THRUSH
Thrush is a kind of infection. 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. In an adult, thrush often occurs under a denture.
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 something else present which is helping thrush to grow. Try to find what it is and deal with it. For example, treat the malnutrition, change or stop the antibiotic medicine, or leave the denture out of the mouth for a while. Then:
1. Put some nystatin creme on top of the white patch with a bit of cotton.
- adults: put some on 4 times a day
- children 5-12 years: put some on 3 times a day
- children up to 5 years old: put some on 2 times a day
Show the mother how she can do this in her child's mouth at home. If you have no nystatin creme, paint gentian violet on the white area. The mother should paint the child's mouth 2 times a day.
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. Continue breast feeding. 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, they can change into a cancer. To prevent this cancer, ask the person to stop smoking, stop chewing betel nut, and get dentures adjusted if they do not fit properly.
