What is neonatal thrush?
Neonatal thrush, also called intrastomatitis, is a common oral disease that usually occurs within the first two weeks of life. Symptoms include pain, stinging, and drooling in the mouth, as well as small sores, usually white or yellow spots. The ulcers initially appear on the tongue, lips, and inside of the mouth and can spread throughout the mouth. Parents need to detect and treat it promptly to prevent the infection from spreading.
Causes of neonatal thrush
Neonatal thrush is caused by the fact that the immune system in the developing baby\’s mouth is not strong enough and is susceptible to bacterial infection. Breastfed babies are less likely to develop this disease because the antibodies in breast milk can help strengthen the baby\’s immunity. In addition, there are some foods and drugs that can cause oral thrush in newborns, such as certain foods and drugs containing spicy ingredients, which can irritate the baby\’s oral mucosa and lead to the formation of ulcers.
How to deal with oral thrush in newborns
In most cases, oral thrush in newborns requires no special treatment as it will resolve on its own within a few weeks. However, parents need to take some steps to ease their baby\’s discomfort and prevent the spread of infection. First, keep your baby\’s mouth dry and clean. Rinse with warm salt water or soda water to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Secondly, the baby\’s diet should be controlled to prevent the baby from eating foods that can easily cause ulcers, such as hot and spicy food, juice, lemon and coffee. At the same time, care should be taken to avoid exposing the baby to irritating substances. Finally, if the ulcer is severe, the baby may need to use some local anesthesia and anti-inflammatory drugs, but they should be used under the advice of a doctor and the amount used should be controlled.
Summary
Neonatal oral thrush is a common oral disease that usually occurs within the first two weeks of life. The cause is that the baby\’s oral immune system is not strong enough and is prone to bacterial infection. In most cases, no special treatment is required, but some measures need to be taken to relieve the baby\’s discomfort and prevent the spread of infection, such as keeping the mouth dry and clean, controlling diet, and using local anesthesia and anti-inflammatory drugs. If the symptoms are severe, they should be treated under the advice of a doctor.
