How does the infection manifest and why is it dangerous?
The most striking symptom of oral candidiasis is a white, loose coating on the mucous membrane. It mainly covers the tongue, cheeks, and may affect the gums and palate. Plaque can be easily scraped out; the tissue underneath is prone to redness and may bleed. Other signs of the disease include:
- unpleasant taste;
- dry mouth;
- burning;
- the appearance of cracks in the corners of the lips;
- difficulty or painful swallowing;
- unpleasant sensations with habitual movements of the tongue.
Candidiasis can be acute or chronic. In most cases, it is the acute form that manifests itself; the chronic form is typical for carriers of HIV infections and smokers. Depending on the degree and form of the disease, other symptoms may be observed, so even if one or two appear, you should immediately contact your dentist.
Inflammation of the tonsils in a child: nuances
Photo: white lumps on a child’s tonsils
A child's body is more susceptible to developing diseases of the throat and oral cavity than an adult. With tonsillitis, the baby often behaves restlessly, cries a lot and cannot sleep at night. In addition, the child’s body temperature periodically rises.
In children, white growths and stones in the throat area appear due to the development of diseases such as:
- angina;
- pharyngitis and laryngitis;
- tonsillitis.
Parents whose children often suffer from sore throat are advised to always have a special medical device called a nebulizer on hand. It is used for inhalation at home. You should not hope that the unfortunate lumps will come out on their own.
Nebulizer inhaler
Causes of oral candidiasis
How does the disease occur? The fungus Candida lives in the body from birth and, under certain circumstances, provokes illness. What becomes the trigger for infection:
- weakened immunity;
- taking antibiotics;
- long-term use of removable dentures, especially if they do not fit tightly;
- insufficient oral hygiene;
- smoking;
- oncology;
- use of inhalers for asthma;
- excess simple carbohydrates in the diet;
- pregnancy period;
- infancy or old age.
It can be seen that there are many reasons, often they act together, less often - individually. In general, oral candidiasis is rare in adults. It mainly affects children in the first years of life and older people. Among these categories, the prevalence of the disease reaches 10%.
Preventive measures
Most often, white plaque signals a decrease in the body’s immune function and the beginning of an inflammatory process. Hypothermia or heavy exercise can trigger an exacerbation.
To prevent this effect, it is recommended to maintain physical fitness with basic morning exercises. You should choose clothes in accordance with the season and weather conditions.
After the end of the summer season, it is appropriate to take complex vitamin formulations that will prevent a decrease in protective functions.
You can compensate for the deficiency of microelements necessary for normal life by including a large amount of vegetables, fruits, fish and meat (low-fat varieties) in your diet.
How is oral candidiasis treated?
To begin with, let's say that treatment is necessary, otherwise the infection spreads to the pharynx, tonsils, and gums. Then the disease descends into the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, liver and causes irreparable harm to them.
When the first signs of candidiasis of the oral mucosa appear, you should contact your dentist or therapist to confirm the diagnosis. When you see your doctor, describe all your symptoms, even those that are not on the list. For example, you have noticed increased anxiety or a tendency to stress lately. Information about the medications you are taking, recent illnesses, and being around sick people is also important. To confirm the diagnosis, it is often enough to take a swab from the oral cavity and carry out the appropriate analysis. If the disease has already spread to other organs, a more thorough examination may be required, for example, endoscopy - diagnosing the condition of the esophagus and stomach using a flexible tube with a camera at the end.
How to treat oral candidiasis? Treatment can be local or systemic depending on the form and stage of the disease. When local, antifungal agents and antiseptics are prescribed. These can be sprays, rinses, gels, lozenges and more. Treatment on average takes up to 3 weeks, as a general rule - until symptoms disappear and another week. Systemic treatment is used for chronic forms or when the infection spreads to other organs. It usually involves the use of more medications that are intended to treat the directly affected areas.
Under no circumstances resort to self-medication! A fungal infectious disease has nothing to do with inflammation, so your actions are more likely to harm your body. In doing so, you can reduce the harmful effects of the infection and make you feel better. To do this, eat natural yogurt without sugar and take probiotics as recommended by your doctor. But these actions are not a complete treatment for candidiasis in the mouth!
Folk remedies
The use of folk remedies to remove white plaque is possible only in cases of layering of food residues or mechanical damage to the mucous membrane. For other diseases, recipes based on medicinal plants and bee products are used as an auxiliary treatment, and cannot replace drug therapy with them.
The following recommendations are effective and safe:
- Freshly brewed tea strengthens the immune system, has an anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect
gargling with symptoms of sore throat at the initial stage of its development with beetroot broth (inhibits the growth of bacteria);
- solution from crushed furatsilin tablets or 1 tsp. will help reduce pain and stop the division of bacteria when rinsing (every 30-60 minutes);
- Honey has an antibacterial effect (dissolve a teaspoon every 1.5 hours);
- chewing a clove of garlic every 2 hours (significantly reduces the number of bacteria);
- sucking a slice of lemon in the mouth (do not sweeten or salt it, you can injure the mucous membrane).
Important! When using folk remedies, it is worth considering that their action is effective at the initial stage of the development of the disease; in an aggravated form, it is necessary to carry out full-fledged therapy.
