Quote:
Originally Posted by
Connemara 
I'm not really sure what these are. There are two small lesions on the right side of my tongue; one is red and one appears to just be swollen. I did some digging online and fond out that, among other things, tongue lesions can be a sign of HIV infection or precancerous cells. Should I wait a while and see if they go away, or would it be wise to see a doctor at once? Any physicians on the board care to comment?
Are you sure these are new? Some people have something called
a "Geographic Tongue" which is basically benign lesions on the tongue.
Quote:
Background: Geographic tongue (benign migratory glossitis) is a benign condition that occurs in up to 3% of the general population. Most often, patients are asymptomatic; however, some patients report increased sensitivity to hot and spicy foods. The etiology and pathogenesis are still poorly understood. The condition affects males and females and is noted to be more prominent in adults than in children. The classic manifestation is an area of erythema, with atrophy of the filiform papillae of the tongue, surrounded by a serpiginous, white, hyperkeratotic border. The patient often reports spontaneous resolution of the lesion in one area, with the return of normal tongue architecture, only to have another lesion appear in a different location of the tongue. Lesion activity may wax and wane over time, and patients are occasionally free of lesions. If lesions occur at other mucosal sites, the condition is termed erythema migrans.
