Thrush in children in the mouth: causes, symptoms and treatment

Thrush or candidal stomatitis is a disease caused by fungi of the genus Candida. Occurs in 20% of children during the first year of life. Thrush in the child's mouth can be treated without even resorting to medication if you recognize the problem in time.

Content

About the pathogen
Causes of thrush in children
Symptoms of thrush in a child
Diagnostics
Treatment of thrush in the mouth in children
- Drug treatment
- Folk remedies for thrush in the mouth of a child
Prevention of thrush in babies

About the pathogen

Even in perfectly healthy people, Candida fungus is present in the body. He lives on the mucous membranes, in the human colon, and normally does not manifest itself.

Factors affecting the development of candidiasis:

Immunity reduction.
The acidic environment in the body.
Ambient temperature from 30 ° C and above.

Under favorable conditions, the parasite begins to multiply rapidly, forming the so-called mycelium - a structure of interlinked cells. Together with dead particles of the epithelium, these cells form a cheesy coating on the affected areas of the mucous membranes.

Causes of thrush in children

The cause of thrush in the mouth in children is the ingestion of the pathogen on the mucous membranes. The factors provoking the occurrence of candidal stomatitis are slightly different for patients of different ages:

First months of life	Up to 12 months	12 months and older
Infection from a mother who did not treat genital candidiasis. Transmission can occur through the placenta or during labor. If the pathogen lives on the dummy, bottle or on the nipples of the mother’s breast. If a family member or nanny has the disease. Transmission at the household level: Candida fungi live in dust, books, carpets, soft toys. If the mother or the infant is treated with antibiotics. If the newborn regularly spits up, and particles of milk remain in the mouth. Failure to comply with basic hygiene standards by a person in close contact with a child. At a particular risk are infants born prematurely, as well as children of HIV-infected mothers and carriers of tuberculosis.	To these reasons is added the likelihood of contracting through unwashed toys, products, household items that children at this age constantly pull in their mouths. Close contact with pets and birds. The fungus can live in wool. If the baby is forced to use antibiotics or hormonal drugs, glucocorticoids. Bowel disease. Children at this age tend to imitate adults in everything, and when brushing their teeth, they can take someone else's brush.	In addition to the above, in older children, the following infection risks are added: The use of unwashed vegetables or fruits, as well as raw milk, unprocessed meat. Neglect of simple hygiene rules: after talking with pets, especially before eating, you need to wash your hands thoroughly. Unbalanced diet. Bad habits in adolescents.

First months of life

Up to 12 months

12 months and older

Infection from a mother who did not treat genital candidiasis. Transmission can occur through the placenta or during labor.
If the pathogen lives on the dummy, bottle or on the nipples of the mother’s breast.
If a family member or nanny has the disease.
Transmission at the household level: Candida fungi live in dust, books, carpets, soft toys.
If the mother or the infant is treated with antibiotics.
If the newborn regularly spits up, and particles of milk remain in the mouth.
Failure to comply with basic hygiene standards by a person in close contact with a child.
At a particular risk are infants born prematurely, as well as children of HIV-infected mothers and carriers of tuberculosis.

To these reasons is added the likelihood of contracting through unwashed toys, products, household items that children at this age constantly pull in their mouths.
Close contact with pets and birds. The fungus can live in wool.
If the baby is forced to use antibiotics or hormonal drugs, glucocorticoids.
Bowel disease.
Children at this age tend to imitate adults in everything, and when brushing their teeth, they can take someone else's brush.

In addition to the above, in older children, the following infection risks are added:

The use of unwashed vegetables or fruits, as well as raw milk, unprocessed meat.
Neglect of simple hygiene rules: after talking with pets, especially before eating, you need to wash your hands thoroughly.
Unbalanced diet.
Bad habits in adolescents.

Do not panic if the baby's mouth has a white coating that indicates thrush. This disease is found in many children and, in most cases, is tolerated easily and easily treatable, most importantly, do not start.

