How to Recognize Symptoms of Thrush

Thrush is a type of fungal infection that is typically located in the mouth of newborns or infants. Adults rarely get thrush, but when they do, it is most often because of other medical or health difficulties.Thrush is caused by the fungus called Candida albicans, and certain factors may cause normal amounts of the fungus found in the mouth to proliferate out of control. Learning how to recognize symptoms of thrush will help parents or affected adults seek out prompt treatment.

Instructions

• 1

  Look in the mouth of newborns and infants for one of the most common signs of thrush: white-yellow patches that appear on the inside of the cheeks. These patches look like leftover cottage cheese and are visible as raised bumps.

• 2

  Watch your infant or small child for signs of discomfort. While the patches inside the mouth may look unpleasant, they don't generally cause pain or discomfort, but they can be annoying, which will be expressed by crying or swiping at the mouth.

• 3

  Observe your child and make sure that he or she is not trying to rub off the white-yellow patches of skin inside the mouth. Doing so can cause open wounds or ulcers to develop, which may become infected and painful.

• 4

  Pay attention to any child that appears to have any difficulties feeding either from the breast or bottle. Often, thrush does cause enough discomfort that normal feeding processes are somewhat interrupted due to tenderness inside the mouth.

• 5

  Watch your infant or toddler for signs of a dry mouth. Parents who observe a lack of normal drooling habits in their children should check the inside of the mouth frequently for signs of thrush. If no signs occur within a couple of days, schedule a visit with your pediatrician to determine a cause for the lack of saliva or drooling in the child.