What is That Bump Behind the Tongue?

Typically in young children, I often have worried parents ask me what that bump is behind the tongue. This bump kind of looks like the picture shown here. The good news is that it is NORMAL and is called the epiglottis. An epiglottis is the "throat flap" the helps prevent food and liquids from going down the wrong way. Although occasionally the epiglottis can even be seen in adults looking in the mouth, this anatomic structure is typically most easily seen in cooperative children. …

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HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Airway Papillomas

Papillomas on the right vocal cord HPV vaccine like gardasil can be used to help prevent not only genital warts, but also oral warts and warts of the airway. Such warts are known as papillomas and can keep recurring after surgical excision leading to lifelong morbidity. Although gardasil and other HPV vaccines are typically used to vaccinate young tweens, it has been found effective even in much older individuals. In this study , the HPV vaccine decreased the incidence of surgeries for re…

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HPV Vaccine May Help Clear Oral Warts / Papillomas

Contrary to popular belief that it may take years for the HPV vaccine to be truly effective, Texas researchers reported they were able to completely clear all oral papillomas due to the HPV virus in an adult within 3 months of vaccination. Specifically, they reported that a man in his 60s who suffered from recurrent oral papillomas in spite of multiple excisions was clear of all lesions within 3 months after receiving the quadrivalent HPV vaccine. Interestingly, this patient had HPV-32 w…

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Oral Exam Using a Finger

For a good physical exam, physicians use their senses (eyes, ears, nose) to detect disease processes that may not necessarily be obvious to a lay person. Beyond these obvious senses, fingers and hands are also utilized to feel for unusual bumps or masses that may not be obvious to the naked eye. Take a neck mass for example. Neck masses may not be necessarily visible, but by feeling the neck, may become obvious. To use an analogy, a bowling ball under a mattress may not necessarily be obviou…

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