Thrush

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HealthWiki > Where There Is No Dentist > Chapter 7 Part 1: Problems You Will See Most Often > Thrush

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

Thrush is an infection caused by a yeast fungus called Candida. It often appears when a person is weak and poorly nourished, or sick and taking medicine like tetracycline or ampicillin. In a baby, thrush usually appears on the tongue or top of the mouth. It can stop the baby from sucking. ln an adult, thrush often occurs under a denture. Thrush is a very common problem for people living with HIV.

Signs:

• White patches on the tongue, cheek, or top of the mouth. Wipe the white area: If there is no bleeding it is old milk. If there is bleeding, it is thrush.
• The child may not want to suck or eat.

Treatment:

There is usually another problem which is helping thrush to grow. Try to find what it is and deal with it. For example, treat the malnutrition, diabetes, or anemia, change or stop the antibiotic medicine, or clean the denture and leave it out of the mouth for a while. Then:

1. Cover the white patches with nystatin drops. Use 2 full droppers of nystatin 4 times a day. Continue giving this medicine for 2 days after the patches are gone, or they may come back. See other treatments that can help.
   
   If the baby’s mother has sore, painful nipples, she may also have thrush in her breasts. She should treat her nipples the same way she treats the baby’s mouth.
   
   Do not use penicillin or any other antibiotic unless you need to treat something different. Thrush can get worse when a person uses an antibiotic for a long time.
   
   
2. For children, continue breastfeeding. For older persons, make their food soft and easy to chew.

IMPORTANT! Sometimes white lines appear on the inside of an adult’s cheek or on the roof of the mouth. If these lines become sore and do not get better with treatment, they can change into a cancer. To prevent this cancer, ask the person to stop smoking (especially pipes), stop chewing betel nut, and get dentures adjusted if they do not fit properly.

This page was updated:17 May 2024