Hi David: First of all, thanks for all of your great work and insight -- you're a godsend. My question is, can herpes or herpes2 (which I have) combined with stress cause aphthous ulcers in the mouth, rather than just outside on the lips? I've tested negative for HIV at 5.5 months from a very low risk exposure, however have had intermittent mouth sores in back of mouth for the past 10 months. Want to forget about HIV but each time a sore appears, I get freaked. Looking forward to your response. Thanks.

With all of the advances medicine has made over the past several years, I am still amazed that we do not know what leads to aphthous ulcers. We do know however, that HSV or the herpes virus, which can cause oral ulcerations on fixed or keratinized tissues such as the roof of your mouth or gum tissue, is not the cause of aphthous ulcers. Aphthous ulcerations tend to show up on non-keratinized tissues such as the floor of your mouth, buccal mucosa and posterior oropharynx.

Aphthous ulcers are very common in the general public and are not indicative of HIV infection. What we do see in HIV positive individuals with aphthous is that they last longer and are more painful.

Thank you for your kind comments regarding this Forum!

DR