What is a white hairy tongue (hairy leukoplakia)?
A serious condition characterized by multiple white, warty, corrugated, and painless plaques, full of hairlike
projections of keratin growth. These are usually on the lateral margins of the tongue, but can
occasionally involve the buccal mucosa of the cheeks and other oral sites. Unlike thrush, hairy leukoplakia
cannot be scraped off. The lesion is typically associated with HIV infection, even though it also can
occur in severely immunocompromised organ transplants. Caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, it is
neither painful nor dangerous. In fact, most patients are unaware of it. May even regress in response to antiviral therapy, yet it does carry a worse prognosis for HIV progression. Clinical appearance is distinctive enough to yield a diagnosis. When in doubt, biopsy.
A serious condition characterized by multiple white, warty, corrugated, and painless plaques, full of hairlike
projections of keratin growth. These are usually on the lateral margins of the tongue, but can
occasionally involve the buccal mucosa of the cheeks and other oral sites. Unlike thrush, hairy leukoplakia
cannot be scraped off. The lesion is typically associated with HIV infection, even though it also can
occur in severely immunocompromised organ transplants. Caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, it is
neither painful nor dangerous. In fact, most patients are unaware of it. May even regress in response to antiviral therapy, yet it does carry a worse prognosis for HIV progression. Clinical appearance is distinctive enough to yield a diagnosis. When in doubt, biopsy.