Hi doctor, I am a 28 year old female, and I have white bumps on the back of my tongue. I also have painful white sores on the sides of the tongue. I have been getting painful sores on the tip of my tongue quite frequently for the past two months. But this time, the pain was severe. I did get some relief after taking a few antibiotics. What could be the possible causes? I have attached pictures of the sores. I am extremely worried about it being cancerous or due to HPV infection.
Hello. I went through your complaint and also the photos (attachment removed to protect patient identity) that you provided of the lesion. As far as your history of painful sores on tongue tip is concerned, there can be various reasons. Most common are vitamin B12 deficiency, stress, irritant food or medications, and trauma. These sores disappear after a certain period if the cause is removed, so believe it or not, antibiotics may aggravate them if the cause was any stress or nutrition deficiency. Coming to your pictures, I got a superficial view of the lesion due to low resolution, and I could make out it does not seem to be HPV (human papillomavirus). But if you experience any tingling, difficulty swallowing, jaw or neck pain, hoarseness of voice, etc., then immediately consult an ENT specialist for oral examination. It can be swelling of your taste buds, which can be caused by similar things as mentioned above. And yes, at the back of your tongue the white circular bumps arranged symmetrically are called as lingual tonsils, which swell when you suffer from a sore throat. Please answer the following questions: If any of the above questions are a "yes" or the symptoms does not subside in a week, please get an oropharyngeal examination done by an ENT specialist. Consult me further for any other queries regarding the treatment or anything. Revert with more information to a family physician online -->