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Why Nystatin is not Working for Oral Thrush

Factors Causing Oral Thrush to not Go Away with Nystatin Use

 

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Nystatin, like other synthetic antifungals, does not have a cure rate of 100%. Therefore, there are going to be instances where this drug fails to produce a cure. Natural medicine is an effective option when drugs fail to work.
Nystatin, like other synthetic antifungals, does not have a cure rate of 100%. Therefore, there are going to be instances where this drug fails to produce a cure. Natural medicine is an effective option when drugs fail to work.

Often, taking nystatin for oral thrush will not work. As with many drugs for conditions, sometimes they do not cause cures in a sizable amount of people who take them. Nystatin for oral thrush is no different. This scenario results in a good amount of people being cured while also producing people who the drug does not work for.

Research studies on the cure rates for nystatin appear to report varying degrees of drug effectiveness. Nystatin appears to cure oral thrush approximately 54% to 87% of the time. Yet, as you can tell, the remaining people who take this drug will not get cured.

One study even reported the cure rate for infants who took nystatin for oral thrush at 28.6%. Thus, it appears nystatin treatments for oral thrush will always fail for some people.

The scenario of synthetic antifungal drugs failing is all too common. So don’t worry too much if this has happened to you, it is a common occurrence. And, we will discuss research that proves this as fact.

In light of the fact synthetic antifungal drugs frequently fail, natural medicine becomes important. Often, natural medicine works where prescription drugs fail. And, it can be effective—even when you have an oral thrush infection that is intrinsically resistant to synthetic antifungal drugs.

Later on, a natural mouthwash for oral thrush will be discussed. You can find out more about this natural mouthwash to start getting rid of an oral Candida infection that nystatin (or other drug) failed to cure. And, we will also talk about a natural cure for oral thrush that can get rid of an infection in just 12 hours of time. It may sound hard to believe if this isn’t your first Candida infection, but it really works.

Just in case you did not know, Candida is the genus of yeast that causes oral thrush. Oral thrush infections are often referred to as oral candidiasis. A very pathogenic species of Candida, Candida albicans (C. albicans) can often be the cause of oral thrush.

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Research Regarding Nystatin not Working

This picture is of Candida albicans cultures in petri dishes. This species of yeast is very pathogenic, and a frequent cause of oral thrush. The white patches are the Candida; and when enough of the yeast is present in the mouth, white patches form in this area—a clear indicator of oral thrush. Image Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [14.7 (2017): 743].
This picture is of Candida albicans cultures in petri dishes. This species of yeast is very pathogenic, and a frequent cause of oral thrush. The white patches are the Candida; and when enough of the yeast is present in the mouth, white patches form in this area—a clear indicator of oral thrush. Image Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [14.7 (2017): 743].

A review study explained the cure rates nystatin would produce on cases of oral thrush. The study was published in Drug Design, Development and Therapy [10 (2016): 1161-1171].

The objective of this study was to systematically review and assess the capability, treatment plans, and safety of nystatin for treating oral thrush. The study also explains oral thrush to some extent.

This study states that oral thrush is the most common human fungal infection. Oral thrush is characterized by an overgrowth of Candida on the surface of the mouth’s mucus membranes (mucus membranes, sometimes referred to as mucosa, are soft tissues that line various body areas—such as the lining of the intestines and vagina).

Some of the predisposing factors, stated by this study, to developing this infection include the following:

  • Diabetes
  • Pregnancy
  • Use of broad-spectrum antibiotics
  • Use of Corticosteroids
  • Kidney failure
  • A high carbohydrate diet
  • Cancer
  • HIV infection
  • Wearing dentures
  • Impaired salivary gland function

The study makes clear that the elimination of predisposing factors is an important strategy for the treatment of oral thrush.

This review states that topical antifungal agents, like nystatin, are often recommended as the first treatment option for uncomplicated cases of oral thrush.

Furthermore, nystatin is not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract when given orally. Consequently, the topical use of nystatin is considered the most common method of use in dentistry; this is because there is little systemic exposure.

The common recommended dose of nystatin for topical administration is 200,000 to 600,000 IU four times daily for children and adults. For newborn babies and infants, the dose is 100,000 to 200,000 IU four times daily. Treatment duration with nystatin can range from 1, 2, to 4 weeks.

