Baby Yeast Infection – Infant Yeast Infection Causes
Believe it or not, but even babies can be affected by candida overgrowth and can experience yeast infections. The most common yeast infections suffered by babies is diaper dermatitis (better known as diaper rash) and oral (mouth) thrush. In many cases, a baby can experience both of these candida infections at the same time.
How do you know if your child has a yeast infection caused by candida? The following are symptoms of a baby yeast infection you should watch for:
Diaper Dermatitis symptoms – Deep red rash that looks shiny and has satellite lesions. The rash typically appears in the creases or folds of the thighs located in the diaper area and spreads.
Oral Thrush symptoms – Gray-white coating that is present on the tongue, gums and inside cheeks. This coating will not be easy to wipe off. In rare cases, oral thrush may be severe and the baby may find sucking painful.
What causes these baby yeast infections?
Yeast infections caused by candida start with a build up of fungus in the intestines. Yeast infections develop in warm, moist environments where bacteria can thrive. For a baby, the best environment for growing bacteria is the diaper and the mouth. This overgrowth of fungus, along with other factors, may lead to diaper rash or oral thrush.
Causes of diaper dermatitis – Diaper rash is primarily caused by a wet or soiled diaper. Skin can be irritated by urine or stool. Irritation can also occur from diarrhoea which can be highly acidic and burn the skin. The rash can also result from tightly fitted, air-tight plastic pants which prevent moisture from evaporating.
Causes of oral thrush – Oral thrush typically occurs in babies who are still in diapers. It can result from taking antibiotics to treat another infection, and can occur if the baby has excessive candida albicans in their system; they have damaged skin; or if there is a yeast infection present on the mother’s nipples.
Natural Cure For Yeast Infection Diagnosis and treatment
If you suspect a baby yeast infection, take your child to his/her paediatrician so the infection can be properly diagnosed. Once diagnosed, treatment will be prescribed based on what the doctor deems best for your child.
Factors that determine treatment may include the age of your child, the severity of the infection, and if there are any pre-existing medical conditions.
Treatment for diaper dermatitis
- Removing diaper for a few days
- Medicated or anti-inflammatory creams
- Moisture-resistant diaper creams
Treatment for oral thrush
- Antifungal antibiotic that can be applied to skin or taken orally
- Topical cream for the mother’s breast if her nipple is the cause of infection
Take preventative action
You can keep your baby yeast infection free by ensuring the following –
- Change diapers regularly
- Keep the diaper area clean and dry
- Keep diapers off whenever possible
- Do not wash your baby’s skin with soap or other harsh cleaning products
- Properly sanitize soothers and bottle tops by boiling them for approximately 10 minutes to avoid recurrence of oral thrush.
Baby Yeast Infection – What to Know?
Though yeast infections are not extremely common in babies they can happen, specifically in the mouth, in the form of Thrush, or in the diaper area. Just as in adults a baby’s yeast infection happens when a fungus from the Candida species is able to over grow.
It can cause symptoms that are painful and irritating such as itching, and burning. Thrush can also make it painful for a toddler to feed. Causes can include antibiotics, either the toddler being on them, or a breast feeding mother being on them and passing it on through her milk.
Diaper rashes are common and sometimes a baby yeast infection can be mistaken for just a diaper rash. But a baby yeast infection does not respond to diaper cream applications and will just worsen. It is important to keep the diaper area as clean and as dry as possible.
Bathing the area in a bath of water and a half cup of vinegar can be done as the vinegar will help kill the fungus. There are over the counter anti-fungal creams that will take effect in a few days if the case is not too severe but before you start treatment it is a good idea to talk to the doctor first.
Diet changes can also help combat a yeast infection or prevent one. Plain, natural live yogurt is something he or she could eat regularly as it contains good bacteria that will help fight the fungus. Other natural remedies include grapefruit seed extract and raw garlic. Your doctor may encourage dietary changes along with a prescription drug to treat the infection.
Thrush can be treated with milk of magnesia by dipping a cotton swab in it and wiping it around the mouth where the infection is, two times a day. Also try to cut down how much sugar the toddler is eating or drinking, as sugar feeds the yeast, allowing it to grow and spread further. Oral yeast infections can travel to the diaper area through the digestive system so it is important to treat it as soon as you can.
