Herpes on Tongue

[tt140]

I started getting sores on my tongue after i get a cold sore, which I have always had, about 5 months ago and these sores on my tongue have been constant since than. The start as a small dot that develops a white ring and the white ring spreads outward and the sore gets bigger with a shallow red sore inside it. They start and take about 10-15 days to heal and typically occur in same areas, back of tongue and tip of tongue. My tongue also feels hot and burns. My dr said she was pretty sure it was herpes virus that caused my cold sore, so i guess spread to the tongue. I did a swab and it came back normal but my dr said thats bc the sores had been there for several days and the swab would need to be done in the first 48hrs. Problem is, in the first two days theres nothing really there. My question does this sound like herpes? and if so, why is it constant and will I get this throughout my life?

[tt140]

Thank you for your reply! I did a culture of the sores and it came back normal, but my dr said thats because the sores had been there for awhile and a culture needs to be done in the first day or two. The problem is that the in first day or two theres only a little spot. I had blood work done and everything was normal so im not immunocomprimised. I have had cold sores my whole life so I know I would be positive for an antibody test.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It is very unlikely for herpes sores to present inside the mouth. However you need to get some investigations like sample from the sores to identify the virus, culture analysis, Tzanck smear, antigen and antibody studies and blood sampling for antibody studies done to confirm the diagnosis. My sincere advice would be to consult a dermatologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.