Thrush is an oral infection caused by the yeast candida albicans and it is a common occurrence in babies. The yeast infection causes a white coating that forms on the tongue and the inside of the mouth of the baby. The manner in which you can differentiate thrush from milk coating is that thrush cannot be removed easily with a wet muslin cloth and the coating is persistent and does not go away in between feeds too.

In most cases, mild thrush does not cause any problems or irritation. However, left unattended the yeast can spread rapidly and sometimes start to affect the back of the throat too. Conventional treatments include vitamins and antifungal oral creams. However, many mothers choose to avoid medicines for their little ones and for good reason too. Not only can these strong medicines be harmful for the baby, they are also not effective in long term treatment.

In order to cure thrush in babies, the treatment you should consider should be comprehensive so that you can ensure that the thrush does not return to trouble your little one. Some of the natural treatment options that work wonders for babies are listed below:

Gentian violet – Gentian violet is known to help in the treatment of thrush in babies. Make sure that you buy 1% solution and use a cotton swab to apply it on your baby’s lips, cheeks and tongue.

Sodium bicarbonateor baking soda – A treatment option that is less messy as compared to gentian violet, half a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate in almost half a cup of water can be applied to the infected areas.

Yogurt – Yogurt is a great remedy if you wish to cure thrush in babies because it contains good bacteria that can fight the yeast. You can offer a finger of yogurt to your baby to suck on or apply some with the use of a cotton swab. Make sure that the yogurt is unsweetened otherwise you will increase the problem even further by providing a favorable environment to the yeast.

Plantain seed remedy – Soaked plantain seeds swell up and become a gel that can then be applied on the thrush or white deposit in the baby’s mouth. These can be bought in the market and are sometimes called psyllium seeds.

Probiotics – This is a great treatment for children and can reduce thrush completely naturally. This is mainly because the probiotics contain lactobacillus acidophilus, the good bacteria responsible for keeping the yeast under check.

While you may not be able to avoid thrush completely if you have had to take some antibiotics during pregnancy, you can surely ensure that the thrush in your baby is cured quickly, never to come back again.  Some preventive steps that you could take include washing toys and sterilizing pacifiers, breast pump and bottles.

Cleaning the baby’s mouth regularly and ensuring good oral hygiene is essential and can help in keeping the yeast infection under control. It is also essential that you ensure good hygiene practices yourself if you are breastfeeding the baby.

To understand holistic treatment that are completely natural you can refer to Natural Cure for Yeast Infection and Yeast Infection No More. These can help you ensure that the yeast infection is cured quickly and that it never comes back again to trouble your child.