The fungus in the baby's mouth
For many, there is always room for a pilsner between the liver and spleen. In babies, unfortunately, there is often room for a troublesome fungus between the tongue and cheek. But don't worry: we can get it under control with a few simple measures.
Athlete's foot is a disease that children older than one year hardly ever get. Exceptions: Children who are severely immunodeficient (after chemotherapy, for example) or children who take a cortisone mouth spray and do not follow certain rules. Otherwise, such a fungus only occurs in the first year of life. The trigger or pathogen is a fungus called Candida albicans, which is also responsible for the fungus in the nappy area.
Parents can recognise oral fungus by the fact that the child is cranky and grumpy and expresses pain when drinking. And if you then look into the child's mouth, you will see a whitish, greasy, often crumbly coating on the tongue, but above all on the inside of the lips and in the cheek pockets. The whole thing is a visual diagnosis, so to speak. No further examinations with swabs are required.
However, there is a risk of confusion with the so-called milk coating. Many babies simply have a whitish coating on their tongue due to the milk. But to differentiate: This is only on the tongue, not in the cheek pouches or on the inside of the lips. And the milk coating can usually be easily scraped off with a wooden spatula.
Once the diagnosis has been made, the children are given an anti-fungal mouth gel, which the parents must apply several times a day. Very important: The gel must continue to be administered for a few days after the condition has improved, otherwise the fungus could return.
Two other important aspects:
It is very often the case that breastfeeding mothers also get this fungus on their nipples. It is then important and sensible to treat the nipples with an antifungal gel at the same time as treating the baby. Otherwise a ping-pong infection will occur between mother and child.
A request to parents: Do not constantly put the dummy in your mouth and then give it to your child. You shouldn't do this all the time anyway. It can lead to fungal spores being transferred to the child. Incidentally, my dentist colleagues are also happy about this, because caries bacteria are also transferred this way. Ergo: This dummy exchange should be avoided as a matter of principle.
Further interesting tips
Childcare
At what age should children be looked after and how? A question that I am constantly confronted with. Most recently, it was even a political issue here in Schorndorf. Clear answer: There is no clear answer - only many omissions.
Psychological problem?
Today we have the combined knowledge of two experts: The Doc talked to Frank Köhnlein, author and child and adolescent psychiatrist from Basel, about the behaviour of children and adolescents in particular - and about when parents need to start worrying. The most important results.
J2 screening
The final article in our series on preventive check-ups for children and adolescents: The J2 adolescent check-up is the last of its kind.