DIY remedies for oral thrush?

September 28, 2023 7:31 AM

It's been a WEEK. I took my puffer at work several times, when I wasn't able to rinse my mouth, and I think it gave me oral thrush (a known side effect). I'm also on penicillin for strep throat - so I can't tell if the gross "coated" feeling in my mouth is from the strep, or from thrush. Is there some kind of DIY remedy I can use to try to kill the thrush? Thank you for any advice.
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

Oral thrush has a very distinctive clinical presentation that any Dentist or Physician can use to make a diagnosis , and then prescribe you an oral medication , likely Nystatin, to clear it up.
Thrush is candidiasis, a yeast that is normally found in your mouth, it takes over when other normal things are gone. It responds well to proper medication. You should see either a dentist or a doctor if you think you have it.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:43 AM on September 28, 2023 [5 favorites]

If you're in Canada you may be able to get this diagnosed at a pharmacy (oral thrush is on the "minor ailments" list that pharmacists can prescribe for) and pick up the meds right away. I know you're asking for DIY but please don't dance around with body fungal infections, they need to be stomped flat.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:04 AM on September 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

It sounds like the penicillin has killed off the biome in your mouth that normally keeps candidiasis at bay. Talk to the doctor who prescribed you the penicillin. You could try chlorhexidine mouthwash and a fairly constant chewing of xylitol gum, which might help reduce it but probably won't eliminate it.
posted by dis_integration at 8:38 AM on September 28, 2023

It would be rare to get thrush from just occasionally not rinsing after an inhaler, but given the antibiotic, I guess it's possible. If you really can't see a doctor, you can try gentian violet. But I'd see a doctor and get me some fluconazole myself. (Nystatin has been ineffective for everyone I know who's tried it.)
posted by metasarah at 9:37 AM on September 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

While waiting for a doctor or dentist appointment, try rinsing your mouth (swishing/gargling) twice a day with 4-6 oz of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (a good at-home disinfectant). Note that you'll need to rinse 2-4 times in a row to use up all of that water.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:17 AM on September 28, 2023

I thought I had oral thrush after being on a broad spectrum antibiotic for a week. I went to urgent care (US) a week after I finished the antibiotic so it was clear it wasn't a side effect of the antibiotic, got a prescription for Clotrimazole lozenges 5x/day for a week, and felt somewhat better within a few hours and normal after about a day and a half.

In the event it wasn't oral thrush and instead a cold or something else giving me the weird tongue coating feeling + intermittent strange aftertaste + sore throat in a different part of my mouth than a normal sore throat + general feeling of being run down, my doctor recommended gargling with mouthwash or lightly salted water a few times each day.
posted by A Blue Moon at 3:46 PM on September 28, 2023

Eat a good quality yoghurt and live fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi etc) to try to repopulate your good bacteria. I think it's a good idea to do this in general, but especially during and after a course of antibiotics.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:19 PM on September 28, 2023

I had trouble with candida. Nystatin worked, but I had to take it every 8 hours for 3 months, on a strict diet.
posted by abraxasaxarba at 6:22 PM on September 28, 2023

When I had thrush, gargling salt water several times a day for a few days took care of it.
posted by FatherDagon at 8:31 AM on September 29, 2023