What is oral thrush and how can It be treated?

Oral thrush is a type of fungal infection which causes creamy white lesions, often on your oral cavity, tongue or inner cheeks. It can be treated with some anti-fungal medicines. It usually is caused by a yeast called candidiasis in your mouth. It would infect any individual, but its prevalence is higher in infants and old adults because they have a weaker immune system. Notably aimed towards the back of your throat, gums or tonsils, and the roof of your mouth. Additionally, people who take certain medical drugs are more susceptible to this disease.

Oral thrush makes it difficult to eat and drink. If left untreated, (in most cases) it remains in the patient’s mouth and enters the esophagus after a while. If you leave the treatment course unfinished or do not treat it, the infection may be spread all over the body. Oral thrush is considered a trivial problem for healthy people; however, oral thrush would bring about more severe symptoms in people whose immune system is weak.

Symptoms of Oral Thrush

The oral thrush disease is accompanied by different symptoms, barring the main symptom is the development of white lesions across the mouth. The white thrush lesions in the mouth often disappear automatically; however, their redness would remain on the skin and in some cases it would be followed by a little bleeding. Losing sense of taste or inability to recognize the bitter taste in the mouth is another symptom of oral thrush. In some people, the disease emerges with redness inside the mouth and throat. The feeling of pain and soreness inside the mouth or the formation of cracks at the corner of the lips are other symptoms of oral thrush.

Causes of Oral Thrush Disease

There are some sorts of Candidiasis fungi naturally in the digestive system and mouth of many people, which have no risks and bring about no danger. However, in the case of proliferation, they would bring about oral thrush. Oral thrush can be caused by several factors including a course of high-dose antibiotic therapy, using inhaling medicines for asthma and or using prostheses or raw materials of dentures are among the factors which can bring about oral thrush.

Another cause of oral thrush is neglecting the right principles of oral and dental hygiene. Children who do not observe the oral and dental hygiene instructions properly often experience this disease more than others. Likewise, patients who are under chemotherapy or radiotherapy to treat their cancer would get oral thrush. Among the most common causes of oral thrush are dry mouth and specific special medicines.

How to Prevent Oral Thrush?

There are several activities by doing them during the daytime you can avoid the development of oral thrush as much as possible. Here we discuss some of them in this part of our article:

• Washing mouth after each meal.
• Brushing teeth using toothpaste with fluoride twice a day.
• Regular and correct use of dental flossing.
• Removing dentures from the mouth before going to sleep.
• Quitting smoking.
• Controlling certain diseases like diabetes.

Treatment of Oral Thrush

The normal treatment of oral thrush is taking antifungal medicines. Doctors usually prescribe antifungal medicines like nystatin to treat the oral thrush. These medicines are available in pills and liquids, which must be kept for a while in the mouth before swallowing. However, there are some domestic treatments for thrushes. Washing the mouth with salt water solution is an effective domestic way to remove this disease. Using lemon juice, because of its detergent and antifungal properties, would help treat oral thrush. Keep in mind that the lemon juice must be mixed with a half cup of water. Studies show that apple vinegar, relying on its antifungal properties, would be a good option for treating thrushes. It is necessary to note that all of these solutions must be followed for 3-4 weeks to treat the oral thrush.

Oral Thrush FAQ