Symptoms of Oral Thrush

The symptoms of oral thrush are likely to appear suddenly, yet persist for a long period of time. The symptoms of oral thrush vary between two groups of people: children and adults in one group and infants and breast feeding mothers in the other. Here is a list of major symptoms of thrush in both groups.

Children and Adults:

•    White, creamy lesions are likely to appear on the tongue and inner cheeks and sometimes even on gums, tonsils and the roof of the mouth.
•    Lesions that appear like cottage cheese
•    Pain
•    On rubbing or scrapping of lesions, you may see slight bleeding
•    Corners of the mouth getting cracked
•    An experience of cotton-mouth
•    You may be unable to taste food properly.

In very severe cases, lesion may spread to the esophagus (Candida esophagitis), causing difficulty in swallowing food.

Infants and breast feeding mothers:

Apart from the characteristic lesions in the mouth, infants suffering from oral thrush may become irritable and difficult to feed. Also, the risk of spreading the condition to the mother’s nipples is high and there is a possibility that the infection will keep passing between mother's breasts and baby's mouth. Mothers whose breasts are infected are likely to experience the following symptoms:

•    Nipples that show signs of redness, itchiness and swelling
•    Areola that become flaky or shiny
•    Discomfort while nursing
•    Pain in the nipples between feedings
•    Chest Pains