Does thrush hurt babies?

When a baby gets thrush, it will cause pain, and it will also cause swelling of the throat, difficulty swallowing, lesions in the oral mucosa, etc. When a child first gets thrush, use medication to treat it in time. Thrush is caused by fungal infection, so some antifungal drugs should be used for treatment through external application or oral administration. This disease is relatively easy to treat, so parents should not worry too much.

Clinical manifestations of thrush in babies

It is most common in infants under 2 years old.

1. A milky white, slightly raised, spotted membrane appears on the oral mucosa with no surrounding inflammatory reaction, shaped like a milk curd. It is painless. After wiping off the plaque membrane, a red wound without bleeding can be seen underneath. The plaques vary in size and may appear on the tongue, cheeks, palate, or inner lip mucosa.

2. It often occurs on the mucous membranes of the cheeks, tongue, soft palate and lips. The white patches are not easy to wipe off with a cotton swab or wet gauze.

3. When the infection is mild, the white spots are not easy to find, there is no obvious pain, or there is only a painful expression when eating. In severe cases, the baby will be irritable, have a poor appetite, cry, and have difficulty breastfeeding due to the pain, sometimes accompanied by a mild fever.

4. If the damaged mucosa is not treated in time, it may continue to expand and spread to the pharynx, tonsils, gums, etc. In severe cases, it may spread to the esophagus and bronchi, causing candidal esophagitis or pulmonary candidiasis, with breathing and swallowing difficulties. In a few cases, it may be complicated by chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. It may even lead to other bacterial infections and cause sepsis.

Oral thrush treatment

1. Medication

(1) Topical medication

Thrush is relatively easy to treat. You can grind nystatin into powder and mix it with cod liver oil drops. Apply it on the wound once every 4 hours. The effect is significant. Thrush is relatively easy to treat with local medication. You can grind nystatin into powder and mix it with cod liver oil drops. Apply it on the wound once every 4 hours, and the effect is significant.

(2) Systemic medication

Babies with severe symptoms can also take some antifungal drugs orally, such as nystatin or clotrimazole, for comprehensive treatment.

Dip some nystatin solution (every 10 ml of cold boiled water contains 200,000 units of nystatin) with cotton wool and apply it to the affected area of ​​the mouth, or apply 1% gentian violet to the mouth; or wash the mouth with 2-3% sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) solution; or apply some ice borate powder or borax glycerin. The above medicines can be applied 3-4 times a day.

After feeding, drop 1% gentian violet solution under the tongue of the newborn and let the tongue move to apply it to the entire mouth. Generally, drip 2-3 times a day, and supplement with vitamin B complex and vitamin C, twice a day, one tablet each time, crush them into powder, dissolve in water and feed.

(3) Mother’s diet

Breastfeeding mothers should eat a light diet and avoid spicy food, alcohol and irritating foods. Do not feed too much at one time. Those with constipation can be fed vegetable soup. Children's bottles, nipples and tableware should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.