Q:
I recently read a question about a person having small bumps (pimple-like) in their mouth and on their tongue. You said if they are a smoker you should look at it. Well, my ex-boyfriend whom I'm still close with has these large raised bumps on the back of his tongue and he smokes. I was concerned when I saw them but he says they don't bother him and doesn't know how long they've been there. They are actually quite large, about the size of a pencil eraser and are raised up a good 2mm at least. He's been smoking for a bout seven years and is up to about a pack a day. Should he be worried? If I tell him that a doctor says he should get it checked out, he'd be more likely to listen than if I just told him I was worried.
A:
These sound like larger than typical tongue papilla (normal tongue surface bumps) which are larger toward the back of the tongue than in the front. Smoking can cause inflammation on the tongue and throat, causing these to be larger. They do not sound like cancer, but if you want to encourage and support him in smoking cessation, offer to go with him to a health care provider and help him in his quitting.
~The Doc