Symptoms of thrush in a child

The primary symptoms of thrush

In order to choose the right treatment, you need to know the symptoms of thrush that appears in the mouth in children. The disease can manifest itself in different ways, depending on its severity. Distinguish:

Mild mucosal damage.
Moderate.
Heavy.

With the primary symptoms of thrush in the child's mouth, as shown in the photo, focal redness appears, covered with a white coating. The easiest way to cure the disease is at this stage.

Thrush of moderate severity in the child's mouth

Photo: this is what a moderate thrush looks like in a child’s mouth

Then the mucous membrane of the mouth turns red, swells. White curdled "islands" merge, completely covering the tongue. Under the plaques, the inflamed areas can bleed and hurt, bringing significant discomfort to the baby.

In severe form, a white film covers the entire oral cavity, namely: tongue, gums, lips, palate, throat, inner side of the cheeks. The bleeding and soreness of the affected areas increases.

The kid looks lethargic, cries a lot, it becomes painful to swallow, from this he eats little or completely refuses food, which entails other serious problems. This situation can be complicated by an increase in body temperature.

Photo: looks like a thrush in an advanced stage

Candidiasis stomatitis can occur in acute and chronic form. In the acute stage, dry mouth and white plaque appear, the corners of the lips crack and bleed, and the lymph nodes increase under the jaw. In the second case, the manifestations of the disease go to the outside of the mouth, the spots in the corners of the lips darken, become brown in color, and are interconnected. Lymph nodes are felt more distinctly, become denser.

If candidiasis in the mouth in an infant is not uncommon, at an older age it can indicate a number of problems. Namely:

Diabetes.
Diseases of the endocrine system.
Immunodeficiency.
In rare cases, leukemia.

That is why parents should carefully monitor the health of their children and, at the first suspicion of candidiasis, consult a qualified specialist.

Diagnostics

Only a doctor is able to make an accurate diagnosis. The fact is that There are several varieties of the fungus, and some of them may not respond to standard treatment. The following studies may be needed to make a diagnosis:

Bakseeding from the oral cavity, before the delivery of which it is impossible to take food, water and brush your teeth.
Indirect laryngoscopy performed by an ENT doctor to determine the degree of damage to the oral cavity and larynx.
Jab.
Blood glucose test.
The immunogram.

Treatment of thrush in the mouth in children

To understand how to treat thrush in the mouth of a child, you need to determine the severity of the disease and focus on the age of the patient. Candidiasis responds well to treatment with a soda solution, as the fungi die in an alkaline environment. Advantages of this method:

Budgetary.
If there is no possibility in the near future to get an appointment with a doctor, it will help to get rid of the fungus in a short time.
Even children can be treated from the first days of life.
In the initial stages of the disease, a few days are enough for complete healing.

Soda solution treatment method:

Dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of warm boiled water.
Make a swab from a sterile bandage or a piece of gauze, moisten in the prepared solution and carefully apply to the affected areas. You cannot rub or remove white plaques.
Repeat these manipulations 5 times a day after feeding.

A visual treatment of thrush in children in the mouth is presented in the photo, where mom carefully applies a bandage moistened with sodium carbonate to the affected areas of the mucous membrane:

Drug treatment

With moderate and severe manifestations of thrush in babies, local drugs are used in the mouth. For example, Candide. The basis of this antifungal agent is clotrimazole. Method of application: 3-5 drops of the solution are applied to a clean bandage or tissue, and compresses the affected areas of the baby’s mouth three times a day. The course of treatment should be continued for a week, each time using a sterile swab.

In addition to the solution, Candide can be purchased in the form of candles, cream, gel and powder.Nystatin tablets are often prescribed - an antifungal drug of the polyene series. The method of their use in relation to children:

It is necessary to take one tablet, crush it.
Mix with 1 ml of Vitamin B
Apply to the affected areas in the baby's mouth 4 times a day.

