Are You Suffering From A Mouth Yeast Infection

Have you recently been taking antibiotics for an infection? Do you have to use oral steroids to control issues that you have with respiratory distress? If you use antibiotics, your immune system weakens. When you use oral steroids or an inhaler to help treat your asthma, you may be at risk for a mouth yeast infection. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are several other groups of people who have high risk factors for getting this type of infection.

An oral yeast infection is also known as thrush, or a thrush infection. Thrush often occurs in individuals who have been taking antibiotics for extended periods of time, those who are on steroid inhalers, newborn babies that are breast fed and several other groups. Many times, oral thrush goes undetected and can cause serious problems.

People who have type I or II diabetes also have been diagnosed frequently with oral thrush infections. The human body, when fully healthy, attacks the Candida that is present in everyone’s mouths. Those who have never suffered from oral thrush cannot fully understand just how painful and annoying it can be.

Signs that indicate oral thrush include white, creamy patches inside the mouth and throat. These patches can be as small as a pin head or can completely envelop a patient’s entire mouth. Not only do these patches affect the roof of the mouth, they can also appear at the back of the mouth and on all parts of the tongue. Many times, an individual who is suffering from an oral thrush infection will have a thick coating that appears on their tongue, making it difficult and painful to eat or drink.

These white spots often have the visual appearance of cottage cheese. They can grow quickly and spread from one side of the mouth to the other and can also spread back into the mouth. When the Candida takes over an individual’s entire mouth, it is not uncommon to find the tonsils also infected. This can quickly spread down the back of the throat and into the digestive tract and stomach.

When a thrush infection spreads past the mouth, it becomes harder and harder to control and cure. Thrush infections can be quite painful. Managing thrush pain can be difficult as many physicians don’t like to give out narcotic pain medicine. Until you’ve actually experience a severe case of thrush, you have absolutely no idea just how bad it can be.

In most cases, thrush is easy to recognize and diagnose by any member of the medical community. Normally, just looking inside of an individual’s mouth will provide a physician with all of the proof they need to determine your case. If your doctor or nurse has doubts or questions about whether or not you have a case of oral thrush, they may take a small specimen of one of the patches to send to the lab. This will help them know how to best treat your symptoms.

When you’ve got a mouth yeast infection, seek medical advice quickly. This can be a very painful infection and you must stop it from growing beyond your mouth. You’ll be given oral or intravenous anti-fungal medications that will eliminate the infection. Always seek professional advice when you are dealing with any oral infections.