Thrush is called a fungal disease that affects the mucous membranes of the mouth, nails, skin and internal organs of a person. It is caused by yeast-like fungi of the genus Candida (Candida). Thrush in the mouth in infants is a fairly common phenomenon. Timely detection of pathology allows for a short period to cope with it.
What is thrush?
The disease got its name because of the cheesy plaque in white. The causative agent of thrush is Candida fungus, therefore its official name is candidiasis. Most often, it occurs in the mouth of infants.
Candida mushrooms carry out their activities in the skin and mucous membranes. They are opportunistic. With individual factors, they begin to multiply, which leads to the onset of an inflammatory process.
The baby begins to experience pain and discomfort. If the first signs of thrush occur in children in the mouth, it is necessary to proceed to treatment. After all, pathology can cause serious complications.
Causes of thrush
If the microflora balance is disturbed in the baby’s body, the growth of Candida fungus begins, that is, the disease begins to develop. Thrush in the mouth (photo in the article) most often occurs during teething.
The reasons may be different:
- The disease is transmitted from mother to child during childbirth. This happens when the woman did not have time to completely recover from the pathology and transferred it to the baby.
- If the nursing mother took antibiotics, then the likelihood of thrush.
- The disease can appear at a time when the child is constantly pulling various objects in his mouth or begins to crawl. Trying not always edible things, it increases the level of pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity.
- Thrush can appear in a child when his teeth begin to erupt. His immunity is weakened with colds.
At risk for thrush are premature babies.
Symptoms of the disease
Signs of thrush in the mouth may appear in the first months of a newborn's life. Here are the main symptoms that parents should alert:
- the usual behavior of the baby changes;
- he refuses a breast, turns away from a bottle with a mixture;
- the baby cries, is naughty and cannot fall asleep;
- frequent regurgitation appears;
- the baby loses weight due to refusal of food.
Special signs of thrush can be found if you examine the mucous membrane of the mouth. It depends on the stage of the disease:
- Thrush begins with small red spots on the walls of the mouth, and then white curdled plaques join them. The mild form does not cause the child pain and discomfort.
- With the development of the disease, an abundant curd coating appears in the baby's mouth, which occurs as a result of the increase and association of plaques. If they are removed, then red erosion can be detected. At this stage, burning of the mouth and tongue occurs, pain appears during eating. The child begins to behave uneasily.
- During stage 3 of thrush, ulcers begin to bleed, the disease captures new areas: tonsils, gums and palate. A curd coating covers the entire oral cavity, including the throat and lips. In this case, the temperature rises, the intestinal microflora is disturbed and the lymph nodes increase.
Treatment of this stage of the disease is complex and can only take place in a hospital. Thrush in the mouth of a baby is accompanied by diaper rash around the genitals and diaper dermatitis.
Diagnosis of the disease
In the first stage, thrush is difficult to determine. This is due to the nutrition of the child, because white plaque is easy to confuse with food debris in the mouth. Parents should constantly inspect the baby's oral cavity so as not to miss the thrush. The specialist makes a diagnosis based on a smear taken from the affected area. The contents are applied to glass, then it is dried, stained and examined under a microscope. If colonies of Candida fungus are noticed, then the diagnosis is correct. Often, a specialist determines thrush in children in the mouth during a visual examination. After the diagnosis is established, the necessary therapy is prescribed.
Thrush treatment
If the treatment of the disease is started in a timely manner, then it can be dealt with with minor pain. Treatment of thrush in children in the mouth is aimed at eliminating its causes and combating the pathogen itself. The complexity of therapy in infants is that many drugs are prohibited for them. Usually prescribed funds for external use. Newborns under the age of 6 months are allowed to use:
- a weak solution of potassium permanganate for the treatment of the oral cavity;
- 1% hydrogen peroxide for mucosal treatment.
After this procedure, the oral cavity is lubricated with methylene blue and 0.25% silver nitrate solution.
It is important during the treatment of thrush in newborns in the mouth to walk as much as possible in the fresh air and moisten the air in the room. With frequent burping of the mother, it is necessary to follow the feeding technique.
