How to treat thrush in infants mouth

Thrush in the baby’s mouth (or candidiasis) is a fairly common disease that almost every mother faces. Candida has fungi in almost every organism, their number remains on an insignificant level, they do not manifest themselves and do not interfere with their host. However, some factors (poor hygiene, reduced immunity) can lead to the fact that Candida is actively expanding, covering the oral mucosa with white bloom. In the process of developing the disease, the baby becomes capricious, loses his appetite and refuses to eat, as sucking a breast or bottle brings him terrible pain. In such cases, you need to go to a doctor as soon as possible in order to make the correct diagnosis and begin treatment that will help improve the well-being of the crumbs.

Where does the thrush mouth come from?

Here are some common reasons that could trigger the appearance of a chewy plaque on the oral mucosa.

1. Newborns often become infected with candidiasis during birth at the time of passage through the birth canal. To avoid this, a pregnant woman before delivery should be treated for thrush, if any.
2. You can also get thrush from your mother’s nipple if she is also sick with candidiasis. In the presence of the disease, the mother should get rid of it as soon as possible.
3. Failure to follow basic rules of hygiene is the most common cause of infection with candidiasis. It is possible to approach a baby only in clean clothes and with washed hands. In no case can not touch the child (and especially the cavity of his mouth) with dirty hands. The same applies to his bottles, nipples and toys that he takes in his mouth - all these items should be constantly sterilized.
4. If there is already a fungus in the body, this does not mean that the thrush appears immediately. Candidiasis is waiting for the body to be weakened and unable to resist it.Reduced immunity is observed in children during ARVI, during the period of active growth of teeth.
5. A large amount of sweet or too sweet mixture can be the reason for the active development of the fungus, as Candida loves fast carbohydrates. Therefore, sweet food is a provoking factor.
6. Candidiasis can be infected from another child. This is often observed if there are older brothers and sisters in the house, if a friend of about the same age came to visit. Babies love to shove everything in their mouths - common toys, spoons, nipples.
7. Often, thrush occurs when immunity decreases after the use of antibiotics.
8. If there are foci in the mouth, it can also cause candidiasis. Among them are caries, streptococcus, gingivitis, etc.
9. Often thrush develops on the background of an injury, scratch or bruise on the mucous membrane, when the fungus falls into an open wound.

Despite the cause of candidiasis, it must be treated. But how to understand that the baby has candidiasis, and not a milk plaque on the tongue?

How to recognize candidiasis

Indeed, many mummies often confuse candidiasis with milk plaque in the child’s tongue, which is often formed after eating. First, the plaque goes away a few hours after eating, leaving the tongue clean.Secondly, if you try to scrape off the white mass, under the bloom there will be a healthy pink tongue, but under the curd secretions from the thrush will open a red sore. In addition, the plaque for candidiasis is quite painful, after contact the baby will probably begin to cry. Consider the main symptoms of candidiasis in infants.

1. First, small red specks appear in the child's mouth, which do not bring much discomfort. But this is the beginning of the disease.
2. After that, on the oral mucosa appear white plaques and local formations, which subsequently grow and form a single cheesy plaque.
3. Since the plaque is quite painful, the baby refuses to eat either completely or is often interrupted during sucking. The general well-being of the child is deteriorating - he does not sleep well, often crying, the number of regurgitations increases.
4. Candida covers the entire mucosa - gums, tongue, throat, tonsils, lips, cheeks. The plaque itself has a sour smell.
5. With sufficiently large lesions, a temperature may appear, as well as an increase in lymph nodes.
6. Due to frequent regurgitations and refusals to eat, the baby quickly loses weight.
7. Sometimes thrush can go to the mucous membrane of the genital organs (for girls).
8. Along with candidiasis, allergies or diaper dermatitis may increase. This is most often manifested by diaper rash around the anus, perineum, and lower abdomen.

If you notice similar symptoms in your child, you should immediately go to a doctor, because even innocuous candidiasis with the wrong treatment can lead to serious consequences.

What is dangerous candidiasis in infants

Candidiasis often does not require special treatment, but it must be carefully monitored. If the symptoms do not go away, but only increase, it can lead to candidal sepsis (blood infection). With the constant presence in the mouth of the source of infection, the internal organs can also be susceptible to inflammation of various kinds. With a long course of the disease, the baby suffers from dehydration and malnutrition. This is very dangerous for premature and underweight babies.

