White Tongue

Location – thrush is usually visible on the inside of the cheeks and lips, on the gums, and on the tongue. If present, it will usually spread to 3 or 4 of these places inside the mouth. A thin coating on the tongue only may simply be milk. However, a thick white coating on the tongue is probably thrush.
Does not come and go – thrush will usually hang around for weeks. Milk patches inside the cheeks and lips, on the other hand, will come and go with feedings. A milk coating on the tongue, however, can be more stubborn, often staying there for weeks as well.
Does not easily wipe off – use your finger and try to wipe away the white patch. If it comes off easily, it’s probably milk. Thrush is harder to scrape away, and can even bleed slightly when removed.
Associated factors – if either baby or a breastfeeding mom has recently taken antibiotics, or your baby has a stubborn, raised, red diaper rash with outlying red spots (yeast diaper rash), then any suspicious white patches in baby’s mouth are much more likely to be thrush.

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Red, sore tongue

 

Sometimes this can indicate anaemia, common in women of childbearing age, so see your doctor for a blood test and increase your intake of iron-rich foods. It can also be a sign of vitamin deficiency, so make sure you’re eating your five portions a day of fruit and veg.

 

White coating on tongue

 

Smoking can cause a grey-white build-up. In babies or those with lowered immune systems, patches with red, sore areas underneath are a sign of thrush. Patches which can’t be scraped off with a tissue should be investigated by your GP urgently - they can be thrush or a pre-cancerous warning sign.

 

Mouth ulcers

 

We all get the occasional ulcer, normally caused by a minor trauma to the tongue or gums. Avoid hot, spicy or acidic foods and try rinsing your mouth with a salt-water solution. Recurrent painful sores can occasionally be a symptom of a serious bowel condition like Crohn’s disease or colitis, so see your GP for tests.

 

Cracks at the corners of your mouth

 

Can be a sign you’re deficient in B vitamins. Increase your intake of meat, whole grains and dark green veg, or try a B vitamin complex.

 

Sores on lips

 

If it’s painful it’s most likely to be a cold sore. These are caused by the herpes virus, which most of us pick up in childhood - in some people, repeated outbreaks are caused by stress or lowered immunity, so try exercise to cut tension, and have plenty of fruit, veg, fish and whole grains in your diet. A persistent, painless sore on or inside your lips, or elsewhere in your mouth, can be a sign of oral cancer, especially if you smoke and drink heavily - see your doctor.

 

SKIN

 

Spots

 

They could signal an underlying hormonal imbalance. “One study found 80 per cent of women referred to dermatologists with acne have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS),” says Colette Harris, author of The PCOS Protection Plan (Hay House, £12.99). “The condition makes the skin’s oil glands more sensitive to the hormone testosterone, triggering excess oil, which can lead to spots.” See your GP, who may suggest antibiotics, or the Pill to balance hormones. Spots can also be a sign of stress which can interfere with hormones. Try exercising to keep calm. Some studies have suggested foods with a high glycaemic index could contribute, so try reducing sugar and white bread, and switch to alternatives such as fruit, wholegrain bread and wholemeal pasta.

 

Flaky patches

 

Dry, reddish scales around the hairline, the nose and in the eyebrows are typical signs of seborrheic dermatitis, an inflammatory condition. Although it feels and looks dry, it’s more common in oily skins. Seborrheic dermatitis can just be hereditary, with no other apparent cause but stress and excess alcohol can aggravate it, so take steps to address both.

 

Yellowish skin

 

Most commonly a sign of jaundice, which can develop as a result of liver disease, or blockages in the bile ducts or gall bladder. See your doctor.

 

EYES

 

White ring around the iris

 

A pale ring around the coloured part of your eye may be a symptom of raised cholesterol, according to the British Heart Foundation (www.bhf.org.uk). Book a cholesterol test with your GP, or try the SELFCheck Cholesterol Level Test, £9.99 from chemists. Regular exercise and a diet low in saturated fats can help bring down cholesterol.

 

Puffy eyelids

 

Can be caused by an allergic reaction to make-up, so try switching to a hypoallergenic brand such as Almay. Other allergies, such as hay fever and eczema, can also be a cause, and eye infections such as conjunctivitis can cause your eyelids to swell. Your pharmacist can give you eye-drops for allergic reactions and infections, and try putting cold camomile tea bags on your eyes for 10 minutes. More rarely, puffy eyelids can be a sign of an underactive thyroid, so if they’re a long-term problem, see your GP to rule out underlying medical causes.

