Do mouth ulcers on the side of the tongue indicate herpes?

Question

Hello doctor,

Can the mouth ulcers or canker sores on the side of the tongue be herpes virus? I also had a couple of mouth ulcers on the inside of my lips, but they appeared and vanished in a couple of days. I never had a cold sore on the outside of my lips but did not know if mouth ulcers could still be from oral herpes. I also had a headache and dry mouth. I took an human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA test and it came back negative at 26 days. I had a possible sexual encounter about a month ago and within the days that followed I felt a little sick and did end up getting some ulcers in my mouth and tongue. I feel more relieved that the HIV test came back negative but I am nervous about oral herpes. Could these symptoms be oral herpes or are herpes in the form of a cold sore?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com. Herpes usually causes sores on the hard mucosa in the oral cavity like palate and gums whereas ulcers on tongue, lips, etc., are often canker sores. I could not see any ulcers in the image (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Kindly upload more images.