Oral Thrush: Signs and Remedies

Oral thrush is one of the fungal infections that can affect a baby’s mouth more than once during the first year of life, and that is due to the immature immune system of infants compared to grown-ups and their bodies’ incapacity to fight infections and diseases.

Oral thrush is considered a mild easily treated condition, and its symptoms (if any) are quite limited to the following:

• White cottage-like texture patches in the mouth and on the tongue. These patches are different from the ones resulting from milk, for it’s not easy to swipe them off and they may even bleed if rubbed.
• Sore mouth and tongue and/ or difficulty swallowing.
• Lack of appetite.
• Red rash in the diaper area.
• Mood swings, irritability and pain sensation from time to time.

So if your child shows the symptoms above, do not hesitate to consult the doctor who shall examine him, check on his condition and give him the right treatment with ointments, gels or drugs that fight fungus and reduce their infections.

And because oral thrush can pass back and forth between mother and baby through breastfeeding, i.e. because oral thrush can hit a mother’s breast and spread to her child through breastfeeding, we recommend that you follow these tips in order to deal with the thrush or prevent it, and thus avoid the ordeal:

• Boil your baby’s pacifier, teething ring and every item needed for his breastfeeding between 5 and 7 minutes after every usage.
• Wash on regular basis with hot soapy water your baby’s clothes and the toys he put in the mouth and chew on. Then dry them under the sun to sterilize them.
• Wash your baby’s mouth after every feed so you can get rid of the milk residues where fungus can grow.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water, especially after and before breastfeeding, before and after changing nappies.
• Sterilize your baby’s items and the surfaces you use to change his diaper.
• Keep yourself away from thrush by cleaning your breasts regularly, sterilizing your breast pump after every use and changing your bra after nursing and washing it with hot soapy water.

But if, despite all these treatments and precautions, oral thrush persisted in your baby for more than 2 weeks or spread to your breasts through nursing, then you will have to inform the doctor so he can intervene in a different way.

Read More: How To Soothe A Crying Baby?