Brief Answer: Apthous ulcers, self resolving, care 4 sore throat Detailed Answer: Hello there! Thank you for asking. I read your query though there is no picture attached, I want you to know that if there is no chronic etiology or long term trouble , this swelling is innocuous and will resolve. Sore throat also adds to the eating difficulty you are having. It looks like simple Aphthous ulcer on the side of the tongue you mentioned. Though aphthous ulcers are mostly painful Now what caused it, could be stress or trauma or tongue bite or some food allergy or some medicine used like aspirin, Sodium laural sulphate, or could be malabsorption or malnutrition or could be hematinic deficiency What ever is the cause you need nothing to worry about. It will resolve on its own. In the meanwhile, you can try the following: Brush your teeth with a small-headed, soft toothbrush and avoid eating particularly hard or sharp foods (eg, toast, potato crisps) and avoid other trauma to the oral mucosa. If you are currently on some OCPs then they need to be stopped or changed or superadded by progesterones to relieve these aphtous ulcers. use vitamin B12 , it will help. Try one of the following oral Rinses a-Bioadherent oral (Gelclair) b-Chlorhexidine gluconate mouth rinses c-Garlic water mouth wash d- Aspirin Gargles You need to look out for your sore throat too. They might have caused it. After ruling out an infection and confirming that it is aphthous ulcer, topical corticosteroids can be tried. These will help with the inflammation. Here are some preparations often used. a-Hydrocortisone topical (Cortaid, Dermacort, Westcort) b-Triamcinolone topical (Aristocort, Flutex, Kenalog) c-Betamethasone topical (Alphatrex, Diprolene, Maxivate) d-Fluocinolone (Synalar, Fluonid) e-Fluocinonide (Fluonex, Lidex) f-Clobetasol (Temovate) You may need the following prescription, if the swelling gets worse: Amoxil for 7 days. Short use of prednisone with sharp tapering in a week will help reduce the inflammation. If the swelling or inflammation progresses and airways are getting compromised rush to ER for management. I hope I was of some help. If you have any more queries please feel free to ask other wise kindly close the discussion and rate the answer as per your experience. Regards S Khan

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