16 Month Old Girl Has Thrush?

Updated on October 17, 2008
A.N. asks from Freeland, WA
16 answers

My 16 month old girl has had a white coating all over her tounge for a few days and I took her to the doctor today and they said it may be thrush, she also has it all over the roof and back of her mouth. The docoter said it was unlikley for a child her age to get this she has been normal before. And it could be a virus. We got a antibotic but I am wondering if anyone else has had a older child get thrush? And any natural cures to help also?

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Thank you for all the great advice I am working on all this and will post how it goes thank

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K.C.

answers from Portland on

First of all an antibiotic, if it is a virus, isn't going to do anything, they only work on bacteria, and if it is thrush it is likely to make it worse given that thrush is yeast. Have you used gentian violet in her mouth? Personally I would take her to see someone other than a doctor who would tell you "it may be thrush or could be a virus so here are some antibiotics". Google thrush and see the most effective ways to get rid of it.

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M.J.

answers from Spokane on

Hey, my pediatrician never prescribed antibiotics for thrush. My girls are 13 months now and haven't had a recurrence. Ask your pharmacist for a bottle of gentian (gen-shun) violet. Dip a Q tip in just to lightly color the tip and then coat the inside of her mouth. You don't need it to be deep purple, but lightly tinted purple with the liquid. It naturally kills the thrush bacteria without shocking your baby's system with antibiotics. Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.L.

answers from Portland on

Gentian Violet worked for my baby when he had it. It's messy, but it worked for him, and it's natural (dye from the gentian violet plant). I got it at New Seasons, but Walgreens will special order it for you. Just dip a Q-tip in the liquid, and let your baby suck on it for a couple of seconds. Do this morning and night until the yeast is gone.

Also, acidophilus will help rebalance the bacteria in your baby. You can get it in liquid form or in capsules, but be sure it's the refrigerated kind. Otherwise, it might not really be alive, which is what you want.

I wonder if something in your baby's diet is causing the imbalance of yeast. Dairy, maybe? I know I get yeast when I'm having too much dairy.

Good luck!

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J.S.

answers from Portland on

I have to say that I have had thrush twice since being an adult! Just like a kid I got it all over inside of my mouth.
It's rare for anyone that isn't a young baby to get it but it does happen. Both times I got it my immune system was very low due to pneumonia. I always just got a Diflucan from the doctor. One easy pill and its gone!

Hope this helps!

1 mom found this helpful
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H.S.

answers from Portland on

Gentian Violet... you might have to ask at the pharmacy if they have it. I have funny pictures of my dd with a purple mouth. All you need is a cotton swab and rub it on her cheeks probably twice a day for up to 4 days and see if it's gone, otherwise it probably wouldn't be thrush.

Also, try to boost her immune system with a children's acidophilus, yogurt or other probiotic.

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T.R.

answers from Portland on

My son at 15 months got it.. he was put on nistanton (SP?) and it didn't work he kept getting it over and over.. I then used genshin violet and he was better... after a whole month of the other stuff I was relived to finally get something that worked!!! I is messy but works!!!

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L.R.

answers from Portland on

The doctor gave you an ANTIBIOTIC???? What was he thinking? If it is virus, the antibiotic won't do a thing. If it is thrush, the antibiotic will just make it worse--just like it would do to you if you had a yeast infection and had to take an antibiotic. I know from experience.

Oh, ditto on the yogurt. Get the plain yogurt and add something like a mashed banana and vanilla to it (to stay away from the sugar). My daughter loves plain yogurt plain, though I sometimes doctor it up for her (and always for me!). You can get her the whole milk yogurt since she's young (Dannon brand sells it by the quart and it's cheaper that way too). Mix it with her cereals, too.

I would get a second opinion. The treatment for thrush isn't going to hurt her (my daughter had thrush from 1 week to about 5 weeks--I kept running out of medicine before it was cleared up or it wouldn't have been that long, plus she gave it to me so we kept sharing it until I got myself treated). If it's a virus, then they need to decide if it's a bad one or one that will just run it's course and go away.

I would suggest that if you want natural cures AND a second opinion, you could try a naturopathic doctor. I know of a good one in the Gresham area if you live nearby. PM me for her name and location. She does pediatrics; I'm planning on having her be my pediatrician for my children, and also my midwife if all works out with insurance (and maybe even if it doesn't and I have to pay!)

Hope this helps. But whatever you do, don't use the antibiotic!!!

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D.D.

answers from Seattle on

An antibiotic for THRUSH and for a virus? Antibiotics don't work for either illness. Sorry for saying so, but this doctor has a lot to learn. Antibiotics cause the friendly bacteria to DIE which causes yeast, which is what causes thrush! Time for a new doctor.

There are probiotics (good bacteria) that you can buy for children in liquid form and have them drink. Another thing - cut out ALL sugar and white flour products. These will make it much worse. You can also read the book "The Yeast Connection" to find out more about it.

