How to treat thrush in a baby in her mouth

Thrush in the baby’s mouth (or candidiasis) is a fairly common disease that almost every mother encounters. Candida fungi are present in almost every organism, their number remains at an insignificant level, they do not manifest themselves and do not interfere with their host. However, some factors (poor hygiene, decreased immunity) can lead to the fact that candida actively grows, covering the mucous membrane of the mouth with a white coating. The baby in the process of developing the disease becomes moody, loses his appetite and refuses to eat, because sucking a chest or bottle brings him terrible pain. In such cases, you need to go to the doctor as soon as possible to make the correct diagnosis and begin treatment that will help improve the health of the crumbs.

Where does the thrush come from in the baby’s mouth?

Here are a few common reasons that could become a trigger for the appearance of cheesy plaque on the oral mucosa.

1. Newborn babies are often infected with candidiasis during birth at the time of passage through the birth canal. To avoid this, a pregnant woman should be treated for thrush before childbirth, if any.
2. Thrush can be infected through the mother’s nipple, if she is also sick with candidiasis. If the mother has the disease, get rid of it as soon as possible.
3. Non-observance of basic hygiene rules is the most common cause of infection with candidiasis. You can only approach a baby in clean clothes and with washed hands. In no case should you touch the child (and especially the oral cavity) with dirty hands. The same goes for his bottles, nipples and toys, which he puts in his mouth - all these items should be constantly sterilized.
4. If there is already a fungus in the body, this does not mean at all that the thrush appears immediately. Candidiasis is waiting for the body to be weakened and unable to resist it. A decrease in immunity is observed in children during acute respiratory viral infections, during the period of active tooth growth.
5. A large amount of sweet or too sweet mixture can be the reason for the active development of the fungus, since 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 has come to visit. Children love to stick everything in their mouths - common toys, spoons, nipples.
7. Often, thrush occurs with a decrease in immunity after using antibiotics.
8. If there are foci of infection in the mouth, this can also be the cause of candidiasis. Among them, caries, streptococcus, gingivitis, etc. can be distinguished.
9. Often, thrush develops against a background of trauma, a scratch or a bruise on the mucosa, when the fungus enters 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 coating on the tongue?

How to recognize candidiasis

Indeed, many mothers often confuse candidiasis with a plaque in the child’s tongue, which often forms after eating. Firstly, plaque passes a few hours after eating, leaving the tongue clean. Secondly, if you try to scrape off the white mass, under the plaque there will be a healthy pink tongue, but under the curdled secretions from the thrush, a red sore will open. In addition, plaque with 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 spots appear in the child's mouth, which do not bring much discomfort. But this is the beginning of the disease.
2. After that, white plaques and local formations appear on the oral mucosa, which subsequently grow and form a single curdled plaque.
3. Since the plaque is quite painful, the baby refuses to eat either completely or often interrupted while sucking. The general well-being of the child worsens - he does not sleep well, often cries, the number of spitting ups increases.
4. Candida covers the entire mucous membrane - gums, tongue, throat, tonsils, lips, cheeks. The coating itself has a sour smell.
5. With sufficiently large lesions, temperature may appear, as well as an increase in lymph nodes.
6. Due to frequent regurgitation and refusal to eat, the baby quickly loses weight.
7. Sometimes thrush can go to the mucous membrane of the genital organs (applies to girls).
8. Against the background of candidiasis, allergies or diaper dermatitis may intensify. Most often, this is manifested by diaper rash near the anus, perineum and lower abdomen.

If you notice similar symptoms in your child, you should immediately run to the doctor, since even harmless candidiasis with improper 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, this can lead to candidal sepsis (blood poisoning). With a constant presence in the mouth of the focus of infection, the internal organs can also be susceptible to various types of inflammation. With a prolonged course of the disease, the baby suffers from dehydration and malnutrition. This is very dangerous for premature and small 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 mouth of a baby

Most often, a diagnosis is made only by visual inspection. Sometimes a scraping can be taken from the mucosa to be tested and the nature of the fungus determined. Bacteriological culture will help to identify not only the variety of the fungus, but also its sensitivity to various drugs. This will help to prescribe a more effective treatment. But such an analysis is done extremely rarely, only in advanced cases of the course of the disease. 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, Nystatin, Futsis, Candide, Vinilin, Miramistin can be distinguished. With these tools, external treatments of the affected oral cavity should be done. When applying this or that remedy, pay attention to the permissible age at which the drug can be used. Many medicines have a childhood form. Also, pay attention to whether a small part of the drug is swallowed, as this is unavoidable during the treatment of the oral cavity of the baby.
2. Refusal of sweets. If there are fungi in the mouth, you can’t feed them, so you need to exclude sweet drinks and food during treatment. Especially before bedtime. After eating, you need to give the child a little boiled water to rinse the oral mucosa.
3. Immunity. If the disease is insignificant, it is quite possible to get rid of it by slightly strengthening the child’s immunity. Do hardening and massage, walk with the baby in the fresh air, often give breasts, moisturize the air in the room. And then the defenses of the body of your crumbs will be able to defeat the intruder on their own.
4. Bactericidal treatments. To clean the oral mucosa, you need to process it with various antiseptic compounds. It can be a solution of hydrogen peroxide or potassium permanganate. You need to do the treatment this way - after eating you need to give your child a drink to remove the remnants of food. Then on a clean finger you need to wrap a sterile bandage and lower it into a bactericidal composition. Open your child’s mouth and gently wipe all affected areas of the mucosa - first the throat and tonsils, then the gums, cheeks, tongue, and finally the lips. Change the bandage to clean more often. After this, a cotton swab should be treated using an antifungal drug that your doctor has prescribed.
5. Anesthetic gels. To alleviate the condition of the child and give him the opportunity to take food painlessly, painkillers and gels are used that seem to “freeze” the mucous membrane. Among them, the safest can be distinguished - Kalgel or Kamistad (from three years old).

Following these rules, in a couple of days the baby will feel much better, and the disease will begin to recede.

Folk remedies against thrush in the mouth

In addition to pharmacy drugs, there are many home methods for treating thrush. They will help relieve pain and speed up the healing process.

1. Decoction of calendula and chamomile. These herbs have an anti-inflammatory effect. Chamomile gently removes puffiness and redness, anesthetizes, and calendula disinfects the surface of the mucosa, suppressing the focus of inflammation. 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 the 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). Lubricate the oral cavity with a warm composition every 3-4 hours. For initial use, be careful and careful if you do not know if the child has an allergy to honey.
3. Aloe and raspberries. This method of treatment is suitable only for children over one year of age. Aloe juice should be mixed in equal proportions with raspberries and diluted in half with water. Treat with this medicine the oral cavity 3-5 times a day. Aloe has an antiseptic effect, raspberries soothe and relieve 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 treat the oral cavity with this composition. It is such a safe solution that treatments can be quite frequent - every 2-3 hours.

Before using this or that medicine or any alternative medicine, it is necessary to consult a doctor, since the reaction of the organism of the infant can be unpredictable.

Thrush in the mouth of a baby is not a dangerous, but a 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 of a baby