Oral thrush in children under 1 year: Causes, symptoms and treatment

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor of Otolaryngology - Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital.

Candida albicans is the main cause of oral thrush in children this age. This Candida fungus usually coexists peacefully on the human body and rarely causes harm if maintained in balance. However, certain favorable factors cause Candida to overgrow and cause oral thrush. Some factors increase the risk of oral candidiasis in children under 1 year of age:
Weak immune system: Infants and young children are at very high risk of oral thrush due to the body's own immune system. still too weak. Most especially, babies born prematurely, with low birth weight, malnourished children or children who use inhaled corticosteroids for a long time (in the treatment of asthma) without rinsing their mouth after spraying. The mother has a genital yeast infection: If the mother has a genital yeast infection during pregnancy and labor but has not been completely treated, it can be transmitted to the baby if delivered vaginally. Use of antibiotics: The indiscriminate use of antibiotics also increases the risk of oral thrush in children under 1 year of age. The reason is that antibiotics make an imbalance of beneficial bacteria and harmful fungi, causing candida.

In addition, oral thrush in children is caused by many different causes, because the oral cavity of young children is easy to get milky residue after feeding. If the child's mouth is not cleaned regularly, oral thrush is easy to develop. spread. In addition, when babies suck, sucking tools such as pacifiers, pacifiers, gum loops ... infected with fungi are also the causes of this disease.

The first sign of fungal infection is the appearance of small, round, lump-like white patches on the inside of the tongue, palate, cheeks or lips. These white spots are very difficult to clean. After removing these spots, there will be many red spots on the inside of the mouth.
Mushrooms usually won't cause pain to a child. However, in some cases, these spots can make the baby very uncomfortable, anorexia, fussy when sucking milk because of pain. When oral thrush is not treated early, the fungus grows thick and can spread very quickly down the throat, esophagus, trachea, causing pneumonia or diarrhea, which greatly affects the health of children.

Oral thrush is very easy to re-infect, so when you see the above signs in the oral cavity, the mother needs to take the child to the doctor immediately for definitive treatment. There are usually 2 medications to treat oral thrush in young children
Miconazole: This is a very easy to use gel medicine that kills fungal cells inside the mouth by applying a gel to the white patches, Nystatin: This is a very effective fungal treatment with crushed oral tablets or water-soluble powder to give to children if they are not suitable for taking Miconazole.

Oral thrush in children under 1 year old is easy to re-infect. Therefore, it is necessary to treat it thoroughly, using the drug for about 10 days and sometimes it is necessary to treat the mother if the baby is breast-feeding.
Regularly touch the child's tongue so that the oral cavity and tongue are always clean, avoiding the overgrowth of bacteria and fungi. Should touch the child's tongue with physiological saline, do not use honey for children under 1 year old because it will cause poisoning.

In addition, it is necessary to clean the pacifier tools, eating utensils, toys... If the baby has asthma and uses inhaled corticosteroids, the mother should let the baby gargle after using the medicine.
Oral thrush is not too dangerous, but in the long run can affect the health of children. Therefore, when seeing signs of oral thrush, the mother should take steps to treat the disease, if it does not improve, she can take the child to the doctor.
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