POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => I Just Tested Poz => Topic started by: billy on July 28, 2007, 06:11:48 pm
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hi guys... i have one question...
since my my epstein-barr virus and diagnosed positive i have a kind of white film on my tongue...
If i clean it with a spoon it's ok... but it appears again either if i drink milk products or if i dont clean it with the spoon.
what is it... i mean i will go to the doc to have a look at it this coming week... but does it have anything to do with hiv? any same experience? I worry a bit
cya
billy
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probably thrush
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidiasis
ps: don't let that picture scare you -- mine was never THAT bad when I had it. You're doctor will probably prescribe something like Diflucan for it. Thrush is easy to get in your lower range of cd4's, and I don't recall it being hard to get rid of. Really not too big of a deal, but they will want to control it if that's what your doctor thinks it is.
edit: your cd4's are a bit high for thrush (I just quickly glanced at your older postings) but then again mine were not far off from this one time that I had thrush. Could be something else of course.
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Having a white tongue is normal and common. Thrush can happen to anyone at any time. Thrush is painful. You have nothing to worry about.
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I agree with Roddles here Billy. A "white tongue" is quite common. It may be thrush. It may not. Smokers, for example, often have white tongues. That's something you should discuss when you see your doctor. If it is thrush, it's very easily treated.
Wackypedia (which has all the credibility of a ranting train station schizophrenic) is really not the best place to get information on medical stuff.
MtD
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You can clean your tongue with a tongue scrapper. I use that one https://store.breathrx.com/product.php?sku=BR1009&skey=74 because it doesn't make me gag like the other ones. If your tongue becomes painful or has scars then get it checked by your dentist or doctor. If it's just a white coating with no pain it's very common, just scrape it away when you brush your teeth.
Milker (who has a strong gag reflex >:()
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While thrush is normal to a certain extent (everyone has it all over their bodies actually) it can and often is a first sign of HIV infection and/or some sort of immune system problem (it is sometimes associated with Hepatitis and various oral infections). In fact my dentist noticing thrush on my tongue and the top of the mouth back in the early 80's is what led to my discovery that I was HIV+. It is easily treated with Diflucan or Nystatin and is not considered to be a dangerous or serious infection in and of itself - only an indicator that there may be something more seriously wrong. Most healthy people's immune system keeps the thrush (aka Candida) in check and have no noticeable signs of it. If you are continually scraping it off and it is returning that is most definitely an indicator that something in your immune system is not functioning the way it should. In any case, since you already know you are HIV+ this is very unlikely to be anything serious and may very well be something you will have to cope with from time to time throughout your life (I still get occassional bouts of it despite having had undetectable HIV levels for many years and a very high - at times almost normal and always high CD4 counts). Just another little problem we HIVers get to deal with in life. Ahhhh big fun eh?
BTW when I had it initially it was not painful per se but my mouth was literally covered with it even on the outsides of the corners of my mouth. Real pretty let me tell you.
Discuss it with your doc - he/she should prescribe something (Diflucan or Nystatin) that should erradicate the infection within a couple of days at the most.
Best of luck!
Peace!
Brian
(The Perfect Stranger)
BTW - oddly enough it has been recently discovered that a few drops of Nystatin mixed with water can treat and sometimes cure a disease in some finches called Stargazing disease which until now was untreatable and eventually resulted with the bird dying. I just saved one of my finches after two weeks using that treatment. Neato huh?
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As we often get people from the Am I Infected forum reading posts over here, I'd like to clarify Brian's comments (above).
Oral thrush can sometimes be an indicator of hiv infection, but normally only when that infection has already been established for some time. It is not normally an indication of primary hiv infection/seroconversion illness.
ANYONE can get oral thrush. You do NOT have to be hiv positive.
Also, only a DOCTOR or DENTIST can diagnose oral thrush. Just because your tongue looks white to you does NOT mean you have thrush.
If you're worried about your tongue, whether hiv positive or questioning your status, show it to your doctor. It's the ONLY way to know for sure if you have thrush, or simply a white tongue.
Ann
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If u have EBV you usually get OHL(Oral hairy leukoplakia) and that is probably what you have. I have OHL but not thrush, it is on the sides of my tongue but I do get a coating on the top of my tongue. My doctor said just scrape it of the side and top of my tongue. Everything I have read says you can't scrape it off, but when I do it seems to help. I brush my teeth, then my tongue, then the sides, then I swish with diluted hydrogen peroxide and water, and then listerine. It seemd to keep it in check.
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I had this as well (along with night sweats) which led me to look this up on the Internet and subsequently ask for an HIV test. Turns out I was infected for 6 years already. It was not painful, just irritating. Treated it and it has not been back for over 2 years.
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If u have EBV you usually get OHL(Oral hairy leukoplakia) and that is probably what you have. I have OHL but not thrush, it is on the sides of my tongue but I do get a coating on the top of my tongue. My doctor said just scrape it of the side and top of my tongue. Everything I have read says you can't scrape it off, but when I do it seems to help. I brush my teeth, then my tongue, then the sides, then I swish with diluted hydrogen peroxide and water, and then listerine. It seemd to keep it in check.
Hi ALH,
Is OHL what people call "coffee tongue"? I just recently tested positive but I have been having this coating for up to 3 years now, pre-dated my two previously negative tests. I remember I talked to my doctor at the time and he just say, "nothing to worry about, just coffee tongue, stop smoking and brush your tongue a bit more often and it will go away". It never does but it doesn't seem to get worse, and I still smoke.
Thanks, Shaun
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Shuan,
It's not uncommon for a smoker to have a coated tongue. To a certain extent, the white appearance is caused by keratin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratin)- it's just the body's way of protecting the tongue. It's true that if you brush your tongue every time you brush your teeth, you won't get such a noticeable coat and your tongue will be healthier in general. I'm a smoker and I've been doing this for years.
And by the way, if you are in the habit of brushing your tongue, you get to know how your tongue feels and you WILL know when you really are getting a case of thrush. Because yes, it does happen, but people have white tongues naturally too.
Ann
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I'm a smoker and I've been doing this for years.
SHOCKING
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Thanks Ann
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Useful resource regarding HIV and your mouth.
http://www.plwha.org.au/PLWHA/attachments/FS9_OralHealth.pdf
J x
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SHOCKING
Philly, darling, are you shocked because I smoke or because I brush my tongue? They're both decadently sensuous oral experiences. ;D