Red Spot At The Back Of Mouth, Spitting Phlegm With Blood From Throat

Posted on Sat, 8 Sep 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 8 Sep 2012 Answered on

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello,
I have noticed a small red spot on the back of my mouth yesterday, Today there were a couple more similar spots next to it, and later at night when I was brushing my teeth I spit out phlegm with a streak of blood in it, it came from the throat.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (21 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for the question.

In view of symptoms it looks like you have got a mouth ulcer.Generally cause is nutritional deficiency , stress, smoking , dentures,autoimmune disorders or systemic diseases etc. Most of the time, these heal on their own.

Treatment include numbing ointments, such as benzocaine,anti-inflammatory (steroid) gels and topical antibiotics.Vitamin supplements can prevent recurrence.

Avoid spicy food,smoking,alcohol and take adequate rest.

Please ask if there are doubts.Regards.

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

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir (7 minutes later)

I don't think this in an ulcer. The red spot that I have found is very small, it is more like a dot, and it does not hurt at all. It is located on the roof of the mouth and it is not bleeding. I am worried about it because this is the first time I am seeing a spot like this on the palate. And also, now there are more of them (I can see three tiny red dots now)

The bloody phlegm came from the throat, not from that dot. I don't think the blood and the dot are directly connected. I was just thinking that maybe there is an infection that has affected everything at once - the throat and the roof of the mouth.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (16 minutes later)

In that case a trail course of oral antibiotics can be taken to see if this resolves.

Red spots are due focal inflammation, which can be seen in infections as well as ulcers.

Though ulcers can begin with red spots, but there is generally pain associated with it.So if pain is not there, ulcer possibility would be less likely.

Please ask if there are doubts.Regards.

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

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir (5 minutes later)

So, is this an infection? Can you explain the blood in phlegm? Could that be caused by the same infection that caused the spots? Also, since I had an HPV, could the spots be caused by the HPV virus?
Thank you

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (9 hours later)

Since spots are not looking like ulcers, possibility of infection is most likely.Blood in sputum is likely due to mucosal inflammation secondary to infection.At the moment the spots don't appear specific for HPV, so I would like to consider this as bacterial infection.

Regards.

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