Is Yellowish Coating Of The Tongue Indicative Of HIV?

Posted on Thu, 27 Feb 2014

Question: Hello doctor, my question is- I have a purple cheek on my right side, yellow thrush on my tongue and my gums are dark only on one side I need to know is it hiv related?

Answered by Dr. Sankaranantham Murugan (39 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Signs present in the pictures not related to HIV Detailed Answer: Hi, Welcome to XXXXXXX Thanks for posting your query. I have seen the pictures. None of these signs are specific for HIV. Yellowish coating of the tongue is not due to thrush. May be due to staining of smoking. I think that you are a smoker. Purple or violaceous discoloration of gums and cheek may have to be investigated for hypo-adrenalism or some other general and dermatological conditions. They are not related to HIV. If you are at risk of HIV, it is better to go for a blood test for HIV and rule out HIV, instead of suspecting by signs and symptoms. Dr S.Murugan

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar