Mouth thrush

Oral thrush is usually harmless. It's common in babies and older people with dentures. It can be easily treated with medicines bought from a pharmacy.

Check if it's oral thrush

Adults

White patches inside mouth caused by oral thrush — Your mouth is red inside and you have white patches.

Red patches in mouth caused by oral thrush — When you wipe off the white patches, they leave red spots that can bleed.

Other symptoms in adults are:

cracks at the corners of the mouth
not tasting things properly
an unpleasant taste in the mouth
pain inside the mouth (for example, a sore tongue or sore gums)
difficulty eating and drinking

Oral thrush in adults is not contagious.

Babies

White coating on child's tongue — A white coating on the tongue like cottage cheese – this can't be rubbed off easily.

White spots inside a baby's mouth — Sometimes there are white spots in their mouth.

Other symptoms in babies are:

they do not want to feed
nappy rash

Babies can pass oral thrush on through breastfeeding. This can cause nipple thrush in mothers.

If you're not sure it's oral thrush

Look at other causes of a white or sore tongue.

A pharmacist can help with oral thrush

Oral thrush can be easily treated with a mouth gel bought from a pharmacy. Treatment usually lasts at least 7 days.

Ask your pharmacist for advice. Always follow the instructions on the medicine packet.

If you leave oral thrush untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of the body.

Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:

your baby is under 4 months and has signs of oral thrush
you do not see any improvement after 1 week of treatment with a mouth gel
you have difficulty or pain swallowing

How you can prevent oral thrush

Thrush is an infection caused by a fungus called Candida. Some things can make the fungus grow more than usual.

You might get thrush if you're:

taking antibiotics over a long time
using asthma inhalers
getting cancer treatment like chemotherapy

There are some things you can do to help prevent oral thrush:

Do

take care of your teeth: brush twice a day, clean your dentures, and go for regular check-ups even if you have dentures
brush your gums and tongue with a soft toothbrush if you do not have any teeth
sterilise dummies regularly
sterilise bottles after each use
rinse your mouth after eating or taking medicine
go to regular check-ups if you have a long-term condition like diabetes

Don't

do not wear your dentures at night
do not keep wearing dentures if they do not fit properly – see your dentist
do not smoke

Page last reviewed: 4 July 2017
Next review due: 4 July 2020

Oral thrush (mouth thrush)