Most parents ignore the white coating on their kid’s tongues but according to a health site www.livestrong.com, this could mean an infection.
Normally, when parents consult their doctors during monthly clinical appointments, they get advised to use soft cotton clothes soaked in warm salty water to wipe the tongues of their kids or use ear buds to wipe away the white stuff from their kid’s tongue.
While this oral hygiene practice is recommended, parents should not let it end there.
They should constantly check the tongue of their kids and if the white stuff persists after cleaning or causes irritation and pain during the cleaning, then it means an infection.
Another health site, www.helpfulguides.com indicates that white spots, patches or dots on the tongue can be harmless or be a sign of a more serious condition including oral cancer.
They affect mostly children (babies, infants, and toddler) or adults.
What causes this white patch? Dead cells, excessive mucus, bacteria and fungi can cause this problem.
The most common cause is oral thrush as a result of yeast growth (Fungus candida albicans).Babies are prone to oral thrush because their immunity is still not yet strong.
Another cause of this white patch in your kid’s tongue is low water intake and/or dehydration. Water, if taken regularly, washes away the white patch.
Oral thrush, or in severe cases of oral cancer makes the baby develop poor eating habits because of difficulty in swallowing. The baby may also develop sore throat and fever.
Bad news is that oral thrush can be transmitted from one baby to another through sharing feeding bottles.
Parents should be careful so that their babies do not share drinks, utensils or saliva with a baby suffering from oral thrush.
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