The birth of a baby is an event that fundamentally changes the life of the family and especially the mother. A woman has more causes for concern and anxiety. Although sometimes they are completely baseless.
One of the possible ones is a white coating on the tongue of a newborn. In normal condition, it has a pink tint and a velvety surface. To say that the white tongue in a newborn child is the norm cannot be ignored, it should not be ignored, but one should not be zealous with correcting the situation. Here the main observation of the condition of the baby and his behavior.
Sometimes the fears of mothers are unreasonable. Therefore, to eliminate the negative, you can unscheduled contact your pediatrician. He will tell you what to do if there is no need for therapy, and, conversely, if a serious problem is found, he will help you choose the right treatment.
The causes of plaque in the baby's tongue
A white tongue in a newborn is a reason to beware. This has its own explanations, the main of which can be distinguished. Let's get acquainted with them:
- Features of the nutrition of the child, who in the first year of life mainly receives milk. At the same time, a white tongue in a newborn with breastfeeding or artificial is not important, it is not something dangerous. This basically does not require medical intervention.
- If a white coating on the tongue of a newborn baby has a dense enveloping structure, this is a sign of stomach or digestion problems. Again, it is important to monitor the condition and behavior of the child in order to describe him when contacting a doctor.
- In the case when the white tongue in the newborn has a grainy or curdish dense appearance, this may be a sign of inflammation of the baby's oral cavity.
Dangerous pathology
Among the most dangerous diseases associated with plaque, there are also low levels of hemoglobin, disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system, a lack of certain groups of vitamins, diabetes, or reduced immunity. That is, having found a white tongue in a newborn, it is important to consult a doctor in a timely manner.
He will be able to diagnose. During it, it will be possible to establish or eliminate the development of diseases, such as:
- dysbiosis;
- stomatitis or thrush;
- disruption of the intestines;
- disturbances in the liver and gall bladder.
Given the possible problems, it is very important not to delay the trip to the doctor and not try to scrape off the plaque in the child’s own language. By such actions, it can simply be damaged.
What treatment is used?
To eliminate white plaque in the tongue of a newborn child, medical intervention is not always required. In the case when he appears after feeding, while the baby is cheerful, active, calm and gaining weight, you must definitely offer him boiled water.
The liquid will remove food debris without any problems. Interestingly, the white tongue in the newborn with breastfeeding is more common than with artificial feeding. The thing is that with breast milk he receives everything, including water, and the need for it is lower. From this, the child refuses to drink. When feeding an adapted artificial mixture, the baby often needs water and plaque associated with eating practically does not occur.
What to do if a newborn has stomach and nervous system problems?
If the child is crying, sleeps poorly, eats and, in addition, the newborn has a white tongue, what to do and how to behave in this case? Now let's figure it out.
In case of problems with the stomach and digestion, the pediatrician prescribes a special treatment that normalizes the activity of the digestive tract. In this case, a plaque from the child’s tongue passes by itself. As additional measures, replacement of the type of mixture and abstinence from the introduction of complementary foods may be recommended.
For problems with the nervous system that caused a white coating on the tongue of a newborn child, correctly selected therapy will help. Its results in the shortest possible time will affect the external manifestations of the imbalance that has arisen. Be sure to contact a pediatric neurologist.
What do infections and thrush do?
When a white tongue in a newborn is also accompanied by an unpleasant odor, this can indicate an infection of a viral origin, a sign of which will be a fever. Treatment in this situation is carried out in a hospital, which can not be neglected.
Manifestations of stomatitis and thrush are also treated only under the supervision of a pediatrician, whose recommendations are mandatory. In this case, the correct treatment will be selected, which includes the use of antifungal agents. Then the problem is solved in the shortest possible time.
Unconventional methods of treating a child. What is applied in this case?
The methods of traditional medicine for treatment can be combined with alternative methods of getting rid of the disease. True, you need to consider that some drugs can cause allergic reactions.
The most popular is honey. They can treat the oral cavity and tongue. You can also use a combination of honey and turmeric, which reinforce each other's action. These two ingredients have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antibacterial effects. A weak soda solution is also used, which helps with thrush.
Preventive measures
Every adult knows that prevention is always better and more effective than any treatment. Following this rule, you can take certain measures that will help protect the baby from the appearance of a white coating on the tongue. In fact, these measures are very simple.
Let's get acquainted with them:
- Be sure to observe oral hygiene, cleaning it with a weak solution of soda. In it, you need to moisten a gauze napkin and treat it with the necessary areas.
- Important hygiene dishes and toys baby. That is, they regularly need to be processed in boiling water.
- Personal hygiene of adults in contact with the child is also required.
- It is important that the child is not kissed on the lips, especially if it is not the mother. With such contact, his weak immunity may simply not cope with the causative agents of infections.
- As a prevention, you need to give the baby a little boiled water after each feeding. It must be offered, but it is impossible to insist.
A very important factor affecting the health of the child, including the situation with the appearance of white plaque in the tongue, is the appropriate behavior of the parents. It is important here not to panic, but to take adequate measures. So, Dr. Komarovsky recommends monitoring the child, this will tell you how to behave further. That is, if the baby is capricious, eats poorly, sleeps poorly, while the plaque becomes dense, is not removed with plain water, then you need to contact a pediatrician. Self-medication must be forgotten. This can ultimately worsen the condition of the child, and lead to more serious medication and hospitalization.
Little conclusion
Until the child learns independently and consciously to talk about what disturbs him when somewhere hurts, the adult has a huge responsibility. It is in infancy that all the fundamentals of human health are laid. If one neglects even a trifle by negligence, this can lead to chronic diseases that will be felt throughout life.
Even such a seemingly trifle as white plaque is the cause of many serious ailments that require medical intervention. And it’s good when this happens as early as possible, because in advanced situations home treatment can simply not be dispensed with. Never postpone a visit to the pediatrician and carefully listen to his advice and recommendations.
In addition, we can say that prevention and responsible attitude can, on the contrary, eliminate a large number of pathologies and possible infections, including the same plaque. Therefore, when there is a small child in the house, observance of elementary hygiene rules should become a rule for each family member.