Taking Special Care In Baby Yeast Infection Treatment
Like adults, babies can even have rashes through their diapers if not removed and kept cleaned properly. When the diaper rashes are contaminated with the yeast, the baby gets the yeast infection in the form of rashes. This kind of situation is most active, when the baby is under the influence of antibiotics.
If you baby suffers for more than one week, then you should take measures through baby yeast infection treatment. In case, if the situation persists, you must consult the paediatrician. However, there over-the-counter anti-fungal creams that can soothe the rashes, but it is important to have a thorough check up.
A thorough check up with the doctor will assure you of the fact that there are no other disorders with the baby. During the recovery stage of the baby yeast infection treatment, do not use any bubble bath, perfumed soap, or wipes on your baby.
To ease the itching, you may give the soothing bath of oatmeal. As you complete bathing you baby, before dressing up, let the bottom air dry. Since the yeast has the ability to transmit through different areas, keep your baby’s and your hands clean as you change the diapers.
Keep watch on your baby to notice, whether is there any improvement, or your baby is suffering from fever or allergies. In the negative stance, if it appears to be the fact, rush to the paediatrician before any other disorders spread out. As we already have yeast in our body, sometimes the system goes out of control and develops peculiarities. This is when the baby yeast infection treatment steps in. Yeast is painful and can spread throughout the body through the warm and moist areas. Take proper care and vigil to avoid the dreadful malady.
There is a common practice in the medical industry, where the doctors often ask to visit the women section and have the same cream for babies, but there are several other true ways to give solace to the little one. It is important to know, whether you baby is on antibiotic, or thrush.
In fact, both mother and baby can contribute to the growth of yeast. In that case, if you are on antibiotic, finish the course, and if your baby is on baby yeast infection treatment, let the little one finish it. Until the course is not finished from either side, sadly the cure is far more difficult.
Understanding And Treating A Baby Yeast Infection
As a parent, you want to try to do everything that you possibly can to make sure that your baby is comfortable and dry in their diaper. However, there is simply no avoiding the occasional diaper rash which may include wetness, sensitivity and chafing even if you are working to keep their bottom dry and using quality diaper rash creams.
With that being said, whenever you find that a diaper rash seems to persist no matter what you do to try and treat it; you may be dealing with a baby yeast infection. The more you learn about how a yeast infection can occur, the better you will be able to treat it.
Diaper Rash
What you should know is that each and every person actually has a certain amount of harmless yeast within their bodies. This is a yeast, or fungus, that is known to thrive whenever presented with a wet and warm environment.
Such areas where a yeast infection can take place include the skin, bowels, mouth and in the vaginal area for women. For babies, a yeast infection can easily occur in the diaper area whenever there is a rash that is not treated quickly enough, even with baby boys.
Antibiotics
Any baby who is on an antibiotic or even being breastfed by a mother who may be taking antibiotics can be more vulnerable to baby yeast infections. This is due to the fact that antibiotics introduced into the system can end up killing the good bacteria in the body that is normally known to keep yeast at a decent level. Without these beneficial bacteria, yeast has the ability to grow much faster.
Oral Yeast Infection (Thrush)
If you have a baby that has recently has thrush, which is a yeast infection that forms in the mouth, you may also find that he or she can develop a yeast infection in the diaper region. The yeast can pass throughout the digestive system of your child as they eat and end up in their waste, which can land and on their damp, warm skin and then fester into a baby yeast infection.
At this time you may start to notice tiny red lesions along your baby’s bottom and their skin can even become scaly. You may also start to see that the rash will last longer than two days without any difference even with frequent changes and the application of diaper rash treatments.
Upon realizing that your child has a diaper rash, their paediatrician may provide you with or prescribe an ointment or cream to treat the area. During the course of treatment, many parents will also get great results simply by shaking a tiny bit of cornstarch in the diaper with each change.
While the ointment is doing its job to treat the baby yeast infection, the cornstarch works to keep the area nice and dry so that baby’s bottom has time to heal. As the treatment is underway, regular diaper changes can work wonders to make sure that your baby ends up free of their pesky yeast infection.