My soft palate has black and red areas. One side has a very pointed area of soreness. It s mildly painful to swallow and some foods bother it. Listerine seems to help briefly. This has been going on nearly a week (I ve never had a sore throat more than 48hrs.) There were white patches and one mucous-looking patch that have disappeared along with the drenching night sweats. The large bumps on the very back of my tongue were more raised (whitish tongue) and raspy and a little painful to eat. The days before this appeared I had lots of gas, mildly productive cough, headache, pain in lower right abdomen, no obvious nasal drainage or congestion, a day or two of achy joints and sensitive skin, normal appetite, but reduced ability to eat (3 hours to finish oatmeal - felt like tummy shrunk). Aside from digestive issues - the rest felt like a mild flu/cold. 40 yr old female