Sunday, April 09, 2006
Oral Thrush
8-APR-2006:
I forgot to mention in my previous post that Dominic had oral thrush too. Oral thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth caused by a yeast germ called Candida. This is the same yeast germ that often infects the vagina. I noticed that Dominic had white spots in the mouth, especially on the inside of his cheeks.
I forgot to mention in my previous post that Dominic had oral thrush too. Oral thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth caused by a yeast germ called Candida. This is the same yeast germ that often infects the vagina. I noticed that Dominic had white spots in the mouth, especially on the inside of his cheeks.
Candida will normally live inside the mouth. However, if there is an overgrowth, then oral thrush occurs. The normal bacteria that live inside the mouth will balance up the growth of yeast. However if the baby is on anti-biotics (as with the case of Dominic), there could be an imbalance and infection sets in.
The doctor prescribed Mycostatin which is anti-fungal mouth drop. Mycostatin is actually the brand name. The common name for the anti-fungal is Nystatin. It is dropped into the side of the mouth and swallowed. I have tasted the medicine myself and it is not bitter. :-)
For more information on Mycostatin: http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info_details.asp?brand_name_id=1494
Since Dominic is still on anti-biotics, there's a possibility that the oral thrush will return even after treatment. So what I do now:
- Feed him plain water to wash out any milk residual after each feed.
- Clean the insides of this cheeks with a wet cotton pad twice a day
The doctor has told me oral thrush does not actually hurts, but I've read on the Internet that the baby's mouth may be sore if the infection is serious.
