If you’ve looked inside your newborn’s mouth, you might have noticed that your baby’s tongue has a white coating.
There are 2 main causes of white tongue in babies.
In some cases, the milky white patches you see on your baby’s tongue could be a build up of breast milk or formula. In other cases, your baby’s white tongue could be an indication of oral thrush.
Read on to find out more about white tongue in babies.
How do I tell whether my baby has thrush or milk residue?
Oral thrush
If babies have oral thrush, they might have white lesions, similar in appearance to cottage cheese, on their inner cheeks or elsewhere in the mouth. There might also be a white coating on the baby’s tongue. Signs of thrush might also be apparent on your baby’s bottom.
If you are breastfeeding, you might also have symptoms of breast or nipple thrush.
These symptoms can include:
- Burning, itching or stinging nipples
- Deep aching or stabbing pains, in one or both breasts
- Reddened, dry or flaky skin on the nipple and areola.
To find out more about nipple thrush, you can read BellyBelly’s article Nipple Thrush – Treatments For Nipple Thrush.
Milk residue (milk tongue)
If your baby’s white tongue is due to milk residue rather the oral thrush, the above symptoms will not be present.
A milk tongue is common in babies with a tongue tie.
You can read more about this in BellyBelly’s article What is Tongue Tie – 8 Facts To Be Aware Of.
How do I get rid of the white coating on my baby’s tongue?
A white tongue, or white patches, caused by milk residue is common and does not do any harm to your baby. In some babies, the milk residue persists for the whole time they are exclusively milk fed, then starts to disappear when solid foods are introduced into the diet.
If you are concerned about the ever present white film on your baby’s tongue, you can clean it by gently wiping it with a damp cloth.
Causes of oral thrush in babies
Oral thrush is a yeast infection caused by an overgrowth of candida albicans. Candida albicans is a common fungus, which is harmless when present at normal levels in the body but can cause problems if there is an overgrowth inside your baby’s mouth.
An immature or weak immune system can result in an overgrowth of fungus, which is why young babies, whose immune systems are still developing, are more susceptible to oral thrush than adults are.
How to treat oral thrush
If you think your baby could have oral thrush, seek advice from your healthcare provider. There are other oral conditions that have different treatments from those for yeast infections, so it’s important for your baby’s doctor to diagnose thrush before beginning medical treatment.
The good news is that oral thrush is a common infection that is easily treatable with antifungal medication.
If you are breastfeeding, you will need to seek treatment for both you and your baby. This helps to prevent the spreading of infection back and forth between you.
To treat thrush, your doctor might suggest oral drops for your baby or an oral gel that can be used inside your baby’s mouth as well as on your nipples.
Can you prevent thrush in babies?
To prevent a yeast infection from spreading from other family members to your baby:
- Treat existing infections with antifungal gel or by following advice from your healthcare provider
- Sterilize pacifiers, bottles, breast pumps and any other feeding equipment after every use
- Wash your hands thoroughly after nappy changes or after applying antifungal medication
- Wash towels, cloth nappies, nursing pads and bras in hot water and air dry them in the sun
- Take probiotics to encourage the growth of good bacteria in the body.
Will thrush go away on its own?
Without treatment, thrush might eventually go away on its own; however, this could take several weeks. It’s more likely to take longer if the yeast infection is being passed back and forth between a breastfeeding mother and her baby.
If left untreated, the symptoms of thrush, such as pain or discomfort in your baby’s mouth, will persist. In severe cases, untreated thrush might lead to a further infection in the body.
