I've met two different guys now that had clusters of whitish blisters in their mouths- one guy had them behind his lower lip, another one had them under his tongue. When I asked what they were, both looked up the word in my Thai dictionary, which translated as "apthous ulcers." But I've never heard of these even in *English*!

I mean, I've had cold sores but they usually come as single small sores, very infrequently. I looked up the term on the internet and it left me just as puzzled as before...

Are they contagious? Are they viral? Are they a very technical way of saying "herpes" or "warts?" These particular individuals were careful not to let me expose myself, showing the blisters by way of explanation, so they at least must believe they may be contagious.

Anybody else have a layman's explanation?

"Steven"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphthous_ulcer

On Canker Sores

this site has a lot of good information too..

not contagious , but can be associated with other disease processes.

thats not my web page by the way , i'm not sure how to avoid putting the "my webpage" thing in the link.

Thanks, guys. Taxexile, when you post a link using the icon (in full edit mode) the first thing you enter is the link, the second is the name that will appear - it defaults to "My Webpage," but you can change it to anything else appropriate. I'll edit your message.

From what I've read, these mouth ulcers are NOT the same as herpes, cold sores, or warts- they are not typically contagious, but may contain bacteria which are. So best to play things safe. They are also apparently very painful.

"Steven"

Thanks, guys. Taxexile, when you post a link using the icon (in full edit mode) the first thing you enter is the link, the second is the name that will appear - it defaults to "My Webpage," but you can change it to anything else appropriate. I'll edit your message.

From what I've read, these mouth ulcers are NOT the same as herpes, cold sores, or warts- they are not typically contagious, but may contain bacteria which are. So best to play things safe. They are also apparently very painful.

"Steven"

Thats correct. The cause is unknown and they are not the same as cold sores. They are not known to be contagious, but may be indicative of other systemic disease. And anyway they are so painful that anyone with htem is highly unlikely to want physical contact.