Candida vulvovaginitis in the practice of a pediatric gynecologist

While expecting a child, many mothers try to learn as much as possible about pregnancy and childbirth, believing that the most difficult thing is giving life to a new person. In movies, everything ends with a wedding, but in life, everything just begins with a wedding. It’s the same with motherhood: with the birth of a child, the fun begins. A young mother needs to accomplish so much in a day! And here it is important to properly distribute your time and energy. We will tell you about how to properly organize care for a newborn girl, what to pay attention to, in which cases to seek qualified help, and in which cases not to panic and just wait for time. This information will be useful not only to mothers of first-borns, but also to those who have their first baby in the family.

In the first days

During the first time after birth, a light gray or creamy coating - remnants of smegma, the original lubricant. If there is not a lot of plaque, it will gradually be absorbed into the skin. However, if the plaque is abundant, it is recommended to remove it, since after a day or two the fats it contains oxidize, causing the proliferation of microorganisms and, ultimately, inflammation. This plaque is quite dense, so it needs to be removed delicately, in several steps. It is best to use cotton swabs and warm boiled water for this. The plaque will be removed in pellets and will completely disappear in 2-3 days.

Indications for use

Composition and instructions for use of Sebozol shampoo

The instructions for use of the drug state that it can be prescribed in the following cases:

• Oral candidiasis in infants (thrush/stomatitis);
• Vaginal candidiasis and colpitis;
• Fungal infections of the throat and sore throat;
• Diaper rash on the skin, bedsores, cracks in the skin.

How to properly wash a newborn baby girl

The girl needs to be washed every time she changes her diaper, and simple wiping with wet wipes is unacceptable here. You can remove feces with napkins, after which you should definitely rinse the perineum under running water. Mom, of course, needs to wash her hands with soap before doing this. In the first months of life, it is advisable to rinse a girl’s genitals in the direction of the anus, so that feces particles do not enter the vagina and cause inflammation. For the same reasons, it is impossible to wash the girl in the basin after defecation. Older girls are washed as follows: first, they soap and rinse the anal area (from the bottom up, towards the tailbone; a stream of water is directed into the palm), then they wash their hands again and wash the external genitalia without soap (from the perineum to the pubis, without touching the anus ).

Caring for a newborn girl after washing is performed in the following sequence: first, blot the genital area dry with a clean towel, then the labia and the skin around them, the inguinal folds, and only then the anus area. At this age, the skin and mucous membranes are dry and easily wounded, so they must be moisturized with baby cream or sterilized vegetable oil. Never wipe the inside of the labia, as this can disrupt the vaginal microflora and lead to genitourinary infections.

Symptoms of pathology

Candidiasis in infants

The development of thrush in newborns and very young children is more than pronounced. In general, the pathology occurs in three stages, at each of which specific symptoms are observed.

If we consider each stage of candidiasis in more detail, we should highlight:

• Absence of discomfort in a sick child at the first stage of the disease. It is indirectly indicated only by redness in the mouth, a slight cheesy coating on the tongue and the appearance of a sour odor from the baby’s mouth.
• A more pronounced manifestation of the noted symptoms in the second stage of the disease, also supplemented by the formation of small erosions in the oral cavity and pain in the child. The latter, by the way, are expressed in the constant crying of the baby, which cannot be calmed down.
• The most severe manifestation of pathology is at the last – third stage. Symptoms at this stage of thrush are the most pronounced and severe. It often manifests itself in damage to the entire oral cavity, which results in the appearance of large areas covered with a cheesy coating. Often additional signs of the disease are fever, abnormal bowel movements and insomnia in infants.

Perhaps the most obvious signs of candidiasis in a small child are:

1. strong sour odor from the mouth;
2. the appearance of a cheesy coating in the oral cavity;
3. temperature rise to 38 degrees Celsius.

Having discovered at least one of the noted manifestations in their child, parents must show it to the pediatrician.

At a minimum, before starting treatment, it is important to confirm with a specialist the fact of thrush and receive basic recommendations for combating the pathology. It is better not to self-medicate candidiasis in infants, for example, due to its considerable danger.

