What is the best oral thrush treatment?
November 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Oral thrush can affect anyone from newborn babies to adults. However, there are two distinct categories of oral thrush sufferers when it comes to treatment.
Oral thrush treatment for babies
For babies and breastfeeding mothers the oral thrush treatment for the baby will involve treating the mother’s nipples as well as the yeast infection can pass back and forth between them creating recurrent oral thrush in the baby and recurrent yeast infection of the nipple in Mom.
Any treatment of thrush involves use of anti-fungal agents so, whether it is a home or prescription method for treating oral thrush you are aiming to kill the unwanted fungus (candida) and encourage growth of “healthy bacteria” to prevent its return.
A common home remedy for baby thrush (infants’ oral thrush) is gentian violet. Alternatively, a prescription oral thrush treatment that is commonly used is nystatin suspension (for baby) and nystatin ointment for Mom’s nipples.
Whether you use an home remedy or a prescription remedy for yeast infection, it is important to get the guidance or your doctor as infant oral thrush is painful and will affect your baby’s feeding and subsequent weight gain. It will also become very painful for the breast feeding mother if left untreated.
Treating oral thrush in children and adults
The most common prescription method for treating oral thrush is anti-fungal lozenges or anti-fungal suspension. These aim to bathe the affected area in candida killing agents and so relieve oral thrush symptoms. This type of treatment normally last 10 to 14 days. If it is needing to go on longer, don’t be surprised if your doctor asks you to have blood tests there is a slight possibility that the liver will be affected by long term use.
For this reason, many people feel more comfortable with home remedies for oral thrush. These include, garlic, onions, yogurt and drinking buttermilk.
Prevention means avoiding future oral thrush treatment
As with all yeast infections, what you need to be asking yourself is why did you get oral thrush in the first place? If you have a compromised immune system then you are at higher risk of recurrent yeast infection….so you need to avoid that by addressing the causes of oral thrush. Yeast Infection Helpdesk thoroughly recommends Linda Allen’s book, Yeast Infection No More as a comprehensive resource explaining the causes of your outbreak of oral thrush as well as outlining a range of home oral thrush treatments. She is personally committed to your successful oral thrush treatment and makes herself available by email to ensure the misery of this unpleasant yeast infection is ended. I have had personal success using her methods and cannot recommend the book enough.
Home Remedies for Oral Thrush
November 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment
What is oral thrush?
Oral thrush is an uncomfortable and sometimes painful overgrowth of candida albicans in the mouth that can be caused by too much sugar in the diet, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and compromised immune systems. It can also appear in new born babies who may have contracted this yeast infection from their mother during delivery if she was unfortunate enough to have a yeast infection during pregnancy. Candida esophagitis can also lead to oral thrush as the yeast infection spreads up the gut into the mouth.
Because the symptoms of oral thrush are so unpleasant and it is potentially a contagious condition (for those with increased risk factors), prompt oral thrush treatment is necessary.
What are the available home remedies for oral thrush?
Home remedies for oral thrush need to take the approach of being antifungal and restoring “healthy bacteria” in the mouth and gut. If your oral thrush symptoms are caused by ongoing medical treatment, say for cancer, HIV or Aids, then you will need to take advice from your medical practitioner as well as using home remedies for oral thrush to reduce your oral thrush symptoms naturally.
- The symptom of oral thrush that many sufferers describe is a feeling of not being able to swallow or of something being stuck at the top of the throat. This is cause by lesions in the mouth. Very gentle wiping of this area with cotton wool, a flannel or a specially made toothbrush for cleaning the tongue can gain superficial relief from this oral thrush symptom.
- A mouthwash made up of warm water, cider vinegar and a pinch of salt can have an anti-fungal effect that can be swished around all corners of the mouth and gargled in the throat. Not the tastiest of mouthwashes but a reliable home remedy for oral thrush.