The treatment process can be supplemented with such a pleasant procedure as drinking tea. Thanks to the healing drink, it has an effect in several directions at once: strengthening the immune system, anti-inflammatory and wound healing.
The following teas and decoctions are considered the most effective:
- infusion of chamomile and calendula (in equal proportions);
- fruit drinks from black currants and cranberries;
- rosehip decoction;
- infusion of sage leaves and St. John's wort;
- milk (warm) with honey.
How to avoid candidiasis?
To prevent the disease, you must follow a few simple rules:
- maintain oral hygiene;
- consult a dentist at least twice a year, even if there are no complaints;
- control nutrition, avoid excess carbohydrates in food;
- refrain from smoking, which can cause a chronic form of the disease.
Treatment of candidiasis of the oral mucosa can take a long time and also cause irreparable harm to health, so we recommend that you take care of yourself in advance by following preventive measures. If symptoms have already begun to appear, consult a doctor as soon as possible so that the infection does not have time to spread to other organs. You can undergo oral cavity diagnostics at Comfort Dentistry. Our specialists will tell you in detail about the prevention of common diseases of teeth and gums, and also, if necessary, provide high-quality treatment.
Is it possible to remove purulent plugs on the tonsils yourself?
Sometimes patients make attempts to remove all stones and plaques on their own so that their breath does not stink. But doctors warn that getting rid of tonsil blockages at home is fraught with serious consequences. By wielding a foreign object, the patient can disrupt the integrity of the lacunae and cause an infection in the throat.
At home, you can perform inhalations with compounds that have anti-inflammatory and disinfecting properties. To combat white formations on the tonsils, it is recommended to use herbal preparations, with which you can rinse your mouth or carry out inhalations. To increase efficiency, you can add cedar essential oil to the inhaler.
If white lumps on your tonsils don’t give you peace, you can try to get rid of them in several safe ways:
- Sometimes the plugs “come out” of the gaps if you press on them with your tongue. After the procedure, be sure to rinse your mouth.
- You can try removing the plugs with a soft-bristled toothbrush.
White balls in the throat and tonsils indicate inflammation in the pharynx, so it is recommended to consult a doctor as soon as possible to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe a treatment regimen. Remember that manipulations carried out at home do not guarantee getting rid of white formations in the throat and relieving chronic tonsillitis.
Forecast
With timely, complete and systematic treatment of the disease, the prognosis for the patient is favorable. In this case, it is possible to stop pathological changes in the mucosal tissues. After quality therapy, exacerbations of the disease are extremely rare.
If treatment is started late, when the throat lesion is already quite serious, then the prognosis for the patient is relatively positive, since it will not be possible to ensure a long remission, but at the same time the risk of complications will be eliminated.
What not to do
During the treatment period there are certain restrictions, by violating which the patient risks significantly aggravating his condition. The doctor will not be able to guarantee the patient a positive result of therapy if the following actions are allowed:
- smoking during treatment;
- use of alcohol preparations for gargling;
- eating spicy food;
- staying in a dusty room;
- violation of medical instructions regarding treatment.
If there are no violations in the course of therapy, then it is possible to stop the disease at the beginning of its development without the use of surgical methods of therapy. Treatment of hypertrophic pharyngitis in adults and children is the same.
Diagnostics
Only an external examination of the pharynx is not enough to identify not only the disease itself, but also the causes of its occurrence, as well as the condition of the body. Because of this, the doctor, having identified pharyngitis by eye during the initial examination, necessarily prescribes further tests to the patient, which help to obtain a complete picture of the health condition and select the most effective treatment.
1. A swab from the pharynx followed by inoculation on a nutrient medium. It is necessary to determine the composition of pathogenic microflora and its sensitivity to certain antibiotics.
2. Biochemical blood test. It requires venous blood. The study reveals the presence of antibodies to certain inflammatory agents, hormonal parameters and the presence or absence of malignant cells.
3. Clinical blood test. Blood from a finger is used. Shows the percentage of the ratio of its main components. Deviation of one or another up or down makes it possible to detect a number of pathologies.
4. General urine analysis. The study of the material allows you to accurately assess the severity of inflammation in the body, as well as whether there are any disturbances in the functioning of the kidneys against its background.
5. Biopsy of tissue of the pharyngeal mucosa. Not always prescribed. The procedure is necessary if there is a suspicion of the development of a cancer process. When examining a tissue sample, the presence or absence of malignant (cancerous) cells in the mucosa is determined.
If necessary, an electrocardiogram and x-ray of the sinus area may also be prescribed. These procedures are rarely required. They are usually carried out if complications of the disease begin to develop. In young children, an X-ray of the lungs may also be necessary, since quite often, against the background of inflammation of the larynx, pneumonia or bronchopneumonia appears quickly enough.
What complications can occur if left untreated?
The presence of a chronic source of infection in the body can lead to the spread of pathogenic microorganisms and damage to other organs. Most often they suffer from this:
If an abscess is present or an open wound is formed when trying to remove the plugs mechanically, microbes are able to penetrate the bloodstream. This is fraught with the development of sepsis - blood poisoning, which in half of all cases leads to the death of the patient, even with timely seeking medical help.
The lack of treatment for diphtheria and untimely administration of anti-diphtheria serum is fraught with the development of severe damage to the nervous system and death of the patient.