Bathing

• You can bathe a newborn girl as soon as the umbilical wound dries. Up to six months, baths should be daily, then you can bathe the baby every other day, and when she reaches a year, even less often, replacing bath procedures with showers.
• You should carefully wash all the folds and spaces between your fingers and toes.
• It is recommended to use soap (not toilet soap, but a special one for children, with a minimum amount of additives!) or baby foam no more than 1-2 times a week, and do not add it to water, but apply it to the skin and wash it off with a shower. Soapy water dries out the vaginal mucosa. There is an opinion that until the moment the child begins to crawl on the floor (i.e., until the moment when he can really get dirty) or until the moment when the baby begins to eat complementary foods (i.e., smearing porridge on his face with his hands or puree) - there is no point in washing it with soap, because the child does not get dirty with anything and is constantly either in the arms of his parents or in a clean crib. And once again disturbing his skin with soap products is not only pointless, but also harmful - the protective layer of the skin is washed off. But, firstly, daily bathing in clean water is still necessary, and secondly, this does not exclude washing the child with soap after he pooped.
• Adding various herbal infusions to the bath is at your discretion. However, it must be borne in mind that almost all of them dry out the already dry skin of babies. At the end of winter and spring in cities, an increased amount of chlorine is added to the central water supply, which greatly dries out the skin of children during daily bathing. In this case, it is recommended to add special softeners to the bathing water, for example, calendula bathing agent (Weleda has this). And after bathing, lubricate the baby’s skin with baby oil.
• A newborn girl should use her own, purely individual, bathing set: towel, washcloth and mitten. By the way, you can wash the baby with a piece of gauze instead of a washcloth, since it can be washed and boiled.
• After bathing, the newborn girl is blotted dry with a clean towel or warm sheet, and the skin folds, if necessary, are treated with baby hygienic oil.

Sodium tetraborate: definition and composition

Sodium tetraborate is a derivative of boric acid. Simply put, it is borax (a salt that is formed as a result of the interaction of boric acid and sodium) enclosed in glycerin. The drug is sold in the form of a solution, bottled in tinted glass bottles with a capacity of 30 ml. The composition of the drug is 20% borax and 80% glycerin.

The main properties of sodium tetraborate are antiseptic and bacteriostatic. The use of the drug helps to destroy the Candida fungus. In addition, the product prevents the attachment of the fungus to the child’s oral mucosa and at the same time destroys the cell membrane of the pathogenic flora. At the same time, glycerin, which is part of the drug, is aimed at enhancing the effect of borax and at the same time softening the mucous membranes.

It is worth knowing that throughout the world the use of sodium tetraborate for newborns is not approved, since the drug is considered to be quite toxic. However, in practice, if the recommendations for safe use are followed, the use of borax is effective and does not cause problems.

Important: the use of sodium tetraborate should be prescribed exclusively by the treating pediatrician. Self-administration of any medications to an infant is strictly prohibited.

Ear care

Contrary to popular belief, sulfur is not dirt, but a means of protecting the body. It has bactericidal properties and protects the ear canal from drying out, dust, wind and water. Therefore, do not be zealous in removing it. The maximum that is allowed is to carefully remove with a cotton wool the wax that is in the visible zone, that is, it has come out of the ear canal into the auricle. Each ear has a separate flagellum. Do not use cotton swabs under any circumstances, do not penetrate the swab into the ear canal - this can lead to the pushing of sulfur deeper and the formation of cerumen plugs.

During bathing, the ears are carefully washed with water. If water gets into them, simply blot your ears with a towel. The main thing is to make sure that there are no drafts in the room.

The skin behind the ears requires special attention. Rinse it during bathing and lubricate it with baby oil, especially if there are crusts. Decoctions of skin-soothing herbs and creams with zinc oxide help with diaper rash.

Drug analogues

In order to have a less toxic effect on the baby’s body, other drugs can be used to treat thrush. Especially if it occurs in a mild form in the baby. To do this, use simple baking soda or sodium carbonate. Prepare a soda solution from one teaspoon of soda and a glass of boiling water. The cooled solution is used to treat the baby’s oral mucosa according to the above scheme.

Tip: before each breastfeeding, it is recommended to treat the nipples of the nursing mother. If the baby is bottle-fed, then pacifiers and bottles are also treated with a soda solution before feeding.

And in order not to use toxic sodium tetraborate for thrush in children over one year of age, it is advisable to monitor the prevention of oral candidiasis in the baby. That is, keep the baby and his pacifiers/pacifiers/toys clean, trim his fingernails in a timely manner and be sure to wash the nipples before each feeding. After each feeding, it is advisable to give the baby one or two teaspoons of boiled water to wash away the remaining milk in the mouth and prevent it from fermenting.

It is worth remembering that it is always easier to prevent a disease than to fight it later. Moreover, the baby’s body is still so weak and cannot resist the influence of external aggressive factors.

Nasal care

It is necessary to carefully ensure that snot and crusts do not accumulate in the girl’s nose and that she has the opportunity to breathe fully. Therefore, you need to clean your baby’s nose, if it is filled with crusts, every day. The crusts are pre-softened using sterile vegetable oil. To clean the nose, it is preferable not to use store-bought cotton swabs: those with a limiter will not be able to penetrate to the required depth, and without limiters you risk damaging the baby’s nasal mucosa. Prepare small flagella (“turundas”) from cotton pads and, carefully inserting them into the nostrils, clean out the contents of the nose with gentle rotational movements. It is better not to use children's nasal aspirators, because... with frequent use, you can damage the nasal mucosa and disrupt its microflora. In addition, there is an opinion among experts that the recently noted earlier appearance of adenoids in children, the proliferation of the nasal mucosa, is also a consequence of too zealous care of the nasal mucosa by parents (frequent use of aspirators, nasal sprays, etc.) .