What is Black Hairy Tongue? Julie Powell's tweets before her death come under scrutiny in aftermath of cardiac arrest

Author Julie Powell passed away on October 26 at the age of 49. While people are mourning her loss, fans are confused about what exactly led to her death. The New York Times initially stated that she died from cardiac arrest. However, Powell posted a tweet before her death where she mentioned something else.

“So I woke up with something that’s literally Black Hairy Tongue. People, including my doctor, seem to think it’s no big deal, and will go away soon, but it certainly is gross.”

Twitter users seem to think that the black hairy tongue may have been the result of a COVID-19 infection and believe that it may have led to Julie Powell's death. A few others think that her death might be linked to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, a few tweets revealed that Julie Powell’s husband had previously contracted COVID-19 twice in a month. Julie also revealed on Twitter in mid-September that she was also infected.

In one of her tweets, Julia Powell spoke on the pain she had to go through after contracting COVID-19 and stated a few days later that her health was getting worse as she was having severe headaches, cough, fever, and fatigue. She once disclosed in a tweet that she was vaccinated and boosted. She then tweeted on September 19 that she no longer had COVID-19.

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Black Hairy Tongue: Causes, symptoms, and more

Black Hairy Tongue refers to a temporary condition where the tongue appears dark and furry. It results from a buildup of dead skin cells in small projections or papillae on the surface of the tongue that contain taste buds.

The papillae can be easily stained with bacteria, yeast, tobacco, food, and other substances. Black Hairy Tongue might look like a major issue but it never leads to any health problems. It can be resolved by eliminating the possible causes and factors and opting for good oral hygiene.

Common symptoms of Black Hairy Tongue include black discoloration of the tongue, hairy or furry appearance of the tongue, altered taste or metallic taste in the mouth, bad breath, and gagging or tickling sensation.

Those who are suffering from the problem can decide to see a doctor if they are concerned about the appearance of their tongue and the black hairy tongue remains despite brushing twice every day.

There is not one possible cause of Black Hairy Tongue. It can result from changes in the normal bacteria or yeast content of the mouth after antibiotic use, poor oral hygiene, dry mouth, regular use of mouthwashes that have oxidizing agents, tobacco use, drinking an excessive amount of coffee and black tea, excessive alcohol use, and opting for a soft diet that makes it hard to rub dead skin cells from the tongue.

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Julie Powell was a popular author

Julie Powell gained recognition for her first book published in 2005 (Image via Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Julie Powell launched a blog called the Julie/Julia Project in 2002, a year long project chronicling her attempts to cook all the recipes mentioned in Julia Child's book Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Although the blog became popular, it was criticized by Child who said that Julie’s attempts were just a stunt.

Powell then signed a book deal with Little, Brown, and Company, and published a book titled Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen in 2005. The book was later adapted into a film, Julie & Julia, released in August 2009.

Julie Powell then released her second book, Cleaving: a Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, in 2009. The book did not receive favorable reviews for its content. She then wrote a series of commentary pieces for Salon about the Food Network reality show, The Julia Child Challenge, in 2022.