Hi David,

I read the post that someone had sent it about BMS and it's relation to HIV/AIDS. I disagree that men who suffer from this is a sign of HIV infection. As you stated there are many different causes for BMS. Anxiety and Stress seem to be the biggest factors, followed by smoking, alcohol consumption, caffiene, toothpastes etc. For example when my father was diagnosed with cancer I was so stressed that there was something wrong with me that for one year I had a burning sensation in my mouth. When I didn't think about it, it wasn't there. When I sat there and thought about it, it came back. I went through several tests and everything came back negative, to this date when I think about something that causes me some anxiety it's almost a guarantee that the burning sensation will return. I am also a smoker. So that doesn't help much either. People should also remember that stress and anxiety can trigger a lot of abnormal sensations in the body including dry mouth and generalized itching. There have also been cases of people constantly checking their lymph nodes causing them to swell or be painful. You'll also notice that med students often experience a lot of symptoms because of what they read, primarily dry mouth and aches and pains. Anyway just wanted to add my two cents. Take care.

Very well said.

DR