steroid inhalers and oral thrush

[Skydog70]

hi I am really struggling with my steroid inhaler as I am constantly getting thrush at the back of my mouth ( I have it constantly under my top lip ) I have ME / CFS and have seen an immunologist ( some abnormal bloods but nothing specific found ! ) I take vits/ minerals : good diet

I use a spacer device with my clenil 100, head tilted and always rinse my mouth after , montelukast gives me side effects , so can’t tolerate

So I’m currently just using ventolin, I had an exacerbation 18mths ago requiring steroids & antibiotics so I’m not too unstable

But I don’t think I should just be relying on ventolin

Anyone have similar issues / can give any useful advice on how to manage this

[risabel59]

Hi

Oral thrush is a hazzard of inhaled steroids. Do you use a mouthwash? My dentist told me to stop using commercial mouth wash, listerine etc, and just use water or warm salt water. With anti fungal meds to clear up bad infection, this worked for me, I've been pretty good since. Although if I have to use a lot of Antibiotics I can get a flare up.

However this is so common. Also worth trying probiotics.

I am sure others have more suggestions.

[Skydog70 in reply to risabel59]

I’ve started to use a mouthwash to reduce it, ive started daily kefir ( probiotics ) so hope that works

Thankyou

[Bevvy]

I used to have major issues with oral thrush. Medication had limited effectiveness. My gp at the time suggested swilling salt water round my mouth a couple of times a day. THIS proved successful and now at the first sign or indication of thrush I will swill salt water again.

[Skydog70 in reply to Bevvy]

Thankyou I will try that

[Tree20862]

I had one bad round of thrush and what worked best for me was a suggestion from my pulmonologist : rinse my mouth well BEFORE and AFTER my inhalers.

I think doing it before makes it so less stuff stays in there. I have not had it since <knock on wood >.

[Skydog70 in reply to Tree20862]

that’s really good idea, Thankyou

[Jolu29]

Hi I had it alot, found declarin gel u can get from pharmacy not that good, I ended up getting tablets from the gp had them fir couple weeks they got rid if it. They were oral thrush tablets at lower dose

[Skydog70 in reply to Jolu29]

Thankyou for reply , no thrush gel rubbish , i was taking fluconazole every time the thrush developed but it just came back within a few days , your right I might need a course of tablets

[Tinker2015]

I was always getting oral thrush with or without using steroid inhalers since buying oral probiotics sorted it

[Tree20862 in reply to Tinker2015]

I also take an oral probiotic

[Waffle3]

At allergy show on asthma stand it was recommended to clean teeth after steroid inhaler . Also might be worth getting your technique checked . I do this with my kids and often realise they’ve not been doing it as effectively as a few months ago. Pineapple juice is a natural mouth cleanser that can help some people with thrush. Hope the thrush improves for you

[Skydog70 in reply to Waffle3]

Thankyou technique is good , I was an asthma nurse , I will try pineapple juice in the day

[annaemmalucy]

Hi Skydog I use a mouthwash and clean my teeth every time I use my inhaler with a spacer. I found that just rinsing mouth with water is not enough. Did your Doctor give you antifungal tablets to suck?

[peege]

For good measure I rinse, gargle & swallow water before inhalers. It may be overkill but my personal notion is that I'm diluting the content so it doesn't stick to the oral soft tissues of my mouth. I rinse & gargle afterwards too. I take a 20 billion capsule of probiotic daily, choose pre & probiotic foods, live yogurt every day and avoid sugar (I was told years ago by gp that sugar feeds thrush/candida). You could try coating the areas with live yogurt several times a day?

[MoyB]

I have been using oral steroids for a number of years and didn't have thrush until 18 months ago when it became persisitent. Everyone kept telling me to gargle (I do!) and that it's a common side effect (I know!).

After five or six months of it (treated with Nystatin then back again shortly afterwards) I told my GP I felt my immune system was out of kilter. She didn't agree and said to wait a few months and if no better she would do extensive blood tests to check.

Eventually the blood tests were done and confirmed that there was nothing sinister going on but that I was anaemic - severely low ferritin levels. So I was put on tablets for a few months. Lo and behold, the thrush cleared up. Further blood tests confirmed that Ferritin had returned to normal but still bodering on anaemic and folate needed topping up! More pills!

Result is that since addressing the anaemia issue, the thrush has gone away. I have read that there can be a connection between the two.

xx Moy

[5050russ]

Hi. I used to have oral thrush and a sore mouth after using Fostair. I found that my toothpaste was the main contributing factor. I tried all the expensive brands to no effect. The only brand that causes me no problems is Asda Whitening, it costs £1. Expensive isn’t always the best.

[Naturesvalley]

I get oral thrush and gp gives me nystatin drops. They help and within a week the thrush was gone.