Concerning the ability of nystatin to effect a cure, this study reports nystatin chewing pills produces a cure for 79.6% to 87.5% of those who take it. Nystatin suspensions effected a cure in 9% to 54.1% in the reviewed research.

The cure rates of nystatin were found to be much worse than the drug miconazole (the active ingredient in Monistat®). Miconazole had a cure rate of 99% for the treatment of oral thrush in HIV/AIDS patients, children, and infants. Additionally, gentian violet had a cure rate of 42%.

The study also reported that descriptive investigations demonstrated that the use of nystatin suspension and chewable pills together for 2 weeks might result in a higher clinical cure rate of 87.5%.

Nystatin chewable pills, with a dose of 400,000 IU, produced a significantly higher mycological cure rate (the absence of Candida in microbiological tests) than a dose of 200,000 IU.

Additionally, concerning treatment length, the use of nystatin chewable pills for 4 weeks showed better cure rates (76.9%) than the use of these pills for just 2 weeks.

The most common side effects of nystatin were gastrointestinal reactions and poor taste.

Nystatin’s Efficacy in Babies

It can be frustrating for parents when their baby does not recover from oral thrush using nystatin. Yet, research appears to indicate that nystatin does not always work to cure oral thrush in babies.
It can be frustrating for parents when their baby does not recover from oral thrush using nystatin. Yet, research appears to indicate that nystatin does not always work to cure oral thrush in babies.

A study, published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal [21.12 (2002): 1165], investigated the ability of nystatin to treat babies suffering from oral thrush.

According to this research, oral thrush affects 1% to 37% of infants. At the time of this study’s publishing, the use of nystatin oral suspensions has been a standard therapy for oral thrush.

Early studies suggested cure rates for nystatin as high as 90%. Yet, another study showed a clinical cure rate of only 54% in otherwise healthy infants. The study also reports that nystatin treatment is associated with frequent infection recurrences.

The study utilized infants of 1 to 12 months of age with clinical signs of oral thrush. One group of babies were given nystatin, and another group was given fluconazole.

The babies receiving nystatin were given a nystatin suspension with a dose of 100,000 IU / mL. The parents of the babies were instructed to apply 1 mL of the suspension to the affected area in the mouth 4 times a day for 10 days.

The application of nystatin involved the repetitive rubbing of the oral thrush plaques with either a washcloth or cotton swabs soaked with the nystatin suspension.

The group of babies receiving fluconazole, took a fluconazole suspension of 3mg / kg orally once a day for 7 days.

Of the 21 babies receiving the nystatin treatment, 6 of these 21 infants were clinically cured at 10 days. This gives a clinical cure rate of only 28.6%.

15 babies were given fluconazole. Fluconazole performed much better, and a 100% clinical cure rate was seen at 7 days.

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Biofilm Reduces the Effectiveness of Nystatin

Biofilm consists of a community of microorganisms that are attached to a surface and produce extracellular polymers (Cavalheiro, Teixeira; 2018). In short, biofilm is a thick sludge of material and cells that Candida creates to cover and protect itself.

A study discussing Candida biofilm was published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy [67.3 (2012): 618-621]. According to this research Candida biofilms provide this yeast with greatly increased tolerance to antifungal drugs. Yet, certain phytochemicals (chemicals in plants) are not drastically reduced in their Candida killing potency by this biofilm.

The study states that the majority of Candida infections are associated in some way with the formation of Candida biofilms on inert (such as a catheter or prosthetic device) or biological surfaces. Biofilm cells (sessile cells) have different characteristics than cells without biofilm (planktonic cells).

Possibly the most notable feature about sessil Candida cells is that they are extremely resistant to synthetic antimicrobial agents; and, sessile cells can better withstand host immune defenses.

This study found that the minimum inhibitory concentration (abbreviated MIC; this represents the smallest amount of a substance that can inhibit—that is stop—the growth of a microorganism) for sessil Candida cells was much higher than planktonic (without biofilm) cells.

It took 512 times more amphotericin B (an antifungal drug) to totally inhibit sessil C. albicans cells than it did for C. albicans planktonic cells. For fluconazole (another antifungal drug), sessile cells had an MIC 1024 times greater than the MIC for planktonic C. albicans cells.

