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.
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.