White bump/lump on side of my tongue

[kuh_tree_nuh]

I just noticed yesterday a little white bump on the side of my tongue, and I am freaking out. I don't know what it is... I don't believe I ever had one before. It doesn't bother that much... I do feel it on the inside of my mouth and it tingles a little bit. It almost looks like something you could pick off...But i am not going to do that! Not with out knowing what it is. I've been looking at pictures all day tring to figure out what it is. I thought it looked like an ulcer on the tongue or a canker sore? But then I came across something about white cold sore bumps that appear on the tongue... I need to make sure that it isn't that....because that is contageious. Here is a picture of it.... Sorry if there is any glare. I did the best i could. Here are 2 pics... They are the same but one is more up close... I couldn't zoom too much or it was going to be out of focus. I really hope you can help because I can't afford to goto the doctor to find out it's something minor.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v280/KATRINA1120/100_0929.jpg

[StratRebel]

Looks just like a frictional irritation.  You might have a tooth with sharp edges nearby or you could have bitten it without noticing.  Give it two weeks to clear up, if its still there, then you need to have it checked out.

[scottma]

It looks purplish , raised, intact surfaced, well defined lesion. If it's acute onset, I would rule out hematoma,resulting from biting trauma. Hematoma tends to resolve spontaneously in 2 weeks.

[kuh_tree_nuh]

You think it is hematoma? Cause your last 2 sentences are confusing. You say you would rule it out, but in the second sentence you think is. The picture isn't that great of it. The flash messed with it a lot... and regular lighting wasn't enough light. It's a bit more noticable than the pictures lets on. I'm not saying it's not what you are saying it is... but I should have said something about the lighting in my original post. It is really white, but it seems to go from little to big a lot. Goes up and down or at least I think so... I could just be imagining things. Paranoia sets in...

[scottma]

In medicine, ruling out means that a diagnostician speculates what an entity is, unless proven otherwise.
If the lesion is whitish, it appears fluid content, the differential diagnosis includes, but not limited to, burning trauma, mucocele, benign vesiculo-bullous lesion. Viral infection generally presents multiple small diameter vesicles, so viral infection is not included in my differential diagnosis. If there is no history of trauma, seeing an oral pathologist or oral medicince specialist is advised.

[MrsJF]

Just to add to possibilities to consider:  I have had painful bumps on the tip of my tongue occur after eating certain foods - oven-baked potato skin and Swiss cheese.  It happened again this week after a couple of years free from it.  It's annoying and uncomfortable, but it does go away.  Oh, and I think certain potato chips will cause it for me, as well.  I'm wondering if certain enzymes can trigger a reaction, in my case.