Is thrush painful?

Children will show a variety of symptoms after they get thrush, which will of course cause pain. At this time, the child will often cry, which will cause some inflammatory reactions in the oral mucosa, a bit like milk lumps. If it is more serious, it may even cause the bacteria to spread to the pharyngeal tonsillitis, gums and other parts, and even cause bronchi and esophagus involvement, causing difficulty in swallowing in children and causing other stimulating infections.

Oral Thrush Symptoms

Oral thrush can occur at any age, but is most common in infants under 2 years old. The main symptoms of thrush are:

1. A milky white, slightly raised patch appears on the oral mucosa with no surrounding inflammation. It is shaped like a milk lump and is painless. After wiping off the patch, a non-bleeding red wound can be seen underneath. The patch varies 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, it is difficult to detect unless the oral cavity is carefully examined. There is no obvious pain or the patient only feels painful when eating. In severe cases, the baby will become irritable and restless due to the pain, cry with poor appetite, have difficulty breastfeeding, and sometimes have 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 more serious cases, the lesions may spread to the esophagus and bronchi, causing candidal esophagitis or pulmonary candidiasis, resulting in breathing and swallowing difficulties. A few may develop chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, which may affect lifelong immune function. It may even lead to other bacterial infections and cause sepsis.

Causes of Oral Thrush

Snow mouth disease is caused by Candida albicans, which is one of many microorganisms. Candida albicans can also be found in the mouths of healthy infants and young children, but it does not cause disease. Whether the disease occurs mainly depends on the body's adaptability and resistance. Therefore, the disease is common in infants and young children with unclean oral cavity and nutritional deficiencies.

1. The mother's vagina is infected with fungi and the baby is infected when it passes through the birth canal and comes into contact with the mother's secretions during birth.

2. Failure to thoroughly sterilize baby bottles and nipples, and unclean nipples of the mother during breastfeeding can all be sources of infection.

3. Contact with food, clothing and toys infected with Candida albicans. In addition, infants and young children begin to grow teeth at 6-7 months old, and their gums may feel slightly swollen and painful at this time. Infants and young children then like to bite their fingers and toys, which can easily bring bacteria and mold into the mouth and cause infection.

4. Living in a group in kindergarten may sometimes cause thrush due to cross infection.

5. Long-term use of antibiotics or inappropriate use of hormone treatment will cause an imbalance of bacterial flora in the body, allowing fungi to take advantage of the situation and multiply in large numbers, causing thrush.