What is the white color at the corner of the baby's mouth? How to detect thrush in time

Sometimes when mothers are feeding their babies, they may find some white stuff at the corners of their babies’ mouths, but they don’t know the reason or what medicine to use to treat them.

White spots at the corners of the mouth and tongue may be thrush

Oral thrush comes from a fungus called Candida albicans, which is commonly found in our living environment. If the items we use daily are not cleaned properly, Candida albicans will attach to them and enter the body through contact with the mouth and tongue, causing symptoms when the immune system is low. Many children are infected with thrush because they have poor immunity and come into contact with uncleaned bottles, pacifiers, tableware or toys, which allow bacteria to enter. Newborns with thrush are mainly exposed to Candida albicans when passing through the mother's birth canal, so symptoms occur 7 to 10 days after birth.

Look at the location: If it is thrush, white spots will grow on the tongue, gums, soft palate, etc. (other red fleshy places besides teeth);

Look at the shape: thrush looks like strange patches. Mothers can use a sterilized cotton swab to gently wipe it. The ones that can be wiped off easily are milk patches, and the ones that need some effort to wipe off are basically thrush;

Look at the wound: After forcibly wiping off the white film of thrush, a red wound will appear, and not long after, the white film will grow again and cover the red wound.

Babies with low immunity have a high chance of infection. Because the strength of immunity affects the incidence of thrush, premature babies, babies using ventilators, babies who use intravenous nutrition for a long time, babies who take stomach medicine for a long time, babies who use steroids for a long time, and babies with diabetes are all at high risk of thrush. In addition, babies who are treated with antibiotics when they are sick are also more likely to get thrush because of their reduced immunity (less good bacteria in the body).

Newborns are a high-risk group. Before a woman becomes pregnant, the rate of vaginal Candida albicans carriers is usually less than 20%. After pregnancy, the immunity decreases and the carrier rate increases to more than 30%. Newborns have low immunity and are easily infected with thrush due to contact with Candida albicans when passing through the birth canal, and the disease recurs before the age of one.

Once a baby is infected with thrush, he or she will refuse to breastfeed, which will lead to adverse consequences such as reduced food intake and slow growth and development. If thrush continues to spread and spreads to the back of the mouth, it may affect the esophagus. Once the esophagus is infected, in severe cases, the baby will even refuse to drink water, which may cause dehydration. The most serious case: If the baby's damaged mucosa is not treated in time, it will spread to the pharynx, tonsils, gums, etc. In more serious cases, the lesions can cause candidal esophagitis or pulmonary candidiasis.