Aphthae (aphthae)

Aph­thae are small, pain­ful muco­sal lesi­ons, usual­ly in the mouth, more rare­ly also in the geni­tal area. They are typi­cal­ly whitish-yel­lo­wish, round-edged are­as cau­sed by inflamm­a­ti­on and super­fi­ci­al dama­ge to the mucous membrane.

They often heal on their own within a few days; tre­at­ment is usual­ly aimed at reli­e­ving pain. If aph­thae occur very fre­quent­ly, are unu­sual­ly lar­ge or per­sist for a long time, the cau­se should be clarified.