Yet, natural plant chemicals proved very effective at controlling sessile C. albicans cells. Sessile C. albicans cells were only 2 times as resistant to cinnamaldehyde and geraniol. Sessile C. albicans cells were not more resistant to the phytochemicals eugenol and citral than were the planktonic cells. Thus, these chemicals were very effective at controlling biofilm entrenched Candida.

Where these Phytochemicals are Found

A study examining how nystatin’s impact on Candida would be affected by biofilm was published in the Journal of Dental Research [80.3 (2001): 903-908].

This study of Candida biofilm was done on denture acrylic plates. This was of importance as Candida associated denture stomatitis is the most common form of oral Candida infection. Denture stomatitis is mild inflammation and redness of the oral mucous membrane occurring beneath a denture.

The study found that biofilm drastically raised the amount of nystatin required to reduce C. albicans metabolic activity by 50%. Other drugs were tested as well. Without biofilm, a 50% reduction in metabolic activity was caused by 1.0 mcg / mL of nystatin. When C. albicans was allowed to develop biofilm, it took 16 mcg / mL to reduce metabolic activity by 50%.

The study concluded that C. albicans cells in biofilm, compared to cells grown without biofilm, are resistant to antifungal drugs.

The study also tested other drugs on C. albicans sessile and planktonic cells. The results of these other tests, showing how much of each drug it took to reduce metabolic activity of C. albicans by 50%, is as follows:

Fluconazole (Diflucan):

  • Cells without biofilm it took 0.5 mcg / mL
  • Cells with biofilm took greater than 64 mcg / mL

Amphotericin B:

  • Cells without biofilm it took 0.25 mcg / mL
  • Cells with biofilm took 8 mcg / mL

Chlorhexidine:

  • Cells without biofilm it took 4 mcg / mL
  • Cells with biofilm took 128 mcg / mL

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Natural Alternatives when Nystatin Doesn’t Work

There are many herbs that can fight against Candida, and help treat an oral thrush infection. Blending antifungal herbs may also produce a synergistic healing effect. Natural medicine is a great alternative to nystatin for Candida problems.
There are many herbs that can fight against Candida, and help treat an oral thrush infection. Blending antifungal herbs may also produce a synergistic healing effect. Natural medicine is a great alternative to nystatin for Candida problems.

It may be that nystatin did not work because of Candida biofilm and factors predisposing you to having oral thrush. If predisposing factors are changeable, stopping antibiotics for example, then you may want to do so if your situation permits. Yet, it may simply be that your oral thrush infection is too resistant to the drug nystatin—possibly due to biofilm.

Due to the powerful way some natural antifungal plant chemicals work against Candida biofilm, they might be of importance. Natural herbs and essential oils can kill Candida where artificial drugs fail. Additionally, it may be possible that natural plant medicines can have a synergistic effect with an artificial antifungal drug like nystatin. Using both nystatin and natural medicine simultaneously may bring about the healing nystatin alone could not accomplish.

One thing you may want to investigate is a natural mouthwash that fights oral thrush. This topic is beyond the scope of this article, yet Candida Hub has an informative article on how to make a natural mouthwash for treating oral thrush. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, this article is linked directly below.

If you would like to learn about herbs and essential oils that fight Candida, the following sections of Candida Hub list several of each of these natural items. If you have some time, you may want to peruse the articles listed in these sections. The links are directly below.

A 12 Hour, Natural Oral Thrush Cure

Linda Allen’s Yeast Infection No More

Repeated or stubborn yeast infections (and oral thrush is a yeast infection of the mouth) are a problem for a significant number of people. Many even suffer from more systemic Candida infections, which result in a host of unusual symptoms. Candida overgrowth can deteriorate quality of life, and may incur high medical costs.

One woman who suffered from recurrent yeast infections and systemic candidiasis, for about 12 years, was Linda Allen.

Linda’s health problems began in her late teen years. And, neither her, nor the doctor she visited, knew that Candida was causing her health problems. She was prescribed increasingly stronger antibiotics and allergy medication to combat her unusual symptoms; yet nothing seemed to work.

Linda’s symptoms included vaginal discharge, severe itching, and burning sensations. And, this was a difficult experience for a young woman. Linda states that yeast infections can become tormenting when they reoccur as frequently as a menstrual period.

