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Children's health

White tongue

7 replies

Deaconwood · 09/04/2009 14:21

Hello,

My six week old baby has had a white furry tongue for some time (since we started feeding properly, I think).

The midwife saw it at three weeks and said it was probably thrush, so we got some drops from the GP (who didn't take a particularly good look at it). We gave him the full course of these (2 weeks worth) and there has been no change to his tongue. The tongue seems to cause him no discomfort, and he has fed well throughout. I have no signs of thrush either. Although I don't really know what I'd be looking for!

However, it is still very white and furry! HV who saw it today thinks it could be thrush. We see the GP for his 6 wk check next wk, but in the meantime I wondered if anyone had advice or experience?

I am a bit reluctant to keep pumping him full of sweet, cherry flavoured medication if it turns out to just be a milky tongue. Equally, if it is thrush I'd like to get it sorted.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

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ZoeC · 09/04/2009 14:23

Thrush is most likely really, and if you get it in your nipples it can be very painful so work getting on top of if you can. It can be very persistent. If the tongue was just white then maybe not, but furry would seem to indicate thrush.

What have you been given for it, and have you got anything for yourself? I would say it's better to treat you both as you will be passing it between you in all likelihood.

Hope you get on top of it, it was the bane of my life when feeding dd2.

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Deaconwood · 09/04/2009 14:30

Hi Zoe,

Maybe coated rather than furry would be a better way to describe it - it looks furry because of the texture of the tongue, but doesn;t have the cottaage cheese texture I've read thrush can look like.

He had Nystan. I asked the GP if I should take something as well(as I worried it was me giving it to him) but he wouldn't as I had no sympstoms. Looking back, I should have been more insistent, but he was one of those dismissive sorts of GP!

How long did it take you to get on top of it?

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ZoeC · 09/04/2009 14:36

To be truthful, I never fully did get clear until I finished bf, but I do know many do so don't let that put you off.

Try your health visitor, I think they can prescribe stuff for thrush and they may be more sensible than the gp. The stance with me was if one had it treat both, which seemed very sensible to me.

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diedandgonetodevon · 09/04/2009 14:42

DS suffered from oral thrush for weeks when he was a newborn despite two courses of drops. As soon as the drops stopped it would come back. In the end he managed to fight it off himself.
Our GP said that once they get past 6 weeks or so their immune system is more able to fight it and in the end it cleared up on it's own. So hopefully if it is thrush your DC has the end is in sight!

At your dismissive GP. That's the last thing you need with a new baby.

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spenthen · 10/04/2009 20:21

Hi just seen this thread. My DS2 had this from the very beginning of feeding, he had Nystatin (or similar word!!) for a week or so which made no difference at all, his whole tongue was vividly white and every time we saw any health professional for anything they would always mention it and ask if he'd been treated for thrush. He had bad, painful reflux and the HV thought it might just be milk coating his tongue as he constantly had a mouth full of regurgitated milk, but it didn't scrape off. It was a mystery really. He was in so much pain with the reflux that it was impossible to tell if the tongue was giving him discomfort too.

Within a very few days of starting weaning the whiteness just disappeared. We'll never know what it was (but thrush doesn't seem likely)! He's three now and has a perfectly lovely little tongue, for what it's worth!

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tassisssss · 10/04/2009 20:29

my dd had this when she was about 4 weeks old and it can still flair up from time to time and she's now 10 months. I'm still BFing. I've been told it might continue till I quit BFing. It's well under control now and if my nipples get at all sore (red round the edges) or if her tongue is at all white I go back to the cream (I have one that I can slap on both of us, there are some that are only OK for one of us but that was too much for my scrambles post-natal brain). You want to get on top of it or it can lead to a lot of pain for you and difficulty feeding for him. Good luck!

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Deaconwood · 11/04/2009 16:54

Thanks all for the advice!

I've since been reading up on thrush (the Breastfeeding Network's leaflet is so helpful - wish I'd seen it weeks ago) and I've realised that I almost certainly have thrush too. Things I assumed were normal for new mothers that I'd been experiencing, I've now realised are classic thrush symptoms.

Wish I'd been more informed when I'd been to see the GP orginally - especially as he said there was no need to treat me unless I had obvious symptoms (which I didn't at the time). Contrary to his advice, I now realise it essential to treat both parties even if there are no signs in the mother...

I've got some cream now for me, and off to get a new supply of Nystatin on Tuesday... Fingers crossed we get it sorted soon!