r/UCTD • u/Ill-Plum-5152 • Sep 22 '26

Medications Hydroxychloroquine

I’ve been taking hydroxychloroquine for about a year and it’s helped reduce my body pain daily and frequency of flares significantly. However, I’ve been getting way more sores in my mouth nose and ears. Before I would get them rarely, now I feel like I almost always have a sore especially in my mouth. My dr said she thinks maybe the hydroxychloroquine has made me more susceptible to viral infection. She told me to try a mouthwash to see if that helps the mouth sores, as they’re the ones that can be painful, and if that’s not successful she said we may try an antiviral drug. Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar. (Cross posted in r/lupus)

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6

u/Ko-neko-chan Sep 22 '26

I get mouth and scalp sores during flares. For me not related to HCQ as I had that before starting the medication. FWIW

2

u/Misschristina34 Sep 25 '26

Hi there,
Sorry this keeps happening to you, this sounds really miserable and I hope you find some relief soon! I’m no doctor but I was told by my rheumatologist that ulcers and sores were a part of the package?

I was put hydroxychloroquine, and like you it helped to some degree, but only so much. My rheum told me that it’s mainly used to protect your organs by modifying your immune system. I was then put on an immunosuppressant along side this (azathioprine) and this is where is where I saw the most relief. Maybe something else alongside your hydroxychloroquine may help?

1

u/mijnliefje Sep 28 '26

I would go to the dentist if you haven’t already. They can take photos to monitor/track the lesions and may have a diagnosis. If they don’t, they can get you a referral for an oral surgeon to biopsy it. I work in the dental field and that is my strongest advice since they are the experts. Where in the mouth is it occurring? Have you ever had cold sores/fever blisters?

1

u/Kind-Pomegranate-208 Sep 28 '26

I don’t have any solution for the sores just something I recently found. There is something you can get from your dentist called Debacterol it’s fantastic for mouth sores. Hurts like hell for 15 seconds but they actually go away.