*ADVICE PLEASE - Blister-like mark on 18 month old's tongue*

[BROWNY]

Can anyone give me some advice on this please - I have just noticed my ds has a sort of blister about the size of a five penny piece on the right side of his tongue. He had a cold and not feeling himself anyway, so have been giving him Calpol - but I've never seen an ulcer on a 18 month old tongue before!

ow! have you got some bonjela or baby anbesol to put on? could he have bitten it?

sounds like a big one one for a little tongue.
Mine have had phases of having tongue ulcers, usually many but smaller.
Could be because of his cold?

Could well be hand foot and mouth disease, check for blisters on his...hands and feet aswell.

It isn't dangerous it will just have him feeling under the weather for 3 or 4 days and he should be kept apart from other kids as it is fairly contagious.

However you may want to call NHS direct just in case

Thanks everyone, I suppose he could have bitten it and there arn't any of his feet or hands, but I'll keep an eye on him! NHS direct weren't worried, but I'm taking him to the doctor's tomorrow to be on the safe side. Thank's again for your advice, I love this site!

my DD [18 months] has had funny patches on her tongue since tiny. i saw three doctors and no one seemed to know what it was, in the end my doctor said it was geographical tongue. its stress related she usually gets a flare up when teething! it doesnt bother her, it starts as a little spot and then spreads to patches over the tongue, then it dissapears again, its really odd. just thought maybe somthing like that, let us know what you find out.

Thanks Izzybiz, the ulcer looks flat now, I've been thinking about it and last night he slipped and fell onto his front - so he might have bitten his tongue then - I'll let you know

Hiya Browny,
Another possibility - my DS got blisters on his tongue and inside his mouth when he was about 18 months. Dr first said it was tonsilitus (sp?) but we thought strange that the blisters were on the end of his tongue - they must have been painful as he was off his food as well. Took him back again after a few days and different (and excellent) Dr that we usually try to see said it was the coldsore virus. He printed us an information sheet off the net and it said that when children first pick up the virus, instead of getting a coldsore, it manifests itself in the form of small blisters in the mouth and tongue. Every time it flares up after that it will be in the usual coldsore form (as it did consequently with ds).
As others have said, it may be just where she has bitten her tongue if there's only the one blister, but I'd never heard of this before DS had it, so thought I'd let you know so you could keep an eye on it. HTH

Sorry Browny, meant 'he', not 'she'!

Haven't read the rest of the posts, so you may have been told this. It sounds like Geographical Tongue.

This is when we get red sore & sometimes blister like patches on our tongue. It can be a sign of stress.

It "moves around the surface of the tongue, sometimes settling down before re-appearing elsewhere.

Can be sore, offer cold foods & teething gel. Not sure if doctors can prescribe any thing for it, if not the dentist is your best bet.

If it is geographic tongue it usually diagnosed by a history of migrating pattern (ie it appears and disappears in different places on the tongue). It is actually fairly common (affecting 1-2% of the population). Believed to be a genetic disorder (may also be associated with psoriasis). It is often agravated by acidic food such as tomatoes, oranges etc (but tbh so is any ulcer). There is no real treatment or cure, other than mouthwashes/topical anaesthetic gels if sore. Can occasionally be confused with a couple of other mouth disorders(lichen planus and lupus erythematosus neither of which are likely in a small child but would require treatment -usually topical corticosteroids).

Hi, just wanted to let you all know that ds's tongue is almost healed now - looks like he had bitten it - he is still full of cold, so that's why he's off his food - poor little mite .

Calista, very interesting to learn about the cold sore virus - I'll remember that