- Garlic and onions (but particularly garlic) are powerful antifungal agents. Increasing these ingredients in your diet will help to kill candida in the mouth and down the digestive tract. the garlic kills the yeast infection whilst the onions help to heal the white patches (lesions) in the mouth.
- Eating live yogurt, swishing it around in the mouth a bit then not eating or drinking anything for a short while afterwards will help to replace the “healthy bacteria” acidophillus in the mouth and gut. Adequate acidophillus levels are your first line of defence against yeast infection as it helps to hold the candida overgrowth at bay.
For full details of holistic and thoroughly tested home remedies for oral thrush, Linda Allen’s book Yeast Infection No More is highly recommended from personal experience. In this concise, yet powerful book, Linda details quantities for mixing home remedies plus how to tailor remedies to your own specific circumstances and medical history. In addition, she offers personal email support as part of her personal commitment to ensure your yeast infection is fully treated and the likelihood of it returning is reduced through adopting her holistic approach.
Is Oral Thrush Contagious?
November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In what way is oral thrush contagious?
Whilst unusual for oral thrush to spread from one person to another if they are both healthy, it is possible for the yeast causing thrush to pass from one person to another in various ways if they are more susceptible.
(1) What can cause oral thrush in infants?
If a pregnant woman has a yeast infection during pregnancy, following contact with the birth canal’s thrush, oral thrush symptoms can easily manifest in the newborn child 3 to 7 days after birth. After contact with thrush oral symptoms easily appear in newborn children as their immune system is immature and they need to develop the healthy bacteria that will fight candida overgrowth in the mouth.
In answer to is “oral thrush contagious?” the answer is “yes” as far as mother and breastfeeding child as the yeast infection can pass back and forth between mother and child. This can cause oral thrush in the infant and yeast infection of the nipple in the mother.
(2) Is oral thrush contagious in older children?
If toddlers, older children and adults are generally healthy and without otherwise compromised immune systems, thrush is not usually contagious. However, if for some reason the immune system is compromised, a child or toddler can develop thrush orally by sharing infected toys or pacifiers with a child who already has oral thrush. Playgroups and nurseries need to therfore be very aware of toy hygiene to prevent the spread of germs and infections.
(3) How is oral thrush contagious in adults?
For adults there are different risk factors. For people with weakened immune systems it is unusual but possible that oral thrush is contagious through kissing and / or participating in oral sex.
Adults wearing dentures (false teeth) can also experience oral thrush and then spread yeast on their hands by handling dentures then touching other objects that someone else may put in their mouth. Personal hygiene is an important way for preventing thrush’s oral symptoms from spreading.
Preventing the causes of oral thrush
If struggling to get rid of thrush - oral, vaginal or male - it is important to address the causes of oral thrush so that the symptoms do not become recurrent. Yeast Infection Helpdesk recommends a holistic approach as this will tackle the underlying causes of oral thrush as well as treating you oral thrush symptoms. This combined approach alongside Linda Allen’s personal support to guaruntee your effective treatment makes a powerful package that I can personally recommend having used it myself.
What is oral thrush?
November 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment
What is oral thrush?
Oral thrush is an unpleasant condition whereby the the fungus Candida Albicans overgrows on your mouth’s lining. Oral thrush can happen to anyone …adults, children and babies….especially if they have a compromised immune system due to, say, diabetes, HIV or aids.
As a type of yeast infection, candida overgrowth is not usually a major problem for healthy children and adults. However, if a person has got a compromised immune system, the symptoms of oral thrush may be much more severe, more likely to spread and difficult to control.
What oral thrush symptoms are most common?
The first visual oral thrush symptoms will be lesions on the inner cheeks or tongue. These will be creamy white in colour and resemble cottage cheese in appearance.
Before noticing visual oral thrush symptoms you may, however,have noticed painful areas in the mouth that hurt or even bleed when brushing your teeth or being scraped by eating coarser food.
