How Long Should Thrush Take To Clear Up

Oral thrush is a yeast infection of the mouth that can affect babies, children, and adults. It can be mild and it often improves if you keep your mouth clean while using remedies to relieve the symptoms. Some people may benefit from consuming beverages, eating active-culture yogurt, or using products such as probiotic pills.

Thrush can be treated with prescription antifungal mouthwashes or lozenges if it doesn't resolve on its own.

If those treatments aren't effective, healthcare providers can prescribe other antifungal drugs.

Verywell / Nusha Ashjaee

Home Remedies and Lifestyle

Oral thrush in babies will often go away without treatment in a week or two, so you or your baby may not need to get treatment.

Cold food and drinks can provide relief when you have burning and itching sensations with thrush. Popsicles, ice cream, chilled soups, smoothies, and crushed-ice beverages can temporarily help ease the discomfort.

You can also use warm salt water rinses (1/2 teaspoon of salt in 1 cup of warm water) for relief. Be sure kids spit the rinse out when they are done.

Keeping your mouth clean is an important part of treatment. Rinse your mouth with water after you eat and after taking medications (unless the medications are meant to coat your mouth to battle the yeast). Use a soft toothbrush and brush your teeth, gums, and tongue twice a day. Keep your dentures clean and disinfect them daily. Avoid alcohol-based mouthwashes, as they may exacerbate the burning sensation.

Active culture yogurt provides lactobacilli (probiotic bacteria) that can edge out yeast in your mouth. Consult your pediatrician to discuss whether it is appropriate to give your baby.

Over-the-Counter Therapies

Over-the-counter probiotic pills and active-culture drinks with acidophilus and lactobacilli can help restore friendly bacteria to the mouth and digestive tract. These can be appropriate in mild cases of thrush that develop after you've used antibiotics. As a bonus, they help restore the bacteria in your intestinal tract, which is often necessary after antibiotic treatment.

Prescriptions

In determining how to treat your thrush or your child's thrush, your healthcare provider will consider age, health conditions, the severity of the infection, and whether or not the infection is likely to spread rapidly.

If your case if mild to moderate, an antifungal lozenge, mouthwash, or liquid will be the usual treatment. More severe cases will usually be prescribed an oral or intravenous antifungal medication.

The most common medications for treating oral thrush include:

Mycelex (clotrimazole): This is a topical drug that is prescribed as a lozenge. The medicine is delivered as the lozenge slowly dissolves in the mouth over 20 to 30 minutes. It is usually taken five times a day. It is not recommended for children under age 3.
Miconazole: Miconazole gel (applied to the affected areas) may be used for babies older than 4 months, while nystatin is preferred for younger infants. It is used up to four times per day and continued until two days have passed without the symptoms of the infection. Oravig, a miconazole tablet, is available for those age 16 and over. It is placed on the gum above your canine tooth in the morning and slowly dissolves throughout the day.
Mycostatin (nystatin): This drug is also commonly prescribed in a lozenge or liquid mouthwash form. For newborns and infants, it is applied with a cotton swab or finger. It is given up to four times per day for all age groups. Direct contact with the medication is needed to fight the yeast. With liquid nystatin, you swish and swallow the medication. For infants, you can use a sterile gauze pad to rub the medication onto the white patches that have active yeast. Some people report that nystatin tastes bitter or acidic, but your pharmacist may be able to add flavoring to it to make it more palatable. Mint flavoring is a popular recommendation that works well to mask bitterness.

Diflucan (fluconazole): This is usually used as a second-line treatment when nystatin is not effective. For people who are undergoing chemotherapy, it is most often prescribed in a tablet form that's taken once daily. Common side effects of Diflucan include headaches, nausea, and dizziness, but these are generally very mild. In some cases, Diflucan may be prescribed to prevent thrush during cancer treatment. The generic option, fluconazole, is also available.

If these prescription drugs are not effective, or there is a risk of a systemic fungal infection, your healthcare provider may use a new class of antifungal medications—echinocandins. These include itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, and amphotericin B, which are administered intravenously.

For the relief of symptoms, a healthcare provider may prescribe a mouthwash that is a combination of several medications. It is often referred to as magic mouthwash and is often prescribed for thrush that develops during chemotherapy. There are several different formulas and it is at a healthcare provider's discretion to determine which drugs to include and the appropriate dosage. You should not attempt to mix medications at home—leave that work to a pharmacist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will oral thrush go away on its own?

Yes, a mild case of oral thrush can occasionally disappear on its own. However, it's often important to see a healthcare provider. If your infant has thrush, always consult your pediatrician, since thrush can be transferred between infants and mothers. Adults should see a healthcare provider if thrush recurs or worsens, or if symptoms (such as cracked nipples during breastfeeding) are affecting the quality of life.
How can you get rid of oral thrush quickly?

Keeping your mouth clean by brushing twice a day will help clear symptoms of thrush. Using a mouth rinse may also help: some common products, such as lemon juice, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar, have been shown to help resolve oral Candida when used as a rinse. Prescription medications may be needed for severe cases.
How do you know when treatment for oral thrush has worked?

If the classic signs and symptoms of Candida—such as a white coating on the inside of the mouth, pain while eating, and loss of taste—disappear, it is likely that thrush has resolved. Your healthcare provider can verify this with an exam or with a mouth or throat culture.
How long does oral thrush last?

With treatment, symptoms should start to improve within a few days. Oral thrush then usually clears up within a week or two, depending on the medication used and the severity of the infection.

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Additional Reading

Oral Complications of Chemotherapy and Head/Neck Radiation—Patient Version (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/mouth-throat/oral-complications-pdq.
Oral Thrush. Mayo Clinic. Updated March 08, 2018. mayoclinic.org
U.S. National Library of Medicine. Thrush in Newborns. MedlinePlus. October 18, 2017. medlineplus.gov.
Maley AM, Arbiser JL. Gentian Violet: A 19^th Century Drug Re-Emerges in the 21^st Century. Experimental Dermatology. 2013;22(12):775-780. doi:10.1111/exd.12257.
Pappas PG, Kauffman CA, Andes DR, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Candidiasis: 2016 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2016;62(4):e1-e50. doi:10.1093/cid/civ933.