How to Deal with Thrush in Babies?

If you notice white patches like cottage cheese or milk curds inside your baby’s mouth and on his tongue, he’s probably got thrush, a yeast infection that affects a large number of new babies. If you suspect your baby has thrush, seek advice from your GP straight away. Thrush is very uncomfortable for your baby: He’ll probably find sucking painful, which will disrupt his feeding. Your GP may prescribe infant paracetamol for the pain and an oral antifungal cream to tackle the infection. The thrush will very likely clear up within a few days. Thrush can by trying for all of you – a hungry baby who finds it painful to feed is a very sad sight – but it’s usually short-lived. Give your baby all the comfort he needs, and follow your doctor’s instructions for pain relief and medicine, and the infection will pass.

It’s very easy to mistake milk curds left in the mouth after feeding for thrush. Milk curds, unlike oral thrush, come off easily if you touch them with your finger, and they don’t leave a red patch behind on the inside of the mouth. It’s worth trying this simple test before you take your baby to the doctor. Alert your doctor if the thrush doesn’t seem to clear up after treatment or if your baby has a fever, as this may indicate a different infection. If you’re breastfeeding, apply the anti-fungal cream to your nipples too, so that you and your baby don’t pass the infection to each other.