From six months you can use Diflucan - an antifungal agent based on fluconazole. The greatest effect is achieved in combination with cyanocobalamin - vitamin B12. Method of application: it is necessary to obtain a solution by combining the two above components in a ratio of 1: 1. Within 7 days, the baby is made compresses 4 times a day.

Miramistin is a good antiseptic, it kills not only bacteria, but also fungi of the genus Candida. It is used for children over 1 year old. It is very convenient to use a spray with a special atomizer in the form of a thin tube, it is enough to make 2-3 clicks, spraying the medicine in the mouth. The drug has no pronounced taste and smell.

You can treat thrush in children from the age of 3 years using the drug Hexoralusing it to rinse or as lotions. It happens that with thrush in a child, itching is present in the oral cavity. Children from three years old can already say about these symptoms, in this case you can use the antihistamine Fenistil.

When treating thrush in babies, it is important to prevent re-infection. You need to thoroughly wash toys, boil nipples and bottles, regularly carry out wet cleaning at home. A nursing mother should wash her breast 2 times a day, spray it with Miramiston. Therapeutic solutions and ointments are correctly applied to the affected areas after, and not before, feeding.

How to treat baby thrush in the mouth, the doctor must determine. Only a qualified specialist, given the anamnesis, a tendency to allergies, the age of the baby and the severity of the disease, can prescribe the right recipe.

Folk remedies for thrush in the mouth of a child

Potassium permanganate. If the home medicine cabinet has potassium permanganate, you can make a weak pink solution and use it to make compresses. After five days of continuous treatment, the disease should recede.
The juice of indoor aloe is a very valuable product of traditional medicine, and it is often used in the treatment of thrush. Nectar must be diluted with boiled water in 1: 1 proportions. It has a bitter aftertaste and can provoke vomiting.
Honey can be used as another alternative in the treatment of candidiasis. It has bactericidal properties, it is enough to dilute the lime or buckwheat beekeeping product with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 2, moisten the dummy in the resulting mass and give it to the baby.

Important! Honey is a strong allergen. Before use, you must make sure that the baby does not manifest allergic reactions.

Zelenka. Experienced mothers argue that two uses of a well-known folk remedy for complete disposal of a fungal disease are sufficient. But doctors do not recommend the use of a diamond green antiseptic. It hides the dynamics of the disease and overdries the mucous membrane.
A solution of lugol, in other words, iodine is a remedy that can also be advised in the treatment of thrush. But its effectiveness has not been proven.

An important condition in the treatment of thrush is maintaining the necessary conditions in the children's room. The correct parameters are:

Air temperature is about 20 ° C.
Humidity in the range of 40-60%.
Frequent airing of the room in the absence of the baby.

Prevention of thrush in babies

Even at the stage of planning a child, women should be treated for thrush, but it can be difficult to completely insure against candidiasis. During pregnancy, immunity decreases, which entails the development of a fungal infection, sometimes with relapses. Therefore, at the very first symptoms, and this is a burning sensation in the genitals, it is necessary to consult a local gynecologist.Before giving birth, a woman must cure a fungal infection present in the body, for this there are many safe drugs.

Prevention of the appearance of candidiasis in a baby already born is as follows:

Keeping the room clean.
Regular sterilization of bottles and dummies.
Toys must be washed thoroughly.
Mom needs to wash her breast with running water at least twice a day and before each feeding.
Teeth should be brushed both in the morning and in the evening.
It is necessary to prevent close contact with a child of a person suffering from a fungal disease.
Timely introduction of complementary foods, the inclusion of high-quality dairy products in the diet.
It is often necessary to examine the baby's oral cavity for the appearance of candidal stomatitis and consult a doctor at the first signs of the disease.

Summing up, we can say that thrush is a fungal infection, which children can become infected for a variety of reasons. The duty of parents is to take all measures to prevent this disease. And if it was not possible to prevent the disease, you should not panic, it is important to contact a qualified specialist in time. Only he can correctly diagnose and prescribe medication. In no case should one engage in self-medication; the baby’s health is very important.