 

Pale lower lids

 

If the skin inside your lower eyelid looks pale pink rather than bright red, it could be a sign of anaemia, a lack of haemoglobin in your blood. Ask your GP for a test and eat more iron-rich foods such as red meat and green veg.

 

Yellow bumps

 

Small, yellowish lumps above and below your eyes are deposits of fat and could signal high levels of unhealthy LDL cholesterol. See your pharmacist or GP for a cholesterol check.

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Not sure if you have oral thrush? check out the signs and symptoms below. Any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I know a couple of people who had had it and I like reserching about it.

Oral thrush usually produces creamy white lesions on your tongue and inner cheeks and sometimes on the roof of your mouth, gums and tonsils. The lesions, which resemble cottage cheese, can be painful and may bleed slightly when rubbed or scraped. Although signs and symptoms often develop suddenly, they may persist for a long period of time.

In severe cases, the lesions may spread downward into your esophagus — the long, muscular tube stretching from the back of your mouth to your stomach (Candida esophagitis). Signs and symptoms of Candida esophagitis may include:

• Pain or difficulty swallowing
• A sensation of food sticking in your throat or the middle of your chest
• Possible fever if the infection spreads beyond your esophagus

Symptoms in infants and breast-feeding mothers
Healthy newborns with oral thrush usually develop symptoms during the first few weeks of life. In addition to the distinctive white mouth lesions, infants may have trouble feeding or be fussy and irritable. They can also pass the infection to their mothers during breast-feeding. Women whose breasts are infected with Candida may experience the following signs and symptoms:

• Unusually red or sensitive nipples
• Taut, shiny skin on the areola
• Unusual pain during nursing or painful nipples between feedings
• Stabbing pains deep within the breast

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If you or your baby develops painful white lesions inside the mouth, see your doctor or dentist. Oral thrush can usually be diagnosed simply by looking at the lesions, but sometimes a small sample is examined under a microscope to confirm the diagnosis.

If thrush develops in older children or adolescents who have no other risk factors, seek medical care. An underlying condition such as diabetes may be the cause. In that case, your doctor will perform a thorough physical exam as well as recommend certain blood tests to help find the source of the problem.

Thrush that extends into the esophagus can be serious. To help diagnose this condition, your doctor may ask you to have one or more of the following tests:

• Throat culture. In this procedure, the back of your throat is swabbed with sterile cotton and the tissue sample cultured on a special medium to help determine which bacteria or fungi, if any, are causing your symptoms.
• Endoscopic examination. In this procedure, your doctor examines your esophagus, stomach and the upper part of your small intestine (duodenum) using a lighted, flexible tube with a camera on the tip (endoscope). The test, called an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, takes between 30 and 60 minutes. You’ll be given a sedative to make you more comfortable and a local anesthetic so that you don’t cough or gag when the endoscope is inserted. There’s a slight risk of perforation of your esophagus, stomach or duodenum and of an adverse reaction to medication you may be given.
• Barium swallow. In this test, you’ll need to drink one or two barium “milkshakes” — glasses of thick, chalky liquid that may be flavored so that they go down more easily. X-rays are then taken as the barium flows through your esophagus into your stomach.

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These illnesses may make you more susceptible to oral thrush infection:

• Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. Usually affecting children younger than age 3, this group of rare disorders is marked by a chronic Candida infection of the mouth and fingernails and of the skin on the scalp, trunk, hands and feet. Scaly, crusted lumps known as granulomas also may develop in the mouth or on the nails and skin. Adults occasionally develop the disorder — usually as a result of a tumor on the thymus gland (thyoma).
• HIV/AIDS. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) — the virus that causes AIDS — damages or destroys the cells of your immune system, making you more susceptible to opportunistic infections your body would normally resist. One of these opportunistic infections is oral thrush. Thrush is rare in the early stage of AIDS, usually appearing only when counts of helper T cells — one of the key cells in the immune system — fall below 350. Although oral thrush is the least serious of the fungal infections that can affect people with HIV, it may be an indication that HIV is worsening. Candida esophagitis, which occurs when thrush spreads to the esophagus, generally develops when T cell counts are 200 or less and is considered an AIDS-defining illness — an opportunistic illness that indicates a person with HIV is developing AIDS.
• Cancer. If you’re dealing with cancer, your immune system is likely to be weakened both from the disease and from treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, increasing the risk of Candida infections such as oral thrush.
• Diabetes mellitus. If you don’t know you have diabetes or the disease isn’t well controlled, your saliva may contain large amounts of sugar, which encourages the growth of Candida.
• Vaginal yeast infections. It’s estimated that three out of every four women will have a vaginal yeast infection (Candida vulvovaginitis) at least once before menopause. Vaginal yeast infections are caused by the same fungus that causes oral thrush. Although a yeast infection isn’t dangerous, a pregnant woman can pass the fungus to her baby during delivery. As a result, her newborn may develop oral thrush within the first several weeks after birth. Up to 5 percent of healthy newborns with oral thrush are infected through mother-to-child transmission.
• Dry mouth (xerostomia). This occurs when the salivary glands don’t produce enough moisture. Dry mouth disrupts the balance of normal microorganisms in your mouth, increasing your risk of oral thrush. Although not itself a disease, dry mouth can be a symptom of certain illnesses, including Sjogren’s syndrome — an autoimmune disease that causes an extremely dry mouth and eyes. Bone marrow transplants, stress or anxiety, depression, and certain nutritional deficiencies also can cause a dry mouth. So can chemotherapy, radiation to the head and neck area and hundreds of medications — especially antidepressants, pain and high blood pressure drugs, tranquilizers, diuretics and antihistamines.

