Tuesday, February 26, 2013

What is Thrush? What are the Symptoms of Thrush?

Thrush is an infection of the mouth caused by the candida fungus, also known as yeast. Candida fungus in not limited only to the mouth but also in other parts of the body as well. Thrush can affect anyone, it occurs most often in babies, older adults, and people with weakened immune system.

Candida fungus is found in the mouth, skin and digestive tract of most healthy people but certain causes like stress, illness or medications can cause disturb the balance and cause the fungus to grow out of control, causing thrush.

Oral thrush is the presence of white creamy lesions in the mouth that appear usually on the tongue, inner cheeks, and sometimes spread on the roof of the mouth, gums, and tonsils or back of the throat.

These are painful and sometimes bleed when you pick them or scrape them or when you brush your teeth. These may sometimes spread to esophagus or the swallowing tube and causes pain or difficulty in swallowing, feeling of food gets struck in the middle or mid chest area and causes fever, if the infection spreads beyond the esophagus.

Thrush extending to esophagus may require other tests to make the diagnosis. The tests include endoscopy of esophagus, stomach and small intestine or taking X-Rays of esophagus.

Oral thrush is a minor problem for healthy people but may turn into more severe and difficult to control among those who have a weakened immune system. There are some other factors which increase the risk of getting thrush. They are

  • People with poor health.
  • People who are very old or very young or infants.
  • People who use long term and high doses of antibiotics.

Thrush can be prevented by following certain activities.

  • Take care of oral hygiene by brushing teeth twice a day.
  • Consult your doctor or dentist regularly.
  • Use a soft toothbrush which doesn't affect your mouth.
  • Blood sugar levels should be controlled in diabetes patients.

Related Links:
Ortho molecular products

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