For girls, candidiasis is dangerous because it can spread to the genitals, which sometimes causes the formation of synechiae. Synechia is the fusion of the labia minora, which leads to pain during urination.To avoid such consequences, candidiasis must be taken under control.

How to treat thrush in the baby’s mouth

Most often, the diagnosis is made only by visual inspection. Sometimes a mucous membrane can be scraped to be analyzed and to determine the nature of the fungus. Bacteriological seeding will help to identify not only the type of fungus, but also its sensitivity to various drugs. This will help prescribe a more effective treatment. But such an analysis is done extremely rarely, only in advanced cases of disease progression. There are some rules and medications that are used to treat candidiasis in babies.

1. Antifungal drugs. Depending on the severity of the disease, the doctor prescribes certain antifungal drugs. Among them are Nystatin, Futsis, Candide, Vinilin, Miramistin. These tools need to do external treatment of the affected oral cavity. When applying a particular tool, pay attention to the allowable age at which the drug can be used. Many medicines have a childhood form. Pay attention also towhether a small part of the drug is swallowed, as this is unavoidable during the treatment of the oral cavity of the infant.
2. Refusal of sweets. If there are fungi in the mouth, you can not feed them, so you need to exclude sugary drinks and food during treatment. Especially before bedtime. After eating, you need to give the child some boiled water to wash the oral mucosa.
3. Immunity. If the disease is insignificant, it is quite possible to get rid of it, having a little strengthened the child’s immunity. Do hardening and massage, walk with the baby in the fresh air, more often give the chest, moisten the air in the room. And then the defenses of your little one's body will be able to defeat the uninvited guest on their own.
4. Bactericidal treatments. To clean the oral mucosa, you need to process it with various antiseptic compounds. This may be a solution of hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate. It is necessary to do the treatment in the following way: after the meal, you should give the child a drink to remove food residues. Then you need to wrap a sterile bandage on a clean finger and lower it into a bactericidal composition.Open your child's mouth and gently wipe all the affected areas of the mucous membrane - first the throat and the tonsils, then the gums, cheeks, tongue, and finally the lips. Change the bandage to a clean one often. After this, a cotton swab should be treated using an antifungal medication that your doctor has prescribed.
5. Anesthetic gels. To alleviate the condition of the child and give him the opportunity to safely take food, pain relieving ointments and gels are used, which “freeze” the mucous. Among them are the safest - Kalgel or Kamistad (since the age of three).

By following these rules, in a couple of days the baby will become much easier, and the disease will begin to recede.

Folk remedies against thrush in the mouth

In addition to pharmaceutical preparations, there are quite a few home remedies for treating thrush. They will help relieve pain and speed up the healing process.

1. Broth calendula and chamomile. These herbs have anti-inflammatory effects. Chamomile gently removes puffiness and redness, anesthetizes, and calendula disinfects the mucosal surface, suppressing the focus of inflammation. On one spoonful of dry plants should be poured into a glass and pour boiling water.Close the broth with a lid and let it brew for a couple of hours. Wipe oral mucosa with this composition 6-8 times a day.
2. Honey. Honey should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5. Dissolve the composition and bring it to a boil (do not boil). Warm composition lubricate the mouth every 3-4 hours. In the initial application, be careful and cautious if you do not know if your child is allergic to honey.
3. Aloe and raspberry. This method of treatment is suitable only for children older than one year old. Aloe juice should be mixed in equal proportions with raspberries and diluted in half with water. Treat the oral cavity with this medicine 3-5 times a day. Aloe has an antiseptic effect, raspberry soothes and reduces inflammation.
4. Baking soda. This is one of the most common, effective and safe means against thrush in infants. In a glass of warm water you need to dissolve a teaspoon of soda and process the oral cavity with this composition. This solution is so safe that treatments can be quite frequent - every 2-3 hours.

Before using this or that medicine or any means of traditional medicine, it is necessary to consult a doctor, as the reaction of the infant can be unpredictable.

A thrush in a baby’s mouth is not a dangerous but very unpleasant disease. Who wants to watch the suffering of their child? Therefore, as soon as you notice the first signs of candidiasis, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible in order to prevent the development of the disease in time. And then the sleep and nutrition of your crumbs will be calm!

Video: treatment of thrush in the mouth in infants