In severe cases, the symptoms of oral thrush will appear throughout the mouth, gums, tonsils and throat making the sufferer feel very miserable indeed. Where the lesions continue down into the esophagus (the tube leading from mouth to stomach) it is known as candida esophagitis. The cottage cheese appearance of the lesions is what makes sufferers of candida esophagitis experience difficulty swallowing as if something is stuck as the back of the throat.
Although oral thrush symptoms often develop suddenly, they may take a long time to clear up.
What are the symptoms of infant oral thrush?
If an infant is going to develop oral thrush symptoms it will happen during the first few weeks of life. As well as the visual symptoms of oral thrush listed above, other clues may be that your baby has become fussy or irritable when feeding. This will be because baby’s oral thrush symptoms are making swallowing uncomfortable if not painful.
Other clues may be in the breast feeding mother….as baby and mother often pass the yeast infection back and forth until they are both treated between mother’s breasts and baby’s mouth. If a breast feeding mother has a yeast infection of the nipple or breast the following symptoms of yeast infection may be experienced:
- The nipples may become unusually red or sensitive to touch.
- Previously straight forward breast feeding may sudddenly become painful and that pain may continue between feeds.
- The skin on the areola may be shiny or start to flake.
- When the yeast infection has penetrated the breast, stabbing pains deep in the breast are common.
How do I treat my oral thrush symptoms?
If you are suffering symptoms of oral thrush as described above, you will be wanting relief from your yeast infection as soon as possible. Whether it be for an adult or a new born baby, it is always preferable to clear up symptoms as naturally as possible. For this reason, Yeast Infection Helpdesk recommends a holistic approach to treating oral thrush speedily and safely. Linda Allen offers a wonderful extra over other yeast infection cures on the market in that you can contact her personally, once you have bought her book, for specialist advice to ensure that the oral thrush treatments she outlines are tailored to you needs and will work for you. I can personally recommend this excellent book having used it myself.
Prescription medications for candidiasis and yeast infection
October 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Prescription medicines for treating yeast infection and candidiasis fall into 3 main treatment groups.
Prescription medications for esophageal candidiasis
For esophageal candidiasis the prescription treatments include clotrimazole lozenges that are sucked slowly to enable the mouth to be bathed in the medicine. Nystatin suspension to be swished around the mouth and then swallowed treats the oral thrush symptoms as well as the esophagus. Nystatin suspension is a frequently used prescription treatment for babies’ oral thrush. Other commonly prescribed treatments include oral fluconazole.
Prescription treatments for Genital Candidiasis, Vaginal Thrush and Penile Yeast Infection
There are a larger range of antifungal drugs available to treat genital candidiasis with creams, pessaries and suppositries being the most commonly used. All of these treatments can range in duration from 1 to 7 days depending upon the severity of the symptoms of yeast infection. In stright forward cases a single dose of oral fluconazole may be sufficient to beat back a candida overgrowth. This treatment should be avoided for yeast infection during pregnancy. This treatment usually has a very high success rate excepting in recurrent yeast infections when a longer course of treatment may be needed.
It is possible to get over the counter remedies from your local pharmacy. However, it must be stressed that a formal diagnosis from your doctor is strongly advised as inappropriate use of anti-fungal agents can build a resistance to them for whn you may have a genuine and severe outbreak of vaginal or penile yeast infection.
Prescription Treatment of Invasive Candidiasis
Several antifungal drugs are now available for treating invasive candidiasis. Fluconazole is a drug that can be administered orally or intravenously for treating invasive candidiasis. Echinocandins ( caspofungin, micafungin, and anidulafungin) are another group of antifungal drugs commonly used to treat invasive candidiasis in a hospital setting as they can only be administered intravenously. All four of these drugs e are effective in treating invasive candidiasis. Other drugs that may be encountered to treat this condition include voriconazole (orally or intravenously) and amphotericin B formulations (intravenous administering only).