Children over 6 months of age are prescribed such antimicrobials:
- Miramistin.
- "Nystatin."
- Candide.
In severe stages of the disease, "Pimafucin", a solution of "Lugol" or "Clotrimazole" are prescribed. With a decrease in immunity, a specialist can prescribe immunostimulants.
How to treat thrush in the mouth? Therapy is carried out according to this scheme:
- With boiled water, the oral cavity is cleaned of food debris.
- The oral cavity must be treated with an antiseptic solution. Gauze is wrapped around the finger, with sweeping movements wiping the inside of the cheeks, tongue and at the end of the lip. This procedure should be carried out 3-6 times a day, depending on the means used.
- Using a cotton swab, an antifungal drug is applied pointwise to the lesion site. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times a day.
When prescribing timely treatment, it lasts for 5-10 days. All drugs should be prescribed by a specialist. Interruption of treatment after the disappearance of symptoms is prohibited. Confirm the complete elimination of the fungus can only scraping mucus from the oral cavity, conducted in the laboratory.
Thrush therapy folk remedies
The most famous remedy used to treat thrush is soda solution. It makes the alkaline environment of the oral cavity. Preparing simply: 1 tsp. soda is added to a glass of boiled water. The resulting solution helps get rid of thrush in the mouth of a newborn. The procedure is carried out half an hour before a meal. Gauze wound on a finger is treated with a mouth every 2-3 hours. Treatment of thrush in the mouth with soda suspends or even completely removes candidiasis from the mucous membrane of the child’s mouth.
The second safe way is to treat the oral cavity with honey. Thrush disappears due to the antiseptic effect of the beekeeping product on plaques. Stir one teaspoon of honey with 2 tbsp. l water. Gauze moistened with a solution, wipe the oral cavity several times a day. Such treatment is dangerous for babies suffering from allergies. Therefore, it should be started after consultation with a specialist.
Tips by Dr. Komarovsky
Given the fact that external and internal causes contribute to the appearance of thrush, it is worth paying attention to the true factors of its appearance. According to the famous doctor, this is due to a decrease in the protective function of saliva. Especially when it dries up.
In saliva, which is normal, colonies of beneficial bacteria should be kept. They are responsible for inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microflora. When the antimicrobial properties of saliva are reduced, then pathogenic bacteria cause the development of stomatitis or thrush.
Therefore, the prevention of this condition should be reduced to restoring the immune properties of saliva and increasing its amount. This requires walks in the fresh air, regular wet cleaning of the room and maintaining the necessary microclimate in the apartment. You should not wrap your child in warm clothes when the room is warm. Overheating can only harm the baby. Timely cleansing of the nasal cavity will avoid breathing difficulties, and the mucous membrane will remain hydrated.
Possible complications of thrush
Despite the prevalence of the disease and the many existing methods of dealing with it, there is a risk of serious complications. These include:
- digestive upset;
- damage to internal organs;
- candida sepsis;
- weight loss in infants and dehydration due to refusal to eat food.
With the defeat of the genitals in girls, synechia appears. In the absence of proper and timely therapy, thrush can become chronic and periodically repeat.
Disease prevention
To prevent the occurrence of thrush in an infant, one should adhere to the following recommendations:
- Sterilize baby dishes (bottles, nipples).
- Do not bathe the child in contaminated water.
- If a mother develops candidiasis during pregnancy, treat it in a timely manner.
- Constantly monitor the cleanliness of the hands and mammary glands.
- Increase the defenses of the baby’s body.
- After feeding, give the baby a little boiled water to normalize the microflora of the oral cavity.
If thrush is detected in a baby, mother must also be treated to avoid reinfection.
Conclusion
If thrush symptoms occur, parents should urgently show the child to a pediatrician or dentist. Signs of a pathology are similar to symptoms of a sore throat or stomatitis. Only after a precisely confirmed diagnosis can treatment of thrush begin. Timely and proper treatment of the disease will not allow the infection to spread further and affect the internal organs of the baby.