Black Tongue

@blulady, have you taken certain medications such as tetracycline? That drug causes the tongue to appear blackish. Also, low saliva can cause this appearance. I read it is usually harmless. Take care.

I had tongue changes after radiation but not extreme. The papillae lengthened and my tongue felt furry but no real color change. I was using a "magic mouthwash" during and after treatment prescribed by radiation oncologist. This mixture of a Maalox type antacid with Benadryl and an antifungal was soothing and may have prevented some secondary yeast infection of the tongue. I would recommend Biotene as a good mouthwash for dry mouth used 3-4 times daily. The tongue changes will gradually recede back to normal on its own without treatment.

@ sepdvm, I had forgotten that some Magic Mouthwash contains Tetracycline, which causes the tongue to turn blackish in color.

After surviving esophageal cancer & surgery to remove and all the things regarding it...................... I now find myself once again with cancer. This time in the throat right by the lyrnx. I am being tx'd with radiation x 5 / chemo x 1 days a week. The radiation this time is brutal on my mouth and throat. Mouth sores galore, soar throat, hurts so bad I can't swallow. Hopefully medicare approves the fluid for my already installed J tube. I too have magic mouthwash, oncologist also prescribed separate Benydril to swish to get rid of the sores. The sores are gone for the most part but the soreness of the tongue and mouth remains. I've lost all taste also. I'm half way through txmt.
Any input would be appreciated.
Lori
Livin the Dream~

Lori I am so sorry to hear of your cancer battle again. I know how painful your mouth and throat are with radiation. I also had a prescription for an oral lidocaine gel that I would apply to the sore spots just before I tried eating. I never had a stomach tube thru rad/chemo. You have to be careful with the lidocaine as it can numb your swallowing but with minimal application it would provide some temporary pain relief to mouth and tongue especially when used with the mouthwash. Try to keep swallowing small amounts of liquid, and experiment with the temperature as ice cold vs body temp. feels very different for soothing. I have used Manuka honey for throat healing but you might want to dilute it a bit for swallowing. I buy it on Amazon. I might ask your nurse/doctor about throat lozenges for dulling the pain also. I think Chloraseptic works well but not sure about use with radiation. The good part is you are halfway thru this horrible treatment and then things improve fairly quickly. It does take a while for taste to return and mine was never quite the same after radiation. You are lucky to have the Jtube to rely on for nutrition. Hang in there and stay positive. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.