When you see milk curds like inside the cheeks, on the roof of the mouth, on the gums, or on your baby’s tongue -- that could be a common harmless yeast infection called, thrush! Oral thrush is very common type of newborn ailments, it’s actually the second top next to common colds. Many babies get thrush in the mouth in the first few weeks or months of birth.
Yeast is present and normal part of everyone’s digestive system. Yeast organisms are part of the germs (including bacteria) that are normally found on various parts of the body and which ordinarily cause no symptoms. It is usually kept in check by the immune system and other types of germs that also normally live in the mouth.
But when there’s an imbalance, infections set in. Due to hormonal change after birth, overgrowth of yeast may develop.
Most infants come in contact with yeast as they travel down the birth canal. Some moms and babies pass the infection back and forth. Your baby can pass thrush on to you if you're breastfeeding, resulting in a painful yeast infection on your nipples that will need a doctor's treatment. And you can trigger a case of thrush in your baby if you're breastfeeding and you develop a yeast infection on your nipples from taking antibiotics. On the other hand, some moms remain uninfected even while breastfeeding babies who have thrush — and some breastfed babies are not affected by their mother's yeast infection. Oral thrush infections can also happen if there are course of treatments with antibiotics. This is because antibiotics kills the levels of good bacteria in a baby's mouth, which allows fungus levels to increase.
It’s not easy to pinpoint what causes thrush. Some babies get oral thrush because of prolonged sucking in bottles and pacifiers, while some are not. Thrush can be very irritating but it is treatable.
If you think your baby may have thrush in the mouth, one needs to go to a doctor or health nurse to be sure, and to get advice about the treatment. The treatment may be drops or a gel which needs to be spread around the inside of the mouth, not just put on the tongue. If the baby is breastfeeding, the mother's nipples may need to be treated at the same time as the baby to prevent the infection passing back and forth.
In many cases, oral thrush in infants can disappear within two weeks and may need no treatment other than watching the progress of the mouth lesions. Because oral thrush may affect feedings, the pediatrician should still be notified if symptoms appear in an infant.
Please let us know your thoughts and experiences about oral thrush by commenting below. We would be happy to hear from you!
Sources:
Thrush in Babies. http://www.babycenter.com/0_thrush-in-babies_92.bc
Oral Thrushes in Babies. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/179069.php
Oral Thrush in Babies: http://patient.info/health/oral-thrush-in-babies
