A young mother tries to notice the first signs of a disease in her baby, so she carefully looks at each crease and a speck on the skin of the crumbs. Many parents met with such a phenomenon as a white coating on the tongue of an infant. In most cases, this is considered the norm, but there are exceptions in which you need to see a doctor. What factors need to be considered? Why does the baby have a white coating on the tongue? First of all, it is important to understand the baby’s nutrition: does he use breast milk or is it fed with a special infant formula.
White plaque on the tongue of the baby during lactation
Mother’s milk is not as rich as the mixture, so the baby in the first months can suckle almost every 30 minutes. Due to the constant presence of milk in the mouth, plaque in the tongue of the baby can be throughout the day, and this is absolutely normal. Up to about 3-4 months of life, the baby does not have enough salivary glands and does not produce enough saliva. That is why a white coating forms in the baby’s tongue.
Such a plaque on the tongue of the baby does not need to be cleaned, it does not interfere with the baby and does not cause discomfort, because this is ordinary mother's milk, which does not have time to wash off the tongue. When the baby's condition is normal, he is peppy, cheerful and actively sucks his chest - there is no reason for excitement.
White plaque in the tongue of the baby on artificial feeding
Artists, or children who feed on the mixture, as well as infants, very often eat in the first months of life and, thus, are constantly in contact with milk. The remnants of such food can remain in the baby’s tongue and cause plaque formation. However, in such children, the plaque should go off within 1-2 hours after feeding, since the intervals between meals are slightly longer than when breastfeeding.
Plaque from milk or a mixture is easily washed off with water, so you can conduct a small experiment. Offer the baby to drink water from a bottle or spoon (it should wash off the bulk of the plaque), if this did not happen, then you should contact a pediatrician. The doctor will be able to find out the cause of the white plaque in the baby and prescribe the appropriate treatment. What else can cause deposits in the oral cavity of an infant?
Causes of white plaque in the child’s tongue
Let's find out the opinions of professionals. What does Dr. Komarovsky say about a plaque in infants? Like most doctors, he identifies the following reasons:
- dysbiosis and gastritis;
- stomatitis;
- disruption of the intestines;
- other pathologies.
Each mother should be armed with recommendations that will help her prevent a similar condition in a child. After the plaque has already appeared, be sure to consult a doctor who can determine the exact cause of its appearance and prescribe the necessary treatment.
Maybe it's a thrush?
Thrush, or candidiasis, is an infectious disease caused by fungi (Candida). Doctors often use the term "candidiasis" and claim that most children under one year of age suffer from this disease. The appearance of thrush is most often manifested in the first 3 months of a child’s life, since during this period of his life his oral cavity is not yet populated by healthy microorganisms, and, alas, immunity is not sufficiently strengthened.
What is the cause of plaque in the tongue in infants at an older age? It happens that the immune system does not work properly, and a fungal infection appears in the oral cavity or on the cheeks of the child. Against the background of reduced immunity, for example after a respiratory viral infection, the risk of thrush increases.
The difference between thrush and milk plaque
How to determine the cause of plaque in the tongue of the baby? If a person does not have the opportunity to see a doctor or a frightened mother is impatient to determine the nature of the appearance of plaque, then just wash it off with water. If the situation is not clarified, perhaps the child does not want to drink some water (this happens with children in the first weeks of life), do not worry, there is another simple way to determine the cause of the plaque. Try to gently, with clean hands or a cloth, remove plaque from the baby’s tongue. The fact is that it is not so easy to remove the plaque from the thrush, and in those places where you can still clear the child’s tongue, you may notice a bleeding surface. This symptom is considered an undeniable symptom of thrush, and your child needs urgent treatment.
The effect of thrush on the condition of the child
With candidiasis, the general condition of the baby worsens, he becomes moody, lethargic and refuses to eat. Candidiasis stains in the oral cavity cause the baby great discomfort, it becomes painful to suck a breast or a bottle, and because of this he constantly cries. In rare cases, there is an increase in body temperature, as with a cold, sometimes it reaches 39 degrees.
Candidiasis rarely affects only the tongue. Usually the entire oral cavity is covered with white spots, even the area around the mouth can be affected by a fungus. When the baby eats, the plaque exfoliates and disappears for a while, while the inflamed mucous membrane of the mouth is visible.
How to treat candidiasis in infants?
Typically, the pediatrician should prescribe antifungal drugs to treat thrush in the oral cavity. Convenient dosage forms (syrup or solution) are selected for infants to lubricate the tongue and mucous membrane of the oral cavity. The duration of treatment for plaque in the tongue of the baby depends on the degree of the disease, but usually is within 7-10 days. Improvement of well-being occurs on 3-4 days.
The oral cavity is cleaned, and the child can begin to eat milk with renewed vigor, and then sleep soundly. If you thought that the baby’s condition was normal, this does not mean that you need to stop treatment. Candidiasis is a very persistent disease, and if you stop taking medication, then plaque and spots will definitely return. In this case, the fungus will become resistant to previously used drugs, and a new, most likely, aggressive treatment will have to be prescribed.
Prevention of thrush of the tongue in the baby
Do not forget about preventive measures that prevent the formation of candidiasis in the baby's mouth. It is important to regularly ventilate and humidify the air in the room. Do not forget about the importance of walking in the fresh air, after them the baby’s sleep is normalized and immunity is strengthened.
If the child eats artificially, then you need to thoroughly wash all the items necessary for feeding (a bottle, a pacifier), and even a dummy. When breastfeeding, it is important for mother to monitor her state of health and not to eat a lot of sweets that can provoke active reproduction of Candida fungus. There is no need to wash or wipe the breast with antiseptic agents. Candida fungus is present in the body of every person, and further development of the infection depends only on the state of immunity.
Frequent washing of the mother’s breast can dry the skin, as a result of which microcracks form, which are the main factor contributing to the appearance of thrush in the baby. If you are not sure about the cause of thrush in your child, consult a doctor for help. A competent pediatrician will prescribe the optimal treatment, specifically for your case. If in time to determine the cause of white plaque in the tongue of the baby and undergo the prescribed course of treatment, then the likelihood of complications will be minimized.
Causes of yellow plaque in the child’s tongue
The appearance of yellow plaque on the tongue of the baby can seriously scare the parents. If such a plaque lasts for a long time and looks like a dense dense mass, and at the same time a sharp, unpleasant smell from the baby's mouth is felt, then this is a sign of a serious illness. Do not forget that the tongue is one of the organs of the digestive system, and changes in its color may indicate diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (pancreatitis, hepatitis, colitis, cholecystitis, gastritis).
Pathological changes in the digestive system are accompanied by a decrease in the child’s appetite, impaired stool and crying of the baby (due to abdominal pain). There are other causes of yellow plaque in the tongue of an older child:
- overeating (perhaps the child ate too much fatty food, resulting in nausea, dry mouth and a yellow coating on the tongue);
- infectious disease (the infection is accompanied by a high temperature, which provokes the formation of yellow-brown plaque, you can also notice bleeding wounds in the tongue);
- poisoning (in this case, the liver is disrupted, the body is intoxicated and dehydrated, which leads to plaque);
- jaundice (the tongue and the mucous membranes of the mouth are stained);
- local inflammatory processes in the child's mouth (caries, tonsillitis, gingivitis, stomatitis, glossitis);
- somatic diseases (autoimmune processes, diabetes mellitus and kidney disease).