Oral medicine case book 40: oral histoplasmosis.

A 35-year-old Nigerian male was referred by a general dental practitioner to the oral medicine clinic for a painful, nonhealing ulcer on the left side of the palate. The referring general practitioner had prescribed antibiotics and analgesics a week earlier, but without any relief to the patient. The patient reported that he first noticed the lesion approximately two weeks before and complained of extreme discomfort when either his tongue or food came into contact with it. On questioning, the patient mentioned that he had travelled beyond the borders of South Africa during the past year but was very vague about the countries he had visited. He reported no other health problems, was not using any chronic medication and claimed that he had tested negative for HiV-infection about six months previously. He admitted to smoking ±10 cigarettes per day and to drinking alcoholic beverages on social occasions.