Question: I have had a mouth ulcer on and off for 4 or so months. If one goes to this photo: WWW.WWWW.WW

The ulcer that looks exactly like mine (when mine is irritated and comes up) looks most similar to the small pin prick sized ulcer above the large central red ulcer. So the ulcer is pretty small in size. The ulcer is also not sore or irritable, but seems to have the typical characteristics of most ulcers in that it is irritated by hot/acidic foods at times or fizzy drinks (although this is not always a given). The strange thing is, a couple of days may go where it does not come up or is visible at all, but then it will suddenly re-appear one day over the course of a few hours.

I do not get ulcers regularly, and I am very unlikely to be deficient in vits and minerals (take regular supplements). The only other time I have had ulcers in the past was around 6-7 months ago when I had a very brief outbreak of ulcers during what may have been a virus (raised temp, glands and random mouth and lip ulcers). I can not remember having any other ulcers other than this one on and off since that point. All the ulcers other than this one appear to have cleared up.

I am only writing this because I am concerned as to why this ulcer has persisted for more than 3 weeks and my current doctor believes it may be stress, however I'm not continuously stressed, yet it still persists. Any thoughts or opinions on this problem would be most welcome. For now, the ulcer has not grown in size and I have not seen any new ulcers appear. If it was something malignant or suspicious should I have expected changes by now?
Something else I must also add is that, when irritated and it comes up, the ulcer almost looks like a bubble - and just before I typed this, it appears it may have burst and it then deflates back to the lining of the roof of my mouth. Is this is a particular sort of ulcer? It has done this a number of times, but keeps coming back up.

Many thanks and apologies for the long message!

1) Does this ulcer appear after eating hot spicy food?

Hot food does indeed appear to irritate it, however it does not necessarily always appear after this.

2) Did you have unprotected oral sex before appearance of Ulcer?

I had unprotected oral sex around 6 months ago, but I do not think the ulcer appeared for a number of weeks after this point. I am glad you mentioned this point, however as I also thought of this possible connection and have booked a sexual health screening appointment for this week.

3) Do you have any digestive problems?

No. My digestive system appears to be in a good state of health currently.

4) Do you smoke?

I used to smoke on and off for around a year in 2009/2010. I do not currently smoke however and have not smoked anything more than a cigarette or two over the past year.

5) Do you have chronic Constipation?

I do not have chronic constipation.

6) Do you have any problem related to tooth and gums

I do not have any issues with my teeth or gums.


Since it came up yesterday afternoon, it has now almost disappeared again over night. I will monitor it over the course of the day and see what irritates it. In the mean time I will book a sexual health screening. Other than HIV (which hopefully is extremely unlikely), are there any other STIs that may cause a mouth ulcer to appear. I must re-emphasise that it has only been one re-occurring mouth ulcer in the exact same location of the roof of my mouth now for the previous months. Currently no other ulcers have appeared and the current ulcer does not appear to be getting any larger or more irritated - it simply comes and goes.

Kind regards
XXXXXXX

Thanks very much for the reply. Perhaps I should have been clearer as to the ulcers location. It is on the soft lining of the top of my mouth/throat. It is where the hard roof of my mouth ends and the softer tissue towards my throat starts. It had actually gone down and away for the last few days, but has come back up slightly this morning - in fact it came up a little last night after a hot meal (not spicy, but just of a very hot temperature) last night. It almost looks like a bubble, then as it reaches its largest size it then almost bursts or 'deflates' and is eliminated until another point in time.

I am awaiting blood test results (which will contain rbc, abc, platelets, and the full blood count as well as b vitamins, kidney function, liver and iron). I am also doing a sexual health screen later this afternoon. If these results are all normal and the ulcer continues then I will return to my doctor.

So can a hot meal actually cause a long-lasting ulcer? As promised here are a few photos of the ulcer (apologies if they are not especially clear, but this is the best I can do). They are under 'new report' attachments. I hope this gives you a good idea of where it is and how it appears.

Kind regards