The oral cavity is the most important organ during the infant and toddler period, which is easily exposed to external stimuli and, of course, more likely to have related symptoms. The following is an introduction to six common oral symptoms to provide moms and dads with a more complete understanding and care code.
Symptom 1, thrush
Among the oral symptoms of babies, the most common is thrush. The main reason why babies are prone to thrush is that their mouths are not thoroughly cleaned. The residual milk scum in the mouth of a baby who falls asleep with a bottle is like a culture, allowing mold to grow gradually. In addition, babies who like to stuff things into their mouths may eat unclean bacteria or babies who have been seriously ill and have a poorer autoimmune system may also get thrush.
Symptoms: The most common symptom of thrush is a white lumpy bump on the oral mucosa, cheeks or on the hard or soft palate. In addition, thrush and milk scale are both white in the mouth and are more difficult to be distinguished. The clinical method of differentiation is as follows: when the tongue scraper is used to clean the mouth, the milk scale can be scraped off, while thrush is not scraped off, and sometimes there is even bleeding from the oral mucosa.
Treatment: Mostly medication is used, usually anti-mycotic drugs are applied in the mouth, and it can be cured in about 5 to 7 days.
Related care: Cleanliness is an important principle in the prevention and care of thrush, especially after meals and before going to bed. Generally, gauze can be used to clean with water. For older babies, a toothbrush can be used to clean from the dental cavity to the tongue. If cleaning is not convenient, at least warm boiled water can be used to rinse the mouth after meals.
Symptom 2, mouth ulcers
Mouth ulcers are also very common and occur for many reasons, such as trauma (e.g. scraping), food irritation, viral infections and other possibilities. If they occur in infants and young children, they are usually scalded when drinking milk; accidentally scraped when cleaning the mouth; bitten by the baby itself; stimulated by too acidic juice, etc. It can also be due to viral infections, one is herpes stomatitis and the other, ulcers caused by enterovirus.
Characteristic symptoms: As the name suggests, small ulcers can be found on the surface of the oral mucosa, and there will be a local burning pain, as the saying goes, “a hole in the mouth”. If there are too many small ulcers or the area is too large, other symptoms such as fever, sore throat and pressure pain may be combined.
Treatment: Generally, intraoral creams will be used for treatment, the purpose is to protect the wound from further stimulation by foreign objects and speed up its own repair.
Care matters: babies can have ulcers in their mouths, usually caused by diet has a higher probability. Therefore, when a mother helps her baby to make milk, she needs to test the temperature first to avoid high temperature entrance. If you need to feed supplementary food, you should also pay attention to whether the texture of the food is soft enough and thin enough to avoid harming the baby’s mouth.
Symptom 3, hand, foot and mouth disease
Hand, foot and mouth disease, the most common is caused by enterovirus infection. Through contact, droplets or saliva secretions, can be infected with enteroviruses. The enterovirus can survive for a period of time in the outside environment. Once the baby comes into contact with people or things containing the enterovirus, and later rubs his eyes and nose, the virus will invade his body.
Characteristic symptoms: Once the disease develops, the baby will have a rash on the hands and feet, and may also have a fever for 3 to 5 days, but it will usually slowly heal on its own after a few days. In severe cases, the baby may have symptoms such as unconsciousness, persistent vomiting, high fever that does not go away, myoclonic reflex (sudden limb contraction) or rapid heartbeat.
Treatment: There is no specific medicine available, and in principle, supportive therapy remains the mainstay. Usually, the patient will be given an IV drip and then go home to recuperate on his or her own after getting better. For severe cases, depending on the diagnosis of the physician, immunoglobulin injections may be used as treatment.
Care matters: When the condition eases, let the baby rest more, appropriate nutrition, generally can eat the food can be imported, at this time to maintain the baby’s strength is most important.
Symptom 4: Stomatitis
Stomatitis occurs at the junction of the upper and lower lips, mostly due to nutritional deficiencies in the past, but now mostly due to residues from eating, Candida infection (low resistance) and other reasons. One of the most common causes is a physical problem, such as atopic dermatitis.
Characteristic symptoms: Some babies will have triangular-shaped red, swollen, peeling condition at the corners of the mouth, sometimes feeling wet and rotten with yellow discharge.
Treatment: In clinical treatment, steroid-containing creams (also used by patients with atopic dermatitis) are applied to the affected area in a thin layer and will heal in about 3 to 5 days. If the symptoms do not improve, antibiotic medication may be required, but it is still recommended to follow medical advice.
Care matters: Prevention is important in general, especially for babies who are prone to drooling, and can be protected by applying a little petroleum jelly to the corners of the mouth. In addition, it is also important to maintain good eating habits and remember to wipe the lips and corners of the mouth clean after meals.