Petrified:(

[strickyh]

I'm petrified and shaken up.

I have a pink/light red, smooth, patch on the left side of my tongue for about a week, it's fades and comes back a bit darker sometimes. It's half the size of a 5p coin and has the taste bud dots on it.

After researching-I know I shouldnt- I find information on oral cancer and I feel sick just thinking about it!

I do have an underactive thyriod(since birth) I'm now 18 and think I have anxiety but what the hell is this patch all about?

I'm really scared and feel sick thinking about it!

Help me

[Clutter]

Strickyh, it's very unlikely to be cancer and far more likely to be a tooth rubbing it or an ulcer but you should get it checked out. Your dentist will probably have a better idea about oral health than your GP. B12 deficiency can cause mouth sores and so you may want to have your GP do a B12 and folate blood test.

[strickyh in reply to Clutter]

I'm really scared. It's not so much red, more pink, it just doesn't have a light white coating and stands out when I take a picture

[gabkad]

If it's recent, go to the dentist. You may get some helpful hints and directions to go.

[Hidden]

Hi if you are getting yourself into such a state the best thing to do is to seek advice from a doctor or dentist. Better than worrying about it, good luck

[Framboise]

Hi you say this patch is smooth, which makes me think of median rhomboid glossitis, which isn't always in the middle of the tongue, it can be off to one side. I got this after I stopped taking hydrocortisone which l'd taken for several years, and I was convinced I had cancer! Mine looked almost like a burn at times and was off to the left. My GP had no idea what it was, so made an urgent referral to a maxillofacial surgeon who knew at once what it was and prescribed a low dose of Fluconazole daily for 4 weeks, which got rid of it. It also got rid of white marks on one of my nails, and it seems to be a form of candida or some similar fungal infection. Please don't worry, just see your GP as soon as possible and if he has no idea then ask to see a maxillofacial specialist, also if you think he has the wrong idea of what it is ask to see a maxillofacial specialist. Whereabouts are you? If you're in the south east I'll PM you the person I saw.

Here are a couple of explanations and some pictures:

rdhmag.com/articles/print/v...

exodontia.info/Median_Rhomb...

[celticlady]

Always a good idea to seek a qualified medical opinion. Anecdotal advice is useful but we are not medical doctors on here-make an appointment soon. Best Wishes.

[marram]

My Mum had Oral Cancer and it was successfully treated and she was completely cleared.

So go and get it looked at. Delay is your worst enemy - if you are right, then the sooner you go the sooner you get it sorted, and fear is your second worst enemy - you could be worrying without cause.

So please get it looked at, if only to put your mind at rest.

XX

[strickyh in reply to marram]

This mark comes and goes though, there's times where it just looks like my tongue then goes a darker pink. would It not stay and get worse/grow rather disappear if it was oral cancer?

[marram in reply to strickyh]

You are probably right, but all the same, have it looked at instead of worrying and guessing.

[joanSOWTON in reply to marram]

That was very good advice , delaying can be a frightening enemy. Jo .

[galathea]

Mum had those, the nurse at the hospital took one look and said vitamin b deficiency. A we got her some vitamin b.. A good quality suppliment... And the patches have gone!

[Schenks]

Hi - you seem to be very panicky, as you say, over different things, and you say in other posts you are slightly hypochondriac. You really do need to get your physical symptoms checked out - I can't quite understand why you would post questions on an internet site rather than see a GP or practice nurse or dentist, rather than go and get help.

Once you find out if there is anything wrong, you can get treatment. If there isn't and you still get panicky and worried about physical symptoms of this and that - which happens to complicated systems like bodies all the time - then it might help to seek out someone to talk to who could help you track down why you are so focused on your physical health, if you still are so focused, and what might be the underlying anxieties that come out in this way. Then you can beaver away at being free from them. 18 is way too young to be wasting energy on panic!

[joanSOWTON]

If this helps, so did I, I also had white patches, my gp sent me for a biopsy to Birmingham oral medicine hospital. I cannot say i was totally painless, but it was only the injection to numb the tongue, but you can ask your gp for a cream to put on to numb it before, If you have to have this procedure. I was very fortunate, I had shingles in the mouth which sounds just what you have described, and it had caused oral thrush, I was treated with a mouthwash called difflam, which is brilliant and tabs. But go to your GP. before it gets worse and if it is more sinister it can be treated easily in the early stages and there is nothing to fear, I repeat do not leave this, I would dearly love to know how you get on. thinking of you Jo.

[strickyh in reply to joanSOWTON]

Went to see a pharmacist and she said I was to make an appointment with dentist but because there is no pain then I shouldn't worry. I also noticed it got darker last night as I had pakora and a spicy sauce so I may have burned it or ate something spicy to irritate it as it was healing. Got to wait till the 9th of October to find out but will try get an appointment with the GP, leave it till Thursday and give it a chance to either clear up itselfs. Thanks for your help

[joanSOWTON]

I would not worry unduly then, I am also pleased you are seeking a proper diagnoses, no good second guessing, I wish you well me dux. Jo.

[strickyh in reply to joanSOWTON]

I think this is more to do with anxiety than anything else. One thing after another but as soon as I think of some else to worry about, that pain goes away, still going to get it checked out but I'll also seek some help for anxiety