Natural Remedies for Oral Thrush

Natural remedies for oral thrush can be used to get rid of painful thrush quickly.

Oral thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth that occurs primarily in babies, but can also occur in adults with compromised immune systems such as people with HIV, drug users, and the elderly. It causes a burning senstation in the mouth and difficulty eating and swallowing. When you have this infection it shows up as small whitish or yellowish raised bumps in the mouth. When scraped the bumps become sores that bleed.

Oral Thrush in Infants

Treatment

If your baby has thrush you can wait a week to see if it goes away on its own. Most times it will, but the problem with thrush is that it makes it uncomfortable for your baby to feed putting him at risk of dehydration. Most thrush in infants will go away on it's own in that amount of time. If it doesn't it may be a sign of something else.

If you take your infant to the doctor about the condition they will usually prescribe an oral antifungal to treat your baby's symptoms.

Prevention

In the case of oral thrush in infants prevention is very important.

Give your baby a bit of sterilized water to drink after feedings. The water rinses the milk out of the mouth. A clean mouth is not very inviting to yeast.

If you're breast feeding clean your nipples well before and after feedings. If you're bottle feeding be sure to sterlize nipples and bottles between feedings. Also keep pacifiers clean.

If your breast feeding keep in mind that the clothing your breasts come into contact with can transmit yeast. Make sure your clothing is kept clean. Avoid breast pads that contain plastic. The environment these pads create are ideal for the growth of yeast.

Oral Thrush in Adults

There are more treatment options for adults with this condition than infants. This infection occurs because a weak immune system has been unable to control Candida overgrowth in the body. Here are some popular natural remedies for oral thrush.

Goldenseal

Use powdered goldenseal root or goldenseal leaves to make an antifungal tea to rinse your mouth. Combine 1 teaspoon of goldenseal powder or leaves with 8 ounces of hot water. Let it steep for 15 to 20 minutes. You can use this to rinse out your mouth twice daily.

Herbs

Besides goldenseal these herbs can also be used in natural remedies for oral thrush. You can make teas with these herbs too.

• licorice
• myrrh
• echinacea

Oil Pulling

Oil pulling is an easy Ayurvedic remedy used for detox. Oiling pulling with extra virgin coconut oil will clear up an oral yeast infection.

Put 1/2 a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and swish it around slowly for 15 to 20 minutes. When you're done spit it out in the trash.

Don't swallow it. The oil is full of nasty stuff you don't want to have in your body.

Don't spit the oil out in your sink. Coconut oil will clog your drains.

Coconut oil is antifungal.

Yogurt

Yogurt is commonly used in natural remedies for oral thrush. Yogurt contains lactobacillus acidophilus or bifidobacterium. Both bacterias help keep candida the fungus that causes thrush in check.

Make sure to eat all natural plain yogurt.

Salt Water Rinse

Mix 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water. Rinse your mouth with the mixture two to three times daily.

Onions and Garlic

Both of these foods can be used to help heal thrush. They are both antifungal. Include a lot of garlic and onions in your diet especially fresh garlic to get rid of thrush.

Oral Health

Make sure you floss and brush twice daily. Make sure you change your toothbrush often so you don't re-infect yourself with your toothbrush.

If you found these natural remedies for oral thrush useful you may like to read more readies on my Free Home Remedies page.

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