Oral thrush (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.

Adults

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

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.

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.

See a GP if:

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:

Page last reviewed: Sat Jul 2020 Next review due: Sat Jul 2020