Mouth ulcers don't often occur in newborns, but several potentially serious conditions, as well as some benign conditions, can cause mouth ulcers. Mouth ulcers can lead to several complications in newborns. A baby with mouth ulcers may not feel like eating due to the pain. Some causes of mouth sores are Candida infection -- more commonly known as thrush -- herpes simplex virus, syphilis and Coxsackie virus infection. The virus can cause more severe side effects.
Eating
A sore mouth can interfere with the newborn's ability to suck and eat. It's difficult to treat a sore mouth in a newborn who can't suck on ice cream or other cooling agents to make his mouth feel better. Ask your doctor before giving acetaminophen or other pain-relievers to a newborn. If your baby has a viral infection, he may need anti-viral treatment. If the baby won't suck, you may have to feed him with a syringe, squirting the milk into his mouth so he doesn't have to put as much pressure on the painful areas, Kim Evangelisti suggests on the website, "Mothers Overcoming Breastfeeding Issues."
Mood Changes
A newborn with a viral infection can become quite ill, so notify your doctor immediately if your newborn has a mouth ulcer or other symptoms such as fever, lethargy, irritability, seizures or rash. Canker sores in the mouth can also cause irritability, but generally don't cause more severe symptoms. A baby with extreme irritability who arches his back or who has seizures needs immediate medical attention.
Serious Complications
A baby with Coxsackie virus may develop meningitis, inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord; encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, or myocarditis, inflammation of the membranes around the heart, all potentially life-threatening complications. If your baby contracted Coxsackie virus at birth, symptoms may develop within two weeks, Joel Klein, M.D. of KidsHealth explains. A herpes virus infection may appear within three weeks after birth, causing fever, seizures and other life-threatening complications. Syphilis causes death in around 12 percent of infected newborns, according to the Directors of Health Promotion and Education website.
Considerations
If a newborn has mouth sores, call your doctor to diagnose the cause. Diseases as simple as thrush, caused by the yeast Candida albicans, can cause patches that bleed in the mouth. Other diseases need immediate medical treatment.
References
- KidsHealth; Coxsackievirus Infections; Joel Klein, M.D.; November 2010
- Baby Center: Canker Sores
- New York State Department of Health; Herpes Simplex Virus in the Newborn; November 2006
- Seattle Children's Hospital; Mouth Ulcers; Barton D. Schmitt, M.D.; December 2009
- MOBI Motherhood; When a Baby Refuses to Nurse Problems that Can Lead to Breastfeeding Refusal and Possible Solutions; Kim Evangelisti
- Directors of Health Promotion and Education: Syphilis
