Necrotic or eroded oral mucosa, including tongue. Herpectic ulcerations tend to appear on keratinized tissues, aphthae tend to manifest on non-keratinized tissues.
Patient complains of painful ulcerative areas in mouth.
May have difficulty eating, drinking, swallowing, or opening mouth. May also complain of sore throat. If HSV culture is positive, or if HSV is strongly suspected due to hx or recurrence, treat with acyclovir while awaiting results of culture. Do not use topical steroids without concomitant acyclovir if lesion is of possible herpetic etiology. If patient is on ddC or dapsone, try to substitute other agents and check for improvement in lesions.