ARGH MY MOUTH

[monkeymamma]

This is going to sound SO stupid but basically I have this THING in my mouth, some kind of virus or infection, and it is MISERY.

DS (4) was first to have it. So bad he was up in the night crying and saying his tongue hurt. Took him to the GP, only the prescribing nurse was available, she didn’t seem 100% but decided Oral Thrush. OK fair enough. He got some medicine which seemed to work but then it flared up again a week later. Fast forward to now and he is fine, whatever it was has cleared up on its own.

In the meantime, I have picked it up. Unbearable pain all across my tongue, ulcers all along the tip, sides, underside and top of my tongue. They start as little red dots then develop into huge whitish blistery sores then clear up and a new one starts. I've had it four weeks now. It sometimes starts looking better then gets worse again.

It was unbelievably difficult to get a GP appointment but I managed to get an out of hours one today, got childcare sorted, off I went. GP basically said he has no idea what it could be but perhaps my iron levels are low and I could have a blood test for this. It wasn't looking/feeling that bad when he saw it so I thought, maybe he's right, it is sorting itself out, I just need to up my iron levels/vits and it'll go away.

Back home tonight and it's horrendous again. Feels like the GP appointment was a huge waste of time and I am so busy and stressed at the moment (and getting this appt in the first place was impossible) going back isn't really an option. I don't think this will ever go away. I know there are worse things but seriously, this has gone on so long now I don't know what to do. I've told people IRL about it but I don't think they have any idea how much it's getting me down. Most evenings it hurts to even read stories to my little ones and eating and drinking is just an ordeal now.

I don't think there's much my fellow MNetters can do given that a fully qualified doctor's response was pretty much - "shrug" - but I just wanted to be able to talk to someone. Almost everyone I know has worse stuff going on, and I don't feel like I can go on about this to them!

If you've read this far thank you for listening x

Just to clarify, I did try OTC Oral thrush treatment to begin with but it just made it worse.

DS's nursery do have lots of HF and M but I don't think this is it, as I don't have a temperature or a rash or any other symptoms. :-(

Can you get childcare and get yourself to walk-in?

Hand foot and mouth?

Can you get to a walk in centre? Or a pharmacist?

Try the pharmacist. They can be very good, and much easier to see.

Take child with you if you have to

When my DD had H,F&M she had a mouth full of spots and a single spot on her foot. On that basis, it isn't unreasonable to think it could be H,F & M. But it's gone on much longer than I'd expect.

That sounds absolutely horrible poor you! What about seeing the dentist or even hygienist? They may have a better idea and they can prescribe antibiotics if you need them. Not good enough really for the GP to just shrug you off. Other suggestions would be to get a lidocaine spray (boots do an own brand one) to help with pain? Swish warm salt water round your mouth as often as you can bear it to help clear the infection. Maybe something like Corsodyl or another antiseptic mouthwash? I really think though after 4 weeks of suffering you need to be seen by someone and sorted!

If not HF&M then possibly first cold sore often end up covered in ulcers/blisters and very sore mouth.

Corsodyl mouthwash and anbesol liquid. After a tonsillectomy I had my entire tongue covered in ulcers. Both was much quicker than the steroids my doctor eventually gave me to gargle with. Hope you feel better soon.

It may be the herpes virus- lots of liquids, pain relief, stay away from spicy/citrus foods.
Difflam mouthwash will help
It could be recurrent ulcers which again can’t do much other than manage it when it happens. But definitely get some difflam mouthwash. See your dentist

We had something really similar - it ended up being the hand foot and mouth virus but without the hand and foot spots.

Thanks so much for answering. TBH my youngest's nursery seem to have hand food and mouth regularly so it's a prime culprit. It's just that it's gone on so long!

I have some anbesol but it seems to create like a burning in my mouth? I am doing corsodyl and stuff but it's just no good. I also feel like I must have manky breath (I also have horrendous tonsil stones all the time anyway) which has knocked my confidence even further than normal.

The GP said it couldn't be cold sore virus as by my age I must have immunity if I've never had a "proper" one (on my lip etc).

I just feel like crying. It's like someone is wiping a stinging nettle across my mouth over and over again.

I can't get to a pharmacist or OOH tonight unfortunately. The only one available tomorrow is the emergency walk-in at the hospital and we have relatives staying, I think DH will just think I'm making a massive fuss. TBH he's probably sick of hearing about it. We are both so stressed and tired at the moment.

Also I feel like I'm "infectious" and disgusting and it's making me feel really isolated not being able to kiss my DH or kids!

Sounds like HFM.

Would Iglu gel help the ulcers? You can get pastilles to suck too.

Try warm salt water to rinse and gargle until you can get to a pharmacist.
There is a special mouthwash for ulcers that you can buy. I am sure the pharmacist will help.

Thanks, Random!

I have pastilles and iglu and absolutely everything you can buy for ulcers. I have pored over photos of people's manky tongues and NHS advice and every single possible disease it could be and nothing helps.

Don’t worry about making a fuss. You’re not, anyway. If your DH has the same thing do you think he would be worrying about making a fuss? No. If he’s anything like mine you’d never hear the end of it. So go and get sorted out!!

On a side note. Stress and tiredness make everything worse. Mouth ulcers in particular can be a sign of being very run down and stressed, and not looking after yourself properly. So much easier said than done but you can’t pour from an empty cup and all that it might be worth a hard look at your diet and really go for goodness for a few weeks - think live yoghurt (not low fat sugar free, I mean proper live yoghurt), a probiotic, loads of fresh veg, leafy greens, steer clear from citrus and tomato, eat lean meat and oily fish, just really make the effort for a week or so to get the healthiest possible food inside you. Go for a 20 min walk every evening once kids are in bed, listen to some gentle meditations to fall asleep. I know it’s really hard, sorry to be making suggestions which create work!!

Is it geographic tongue? I get this every few years and it's utterly miserable. Nothing but time gets rid of it.

I felt a bit like this with HF and M. It affected me much worse than DC. It didn’t last as long though. I hope you feel better soon.

Could it be an allergic reaction to something you are eating? Is it particularly
Worse after eating anything in particular?

To be honest I would visit a dentist instead of a gp for three reasons; firstly is they’re likely to refer you to oral medicine who will run bloods, check for deficiencies such as iron or folate and rule out things such as lupus, crohns or other problems. Secondly they will be easier to get into than a GP and thirdly they wouldn’t leave you in pain Whilst you wait for referral; for example they could prescribe difflam mouthwash to help ease the pain or sprays to help. It sounds more severe than just aphthous ulcers and after 4 week history you would most certainly be referred to oral medicine

I had H,F&M last year with negligible spots on hands/feet. My god... it was bloody agony. I got the difflam mouth spray, my gp pxd me dissolvable steroids to Swill around my mouth and regular paracetamol and ibuprofen. It was super painful- I’d definitely try to get back to gp

Difflam mouthwash and see your dentist. They should be able to diagnose