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Suggest Treatment For Oral Thrush

Posted on Fri, 25 Sep 2015

Question: Hi doctor,

Does this look like oral thrush or is my anxiety taking over?

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, looks like Thrush but is mild.

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome to HEALTHCARE MAGIC..

I have gone through your query and can understand your concerns..

As per your query and the image (image is not very clear) there seems to be a white coating over the tongue although not very dense but coating is definitely present as normal appearrence of tongue is pinkish in nature..

The white coating on tongue is due to overgrowth of fungus Candida Albicans.

As the coating does not seems to be very severe gargles with Nystatin mouthwash and taking more of Yoghurt and Garlic in diet can resolve the problem..

While as per the image some areas of your tongue that is the front one-third and backmost one-third is also appearing a slight greyish in colour (if it is not an illusion caused by improper image) then can also point towards Black Hairy Tongue which is a completely harmless condition..

Please provide me a few answers so that I can guide you better and if possible please send a better and clearer image for better diagnosis..

1.Is there a greyish discoloration over the front and back one third of tongue?
2.Does the coating gets scrapped off if you try to do it?
3.In case if it gets scrapped off does it bleed on scraping?
4.Do you observe a Dry mouth?
5.Since how long is the coating present??
6.Are you on any Medication or have a recent history of any Medication and of yes, please tell the name of the medicines.

Kindly revert back with the answers and do not worry as I will solve your problem and even there seems nothing very serious and is treatable..

Hope this information helps..

Thanks and regards..
Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (45 minutes later)

No, it must be a shadow from the picture. When I try scraping it off, it doesn't come off or bleed. I've noticed it more in the last week, but it may be I noticed it because of my anxiety. I'm currently on 150mg venlafaxine, 12.5mg hydrochlorothiazide, and .5mg of clonazapam as needed. My tongue feels a little dry, but I assumed it was from me sticking it out constantly to look at it.
I took an hiv test on the 27th of August, last unprotected sexual encounter was late January/early February. The test came back negative. You don't think I really have hiv and that is causing it, do you?
Thanks for all of your help.

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Yes, it is thrush.

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome Again..

As per the response towards the questions the white coating seems to be THRUSH and nothing is to worry as it mild in nature and will resolve soon..

As you HIV test result came out negative about almost 6 months after the unprotected sexual encounter you need not to worry as you do not have HIV and thrush can occur due to some very common causes like Dry mouth, stress, long term intake of steroids and antibiotics, overall poor immunity, hormonal changes during menstruation, pregnancy, taking immuno-suppressive drugs etc..

Some amounts of fungus is always present in mouth and as soon as there is some favourable condition present the fungus overgrows..

-You can start gargling with NYSTATIN MOUTHWASH.
-CLOTRIMAZOLE LOZENGES can be taken and sucked upon till they dissolve in mouth.
-Use a soft toothbrush to brush your teeth.
-Gargle with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution mixed with water.
-Eat plenty of Yoghurt as it helps in retaining good bacteria in mouth and intestines and fight against fungus and helps in clearing it faster.
-Drink plenty of water.

Do it for 15 days and if still the thrush does not resolve you need to consult an Oral Physician and get evaluated and a microscopic examination of the tongue scraping will be done..

If required oral anti-fungal medicines will be advised to you like Fluconazole.

But, I do not think that it will be anyway needed and you will be fine in 15 days..

Just avoid stress, do meditation to relax your mind and body and indulge more and more in activities of your choice..

Wishing you quick recovery and all the best..

Thanks and regards.
Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Honey Arora (7 hours later)

For the last two weeks I have been dealing with severe anxiety and I wake up feeling like my mouth is dry. Maybe that is the reason. Thanks for all your help!

Answered by Dr. Honey Arora (11 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Pleasure is all mine if I could help you..

Detailed Answer:
Hi..
Welcome Again..

If you feel like mouth is dry when you get up in the morning it may be probably that you are breathing through mouth and continuous in and out of air through mouth leads to dry mouth..
If this is the case you can follow a simple trick..
Just stick a small strip of doctor's tape or micropore tape vertically over your closed lips before going to sleep as it will force nasal breathing and relive dry mouth..
Drink water every time you get awake in night..

Rest follow the medications I advised in previous answers and keep stress minimal..

SMILE, LAUGH,LIVE..
LIFE IS FULL OF HAPPINESS, YOU ARE THE ONE TO MAKE A BEST OUT OF IT..
This will help in keeping stress minimal and make things better..

May God Bless You..

If your query is resolved please give me a Five Star Rating and write a positive review as a token of appreciation..
It will be a great encouragement to serve my patients better..

Thanks and regards..
Dr.Honey Nandwani Arora..

Note: Find out which dental treatment will work best for your teeth. Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj