Hi all,

This is part of the "Virtual Checkup" stuff I have been receiving. This
is a question and answer segment.

>>>Virtual Checkup is a subscription e-newsletter that provides free, expert
pediatric information at key developmental stages of your baby's life
(prenatal through the first year).

Q.  I'm a teacher of infants and toddlers and I have a 9 month old baby
with
thrush. what safety precautions do I need to take so that the other
children
will not get it. all of the parents are concerned because they heard
that it
is highly contagious. Thank you.

A.  Actually, thrush is not infectious in the classic sense. That is, it
can
infect another person, but only if there is a breakdown of the normal
immune
system. In the case of thrush, or candida fungus, infection, the
organism is
already present in all of us as normal body flora. For the candida
fungus to
"overgrow" and become an infection requires that some facet of the
immune
system be functioning poorly. This can be a lack of function or number
of
lymphocyte cells, a poorly functioning antibody system, or inadequate
clearance mechanisms. Although we tend to think of the immune system as
being those first two things, the latter plays an equally important
role. If
we lose the normal clearance (drainage) mechanisms in the body an
infection
is sure to occur. An abscess is a good example of an infected area that
does
not clear (since is it surrounded by scar tissue). Unless drained, the
infection will go on -- even if treated with antibiotics. Similarly, ear
infections occur when Eustachian tubes are blocked, urinary tract
infections
occur when urinary clearance is impaired -- and thrush occurs when
swallowing is impaired! In babies, swallowing and clearance of saliva is
less than ideal. Saliva will often pool in the mouth, rather than
draining
into the stomach, allowing for overgrowth of candida (which is always
there
anyway). Once a child learns to better handle his/her saliva thrush is
no
longer an issue (as in older children). Thus, a baby can get thrush with
or
without exposure to another infected infant depending of his/her
clearance
of saliva. The exposure to the child with thrush is not a concern or
health
risk.<<<

Sounds kinda weird to me.

Donna Hansen
Burnaby, BC
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