White tongue + removal

I waned to clear something up, that could help some people with their anxiety over being infected or not:

I read/heard that if you can brush the white stuff on your tongue off with a toothbrush, that it is not HIV related, and that if you cannot it is more likely a symptom of HIV.

Can anyone shed light on this?

[medstudent145]

when the white stuff can be scraped off, it is thrush. thrush is caused by the fungus candida. this is very common even in the non-HIV population. people who have been on antibiotics and diabetics often get this. however, if the white stuff CAN NOT be scraped off and has a hard texture, this is called leukoplakia. this is often a sign of HIV/AIDS.

[worryingwort]

Ah, well that clears it up mostly.

But Oral fungal Candida is till a technical symtom of ARS correct?

[medstudent145]

nope. ARS symptoms are typically fever, night sweats, diarrhea, a rash, but not candida.