Linda, in her own words, further describes her health situation:

To be honest, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was wrong: I wasn’t really sick, but I wasn’t really well either. I had listlessness, fatigue, brain fog, stomach ailments, unexplained rashes, skin infections, and so on. It seemed like every day brought a new challenge.

My energy was sapped and I felt exhausted, which affected my grades and put a big dent in my social life.

Linda’s life changed dramatically when she made an appointment with a naturopathic practicioner. The naturopath diagnosed Linda with a systemic Candida infection. Linda finally knew the source of her health problems.

Now understanding her physiological situation, Linda began to diligently research Candida and the treatments for it.

Linda bought many books on yeast infections, hormones, dermatology, dextox programs, diets, and nutrition. She would spend considerable time at the library reading journals and stacks of books. Additionally, she would speak to medical professionals who empathized with her enough to share some of their time.

Eventually, Linda put together a natural treatment plan she hoped would end her systemic Candida infections. After spending about a year refining her new approach, she tried it on herself.

Linda’s results were very positive. Her recurrent yeast infections stopped. And, she felt like she fully regained her health. She felt like the Candida was gone!

To be sure she was free of infection, Linda went back to a few medical doctors and asked them to run some tests on her to check for infection. The test results showed that all indicators of infection had disappeared. Linda was proven healthy again!

Linda went on to write a detailed book explaining her natural solution and a "missing piece" to the Candida infection puzzle. Since the time of her book’s publishing, over 100,000 people from around the globe have successfully used Linda’s natural system.

If you are wanting to get rid of a Candida infection, like oral thrush, quickly and safely; Linda provides a 12 hour cure for these superficial infections in her book. This treatment plan uses natural medicine, and is quite efficacious.

Concerning guarantees, Linda’s publisher provides a 100%, 60 day money back guarantee on Linda’s book. This 60 day time frame should provide an abundance of time to test out Linda’s 12 hour oral thrush cure.

Linda’s publisher, which is a large digital retailer (and is a subsidiary of the United States based firm Keynetics Incorporated) provides her book as an ebook. So, if you’d like to try it, you can download it immediately and start using it today. They also have great customer support.

If you would like to find out more about Linda’s journey to better health, see testimonials of those who tried her book, or get more information about her book; you can learn more at Linda Allen’s website.

Author: Mr. Nicholas Gross

Author Picture

Nick Gross is a natural medicine enthusiast who has been researching and writing about natural medicine since 2008. Nick is primarily a web developer but also researches and authors written and video content about natural health. Nick has a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Northern Iowa.

+ About Nick Gross

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SOURCES:

  • https://doi.org/10.2147/dddt.s100795 — Lyu, X., et al. "Efficacy of nystatin for the treatment of oral candidiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Drug Design, Development and Therapy [10 (2016): 1161-1171].
  • https://doi.org/10.1097/00006454-200212000-00017 — Goins, R. A., et al. "Comparison of fluconazole and nystatin oral suspensions for treatment of oral candidiasis in infants." The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal [21.12 (2002): 1165].
  • https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2018.00028 — Cavalheiro, Mafalda, and Miguel Cacho Teixeira. "Candida biofilms: threats, challenges, and promising strategies." Frontiers in Medicine [5 (2018): 28].
  • https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkr512 — Khan, Mohd Sajjad Ahmad, and Iqbal Ahmad. "Antibiofilm activity of certain phytocompounds and their synergy with fluconazole against Candida albicans biofilms." Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy [67.3 (2012): 618-621].
  • https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2010.05.008 — Chen, Weiyang, and Alvaro M. Viljoen. "Geraniol—a review of a commercially important fragrance material." South African Journal of Botany [76.4 (2010): 643-651].
  • https://doi.org/10.1211/002235702320402107 — Wilson, Nicola D., et al. "The quantification of citral in lemongrass and lemon oils by near?infrared spectroscopy." Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology [54.9 (2002): 1257-1263].
  • https://doi.org/10.1177/00220345010800031101 — Chandra, J., et al. "Antifungal resistance of candidal biofilms formed on denture acrylic in vitro." Journal of Dental Research [80.3 (2001): 903-908].
  • https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070743 — Al-Thobity, Ahmad M., et al. "In vitro evaluation of the inhibitory activity of thymoquinone in combatting Candida albicans in denture stomatitis prevention." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14.7 (2017): 743.
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