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Symptoms in women include: -

• Itching and soreness around the vagina, vulva or anus causing redness and inflammation.
• A thick, white discharge from the vagina, which looks like cottage cheese and smells yeasty.
• Pain during sex.
• Pain when passing urine.

Symptoms in men include: -

• Irritation, burning or itching under the foreskin or on the tip of the penis.
• Red patches at the tip of the penis or under the foreskin.
• Difficulty in pulling back the foreskin.
• Discomfort when passing urine.
• A thick discharge under the foreskin.

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Oral thrush is seldom a problem for healthy children and adults, although the infection may come back even after it’s been treated. For people with compromised immune systems, however, thrush can be more serious.

Children with HIV may have especially severe symptoms in their mouth or esophagus, which can make eating painful and difficult. As a result, they don’t receive adequate nutrition, just when they need it most. In addition, thrush is more likely to spread to other parts of the body in people with cancer, HIV or other conditions that weaken the immune system. In that case, the areas most likely to be affected include the digestive tract, lungs, liver and skin.

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Causes of Thrush

Microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and fungi are everywhere, including in and on your own body. In general, the relationship between you and the microorganisms in your body is mutually beneficial. You provide nutrition, protection and transportation for them, while they stimulate your immune system, synthesize essential vitamins, and help protect against harmful viruses and bacteria.

But your relationship to microorganisms in the world at large is more complex. Some microbes are highly beneficial, whereas others — such as those that cause malaria and meningitis — can be deadly. For that reason, your immune system works to repel harmful invading organisms while maintaining a balance between “good” and “bad” microbes that normally inhabit your body.

But sometimes these protective mechanisms fail. Oral thrush and other Candida infections occur when your immune system is weakened by disease or drugs such as prednisone, or when antibiotics disturb the natural balance of microorganisms in your body.

  

Risk factors

Anyone can develop oral thrush, but the infection is especially common in infants and toddlers whose immune systems aren’t fully developed. In addition, babies can pass the infection to their mothers during breast-feeding.

You’re also more likely to develop oral thrush if you:

• Are an older adult
• Have a compromised immune system
• Use corticosteroids, antibiotics or birth control pills
• Smoke
• Wear dentures

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 A white tongue due to a candida infection is a really ugly thing. SO, here are some ways to avoid getting thrush.

  

Prevention

The following measures may help reduce your risk of developing Candida infections:

• Try using yogurt or acidophilus capsules when you take antibiotics.
• Treat any vaginal yeast infections that develop during pregnancy as soon as possible.
• If you smoke, ask your doctor about the best ways to quit.
• See your dentist regularly — at least every six to 12 months — especially if you have diabetes or wear dentures. Brush and floss your teeth as often as your dentist recommends.
• Try limiting the amount of sugar and yeast-containing foods you eat, including bread, beer and wine. These may encourage the growth of Candida.

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Self-care

These suggestions may help during an outbreak of oral thrush:

• Practice good oral hygiene. Many dentists recommend brushing at least twice a day and flossing at least once. If you have problems with strength or dexterity in your hands, an electric toothbrush can make brushing easier. Avoid mouthwash or sprays — they can destroy the normal flora in your mouth.
• Try warm saltwater rinses. Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm water. Or rinse with a mild baking soda solution — 1 teaspoon of soda in 1 cup of warm water. Swish the rinses, but don’t swallow.
• Use nursing pads. If you’re breast-feeding and develop a fungal infection, this will help prevent the fungus from spreading to your clothes. Look for pads that don’t have a plastic barrier, which can encourage the growth of Candida. For more information on breast-feeding, you can contact the La Leche League at (847) 519-7730.

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