Thrush in Babies
Contents:
- Thrush in Babies
- What is the Thrush?
- Symptoms of the Infant Yeast Infection
- Causes Babies Thrush
- What is the Danger of the Disease?
- How to Treat the Thrush in Babies
- Treatment by Soda at Home
- Prevention
Thrush in Babies
As recently as yesterday your beloved kid was hilarious and lively, he happily sucked milk, played and smiled. And today he is naughty, refuses to take the breast or bottle, crying. Explore the baby`s mouth. Did you see a strange whitish fur? It is a sign of the thrush, which is quite a widespread disease in newborns. Do not be fiercely frightened by this, in case of timely treatment, the fur passes quickly.
What is the Thrush?
Candidiasis (thrush) represents species of the fungal infection, which is produced by a microscopic yeast fungus of the Candida specie (Candida albicans)
Symptoms of the Infant Yeast Infection
The main symptom is a white fur in your kid`s mouth. There are spots or "patches" on the mucous membranes of the mouth: on the tongue, palate, gums, inside of the cheeks, around which a little inflammation is often produced. There is a redness beneath it after its removing (unlike in the case of the usual milk coat on the tongue).
Your child can be restless, moody, he throws breast or even refuses the breast (or bottle) while nursing, because sucking may cause him pain. Sometime later, small spots spread into formations of large light patches or tyroid fur.
Scrape white fur with a teaspoon. Have you managed to remove tyroid pieces? Are there red inflamed spots left on their place? Your child has oral candidiasis or thrush.
Thrush is a common disease, which is caused by special fungi Candida. These fungi are present in every human being, without causing any harm. However, the weakening of immunity of a kid, poor hygiene of a mother provokes the quick reproduction of fungi. As it has been already written, a newborn has a white fur like a hard milk curds in the mouth, on the tongue, inside of his cheeks (hence the name of the disease). But, unlike the milk residue, it is fairly hard to remove by a napkin or a cotton bud.
The main difference between the yeast infection and traces of milk in the mouth of babies is that milk residues disappear themselves sometime after feeding. White spots of the thrush increasingly "spread" in the mouth and on the tongue of a tot, causing soreness.
Causes Babies Thrush
- Fungus Candida albicans is present in every person whether this be an adult or a newborn. In kids during teething (by the way, here is another major problem that can occur when teething), in case of colds, dysbacteriosis, the immunity wanes, there are conditions for the robust growth of the fungus (you may be interested in reading about how to support immunity in infants up to one year of age);
- Any failure to follow hygiene from a mother`s side (cleanliness of the mammary glands, boiling of bottles and teats, as well as o child's toys) creates conditions for the development of the disease;
- Candida Fungi like everything sweet, therefore too sweet water or infant formula contribute to their rapid reproduction;
- If the child's mother has a thrush, there is a great risk to infect the child;
- Taking antibiotics can also provoke the development of the yeast infection.
With the emergence of the disease, find out the cause of infection in order not to infect your baby again after treatment.
What is the Danger of the Disease?
In case of thrush, greasy rough fur appears in the mouth of a child. It detects inflamed spots. In case of a strong damage, these spots can even bleed. The probability of penetration of a more serious infection through them into the body of a baby is quite possible.
In a neglected case, spots of the fur form a dense patch which covers the entire oral cavity and moves to the inner surface of a baby`s throat. Gums and lips become covered with rhagades, which start to bleed. Sucking and swallowing produce much pain to the baby. The child gets chewed up, cries, refuses to take the breast or nipple, his temperature can rise.
How to Treat the Thrush in Babies
Do not panic having discovered tyroid spots in the mouth of your infant. Thrush of newborns is well treatable. The main thing is to undertake the necessary procedures regularly until the complete recovery.
You must show the diseased child to a children's doctor. He prescribes treatment depending on the disease progression. Usually this medicine is based on nistatine.
However, it happens that a visit to your doctor turns to be impossible. In fact, a child can become ill before a weekend when a children's polyclinic is closed. It is allowable to start the treatment and ease the state of your baby on your own.
Treatment by Soda at Home
In order to treat your baby`s mouth, you will need some soda solution. Add one teaspoon of soda into a glass of boiled water and stir it well.
- Take a napkin from a wide bandage or gauze, wrap it around your finger, soak in the solution and gently wipe the inside of the mouth and tongue of the newborn. You should just wipe or wet, not trying to remove white fur. It is because the fur hides inflamed patches underneath, they can be even bleeding ones sometimes. Do not let disease-causing microbes get through these patches into your child's body.
- Perform this kind of treatment 4-5 times a day in every 2-3 hours for a few days. If a kid does not open his mouth on his own, fix his chin with your thumb and hold it until you finish to moisten his mouth.
Prevention
The greatest risk of developing thrush in newborns is preserved up to six months. It is because the child's organism grows and develops actively, and his immature immunity still poorly resists any disease. Therefore, it is so important to stick to simple rules to avoid this unpleasant disease.
- Thoroughly wash your breasts before giving them to your baby;
- As soon as you ended feeding, let your child drink some warm boiled water. It will wash away the remnants of milk from the mouth. If your kid possets, offer him to drink some water;
- Observe personal hygiene, wash your hands frequently;
- Try to avoid re-infection of your child with thrush. Regularly boil the bottles, teats, pacifiers, toys, i. e. all items surrounding your baby. If it is impossible to sterilize, treat objects with soda.