Overview
The methods used in diagnosis depend, in part, on whether thrush is limited to your mouth or may have spread to your esophagus.
If thrush is limited to your mouth
To diagnose oral thrush, your medical or dental professional may:
- Look in your mouth to see the white patches or spots.
- Take a small scraping of the areas to study under a microscope.
If needed, your healthcare professional will do a physical exam and order blood tests to try to find any underlying medical condition that may be causing the oral thrush.
If symptoms also seem to come from your esophagus
If you have trouble swallowing and feel pain or feel as if food is getting stuck in your throat, your healthcare professional can find out if thrush has spread to your esophagus. Your healthcare professional may recommend:
- An endoscopic exam. Your healthcare professional checks your esophagus, stomach and upper part of your small intestine using a lighted, flexible tube with a camera on the tip, called an endoscope.
- A biopsy. If the endoscopic exam shows thrush or other unusual findings, your healthcare professional takes a tissue sample and sends it to the lab. This helps figure out which bacteria or fungi, if any, are causing symptoms.
- A physical exam and more tests. If the biopsy results show thrush, a physical exam and more tests may be done to try to find any underlying medical condition that could cause thrush in the esophagus.
Symptoms
When to see a doctor
Complications
- High blood pressure.
- Diabetes.
- Heart failure.
- Some types of heart valve disease.
Prevention
- Control high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
- Don't smoke or use tobacco.
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week unless your health care team says not to.
- Get good sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours daily.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce and manage stress.
Living with atrial fibrillation?
Heart Rhythm Conditions Discussions
Comments are closed for this post.