Thrush Mouth

Thrush mouth (mouth yeast infection, oral thrush).

If it sometimes seems as if there is a yeast infection for every part of the body, then to hear of thrush mouth will not surprise you. This is a yeast infection in the mouth. In fact, many of these yeast infections are caused by the same fungi, Candida albicans.

The term thrush is usually used when Candida albicans invades the mouth and the term yeast infection when it invades the vaginal area. But you'll often here the term vaginal thrush or mouth yeast infection, and this fungi is quite happy to invade any warm moist area so it does not limit itself to those two areas.

Whilst not being a cure-all, probiotics do seem to help some people with this mouth yeast infection.

What is thrush?

The signs of oral thrush are creamy white curds or cottage cheese patches inside the mouth. It shows as a definite coating. The tongue and inner cheek are the most common spots but it can spread to your gums, tonsils and the roof of your mouth.

For most people it is not a serious problem but for the elderly and those with weakened immune symptoms it can be more serious.

Thrush is one of those things that look worse than it!

Normally, your mouth contains a complex mix of bacteria and fungi, and as there is fierce competition for elbow room, all parties are held in check. If, for some reason, the bacteria numbers are decreased - check out oral thrush causes - then some of the fungi try to take over. Result - thrush mouth. This is why it is so important to NOT USE any antibacterial form of control because as you wipe out the bacteria, the fungi will have even MORE opportunity to spread.

Don't make it too easy for the little varmints!

Is thrush contagious?

Thrush is simply an overgrowth of the yeast cells that we all have in our mouth, on our skin and in our digestive tract. Candida albicans is a normal part of our body microflora. So in that sense it is not contagious - we already have our own supply.

However, if you are in intimate contact with someone who does have oral thrush you will likely gather up a whole lot more of this fungi and it just might be that the sudden increase is enough to "give you thrush". So, by kissing someone with thrush mouth, you won't actually catch oral thrush, but the increase in fungi in your own mouth just might tip the balance so that you do acquire it.

If your own oral health is good then mostly likely the fungi will not be able to establish a foothold. That is why it is so important not to disrupt the normal bacterial microflora in your mouth. They're there for a purpose!

If a baby has oral thrush and is being breast fed, mother and baby can end up continually reinfecting each other. Both mother and baby need to be treated.

Home remedies for thrush

It could be worth trying acidophilus yogurt as a natural treatment for thrush mouth. Ensure that it contains live and active culture and that one of the main bacteria in it is Lactobacillus acidophilus.

In a 2005 study, mice that had oral thrush were given acidophilus yogurt and it "significantly shortened the duration of colonization of the oral cavity". By the second day of the trial the levels of Candida albicans had fallen dramatically and by day 6 it was undetectable.¹

Adding further weight to that, is this 16 week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study amongst the elderly. They were given 50g of a probiotic cheese and this reduced the risk of high yeast counts by 75%.²



REFERENCES

1. Elahi S, Pang G, Ashman R, Clancy R. Enhanced clearance of Candida albicans from the oral cavity of mice following oral administration of Lactobacillus acidophilus. Clin Exp Immunol. 2005 July; 141(1):29-36

2. Hatakka K, Ahola AJ, Yli-Knuuttila H, Richardson M, Poussa T, Meurman JH, Korpela R. Probiotics reduce the prevalence of oral candida in the elderly--a randomized controlled trial. J Dent Res. 2007 Feb;86(2):125-30

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