Oral Thrush

Treat infants' mouths and mothers' nipples

(HealthDayNews) -- Up to five percent of infants get oral thrush, which is a yeast infection in the mouth and throat. It's usually caused by Candida albicans, a common organism in adults, according to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Babies contract it from the mother's body during delivery.

When babies' get thrush, white patches develop inside their mouths, on their tongues and on their lips. Some babies may be unfazed by the infection; others become fussy and may refuse to feed.

In breastfed babies, the infection may pass from the baby's mouth to the mother's nipples. So treatment for oral thrush should be applied to both mothers and infants. The best treatment is a medication such as gentian violet -- a purple medicine that you paint inside a baby's mouth and on infected nipples.

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