Hello,

After an exposure one year ago, I came down with thrush.....or so my doctor thinks. I am, as specific as this may seem, spitting up white "liquid". The sides of my cheeks look as if someone smeared white paint in designs, yet my toothbrush, despite aggresive brushing will not get rid of them. The roof of my mouth is also completely white and will not be removed with a tooth brush. The problem is worse in the morning. My doctor recently ran an HIV antibody test, three to be exact and one PCR RNA......He says that has effectively ruled HIV Out....he also thinks my heavy smoking may be a culprit with the thrush.....what do you think? Thank you.

It sounds like thrush, but I would first make sure that the diagnosis is indeed thrush. It's hard for me to make the diagnosis over hard wires. This can be done with a culture or smear that is looked at under the microscope. If yeast is present it can be the result of poor oral hygiene, antibiotics, steroids (both oral and inhaled), or transmitted from oral or genital contact, among others. It can be treated easily with antifungal agents. I don't think I would do any more testing for HIV infection. MH