not regularly scraped. There are also concerns that it can trap other substances like bacteria, food and yeast.
The green colour of the tongue has surprised experts.
Coming back to the Ohio man's case, the doctors did not reveal how long he had been using tobacco products. They later learned that the man had also just finished taking a regimen of the antibiotic clindamycin for a gum infection.
As per WebMD, taking antibiotics can upset the mouth's microbial equilibrium by altering the number and types of bacteria and causing them to amass on the envelope sealer.
The doctors, however, said that the generally temporary condition is harmless, with its worst symptom amounting to a burning sensation on the tongue.