oral thrush not clearing, now I'm worried

[austinali66]

Had a course of antibiotics for uti which seemed to then cause thrush in mouth. Doc gave me something but thrush came back. Started using new stuff on tue but its not gone yet. Looked up thrush (silly) and it says it can be a sign of lowered immune system as a rest of cancer. Trying to keep on top of this health anxiety but its a bit out of control. Started back on Prozac three days ago. Anyone else had problems with oral thrush?

[Jimgym]

Don't worry.

Oral thrush is caused by:

- Stress. Stress lowers the immune system. You seem to have health anxiety which is going to cause you a lot of stress.
- Cancer...yes. But only because of the treatment options which lead to a reduction in immune system efficiency. I.e. you would have to be diagnosed with cancer and then go through chemo/radio etc etc.
- Taking broad spectrum antibiotics. These kill a diverse range of bacteria, even the good guys. In effect, the antibiotic has killed enough bacteria in your mouth that the Thrush (which is usually kept in check by the good bacteria) has been able to take their place.

Don't worry Austinali - things will clear up soon.

[Seffie]

Don't worry-I had oral thrush recently after taking strong antibiotics-a common side effect. I was given medicine for it-can't remember the name but it tasted horrible!
Oral thrush is horrible & I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible so I went online & looked up anti-thrush diet & followed that as closely as I could for 3 days-it's basically about cutting out yeasty foods like bread & mushrooms, fermented foods like vinegar & obviously sugar as it thrives on sugar. Take away it's food source & it can't survive-simples!
Also did regular salt water mouth washes & ate lots of natural yogurt to put the good bacteria back. Finished the course of medicine/mouthwash & had no problem since.
I'm sure the anti-candida diet helped to get rid of it quickly. Loads of info on the internet re: this.
Hope this helps!

[Anxious_gal]

LOL all the good advice has been posted :)

[austinali66]

Thank you folks, I know us health anxiety people are not supposed to look for reassurance or check symptoms but sometimes these posts from people who understand, are really helpful. Just been out with a few people, one of which wad a gp. I spent all night wishing I could ask her some questions and the then feeling odd and panicky and wanting to go home.
It was the fact that the thrush hadn't gone yet despite using medicine, but maybe being stressed about it.is not helping .

[xfilme]

I have had oral thrush and it usually appears as a result of antibiotics upsetting the natural flora in your mouth. By this I mean, that the antibiotics have no prejudice when it comes to killing bacteria. The kill the good along with the bad. As a result, there is no good bacteria in your mouth afterwards to protect it from the bad. This causes and over production of yeast... hence the oral thrush. It is a slow thing to get rid of and quite uncomfortable. Anti fungal medication is usually prescribed but you dont often get results over night. The best way to speed it up and get it to clear is to do the following:

1. Until it has cleared, avoid overly sugary food, wheat produce and beer.
2. Start taking multivitamins with iron.
3. Eat lots of garlic in your food.
4. Eat lots of sugar free natural live bacteria yogurt from your local supermarket. Get stuff that contains acidophilus. It will say on the side. Acidophilus eats yeast and the good bacteria in it, it the bacteria that has been killed during your course of antibiotics, so will even out your flora through contact and clear the oral thrush.

As someone said above, do not get the cancer/oral thrush connection confused. Oral thrush happens in cancer patients as a result of their treatment. They do not develop cancer because of the oral thrush. Its the other way around. x