Make sure your daughter is staying away from food allergens - which can be a source of digestive problems which cause yeast (which causes thrush). When I eat wheat or dairy, for example, I don't know what happens, but I end up with major yeast problems. Yeast can show itself in vaginal yeast infections, thrush, itching all over, and even cause flu-like symptoms! Then I have to take major probiotics.

Make sure she doesn't drink milk with hormones in it and stop the antibiotics. You didn't mention if you are still breast feeding or not. You can take probiotics (friendly bacteria) with high potency and pass that to your baby as well.

The food companies LIE when they say that the antibiotics in meat and dairy don't affect children. AND they lie about genetically foods not affecting children. They have actually fudged their "scientific" findings to make the bad data go away. The less we feed these things to our children, the better. Now, unfortunately, they are using GMO beets to make sugar. So it's hard to say what caused your daughter's thrush. Maybe her sugar consumption went way up. Also, MDs generally only have about 5 hours of nutritional instruction in their education.

After making sure she doesn't have food allergies and probiotics have cleared up the thrush, if I were you, I would buy a lot more organic produce.

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N.Z.

answers from Portland on

My mother had thrush just last year. She had to gargle with some special stuff and they treated her with this purple stuff. It took a long time for her to get over it. Antibiotics are what caused it in the first place. I believe that thrush is a form of yeast infection.
Good luck!

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L.M.

answers from Portland on

I've never personally known someone with a child this age getting thrush. But my son had it and I got some Gentian Violet. His mouth was purple for a day, but it got rid of it.

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L.G.

answers from Seattle on

Yeah, they can get it at that age. I know they used to paint the inside of my daughter's mouth with "gentian violet." I saw it at the store recently. It turns their mouth a deep purple color, but gets rid of the thrush. Blessings to you and yours! :)

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C.A.

answers from Portland on

An antibiotic? They didn't take cultures to determine yeast levels? Or coat her mouth? That is so weird! My daughter had it and my doctor said any again can get it. Even adults can though it is rare by then. I would start boiling all the things she uses regularly such as bottles and sippies or pacifiers if you use those. In my case it was so bad I tossed all her bottle nipples and bought new ones.

The purple coating stuff works really well - I just don't know what it called - but it stains like crazy. I made my daughter wear bibs and some of her brothers hand me downs.

J.S.

answers from Seattle on

I'll keep this short since others have already said what I would have. . .

The Gentian Violet advice is good(they do make it clear now so that you don't stain everything purple). Also you will want to go to a SuperSupplements-type store and get some powdered acidophilus. Have your daughter take it by mouth, or put it on her food (such as applesauce or yogurt). This will help get some beneficial bacteria into her digestive system and knock out the yeast overgrowth. I'll restate the no sugar no processed wheat flour that someone else mentioned. Too much yeast in her body!

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H.A.

answers from Portland on

Antibiotics for thrush? That's WRONG! If anything, antibiotics can make it worse, since the natural bacteria that fights the yeast (thrush is simply a yeast infection in the mouth) are killed off by antibiotics. So I'm hoping what you got was Nystatin or some other anti-yeast medication.

Gentian violet is a natural cure for thrush. It works better than Nystatin. The reason people have abandoned it is that it's messy. As the name implies, it's a violet-purple, so it stains the mouth... and anything else it contacts. My youngest and I kept exchanging yeast - she'd get thrush, then I'd get a yeast infection on my nipples, then back to her. The gentian violet cleared us both up within a week, but during that week she had purple lips and I had purple nipples!

You can get info on using gentian violet at http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/gentviol.htm. You can get it at your drugstore, although the pharmacist may have to order it for you.

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A.H.

answers from Portland on

My middle daughter had the same thing when she was right around 16 months old. she had it off and on for about 1 month before I made her an appointment. some days the shite stuff was on her tounge and other days it did not seem to be so bad. When I made the appointmnet the doctor said it might be thrush but again that it was unusual at her age. she gave me a perscription for NYSTATIN liquid and just in case. I picked up the script but did not give it to my daughter right away because the white goo did not seem so bad. after two days it came back and I gave her the medicine just as perscribed and it cleared right up in about 1 to 2 days. has not been back since. what ever it was did not seem to bother her. I am glad it is gone. good luck with yours. A.

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C.C.

answers from Seattle on

If it's thrush, antibiotics will make it worse (they are the reason I got thrush in the first place when I was nursing my little girl).

Use a solution of vinegar and water (1 part vinegar, five parts water), and swab the inside of her mouth with it. Doesn't taste great, but it helps a lot. I'd try feeding her a little yogurt every day, too. Better yogurt would have less sugar, for that can feed a yeast, but yogurt will build up enzymes in the stomach and mouth to help battle it.

If you're still nursing, the vinegar solution helps with nursing, too.

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