Two years ago I got a very bad upper respiratory infection that lasted for a long time. It seemed to resist all of the antibiotics and steroids that my doctor prescribed for me. I had breathing treatments in the doctor's office, shots of rocephin, took prednisone, and changed oral antibiotics several times. After about three weeks it started to get better. I was just beginning to feel like my old self again when my throat started feeling like it was on fire. I also had a high temperature. It was impossible to eat and hard to drink. I had to go back to the doctor, again. He checked me out and told me that I had strep throat. He said that being so ill with the upper respiratory infection had caused my immune system to become somewhat compromised, and that my case of strp throat was a bad one. I got another shot of rocephin, and more antibiotics for the strep throat. Whatever medicine he prescribed wasn't working at all. so back I went after a week of taking medication for strep throat. The pain was worse, instead of better, and my mouth had started hurting very badly. It had gross white spots all in it and my tongue had a whitish film covering it. I was hurting and scared because I didn't have any idea what was wrong with me. This time I was told that my immune system was really working over-time trying to fight the upper respiratory infection and the strep throat. The result was that my compromised immune system along with taking tons of very strong antibiotics orally as well as in the form of shots had caused something called thrush in my mouth. That was what the gross white stuff all in my mouth was called. The Mayo Clinic staff says that some of the causes of oral thrush and other candida infections *"can occur when your immune system is weakened by disease or drugs such as prednisone, or when antibiotics disturb the natural balance of microorganisms in your body. Normally, your immune system works to repel harmful invading organisms, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, while maintaining a balance between "good" and "bad" microbes that normally inhabit your body. But sometimes these protective mechanisms fail, which can allow an oral thrush infection to take hold." *I kept reading what the Mayo Clinic wrote about thrush because i had never seen or heard of it and needed to know all I could about what it was that was making me hurt so badly and look so gross. They wrote, *"Oral thrush is a condition in which the fungus Candida albicans accumulates on the lining of your mouth. Oral thrush causes creamy white lesions, usually on your tongue or inner cheeks. The lesions can be painful and may bleed slightly when you scrape them. Sometimes oral thrush may spread to the roof of your mouth, your gums, tonsils or the back of your throat. Although oral thrush can affect anyone, it's more likely to occur in babies and people who wear dentures, use inhaled corticosteroids or have compromised immune systems. Oral thrush is a minor problem if you're healthy, but if you have a weakened immune system, symptoms of oral thrush may be more severe and difficult to control."* What I read made perfect sense to me, and was just what my doctor had explained to me, but reading it from the Mayo Clinic's website was somehow better than just hearing it from my family practitioner. My immune system was very weak from the upper respiratory infection and strep throat, I had taken prednisone for the swelling when I had the upper respiratory infection, and I had taken more antibiotics than I could count. I was so reassured that my doctor was correct. I did have oral thrush along with strep throat. I was frustrated but very glad to know that it would go away, and I would be okay. While knowing all of those things was somewhat comforting to me mentally, the thrush was still physically very painful. The thrush in my mouth and on my tongue hurt much worse than my strep throat. There wasn't anything I could do about it put keep taking antibiotics prescribed by my doctor, pray a lot, and wait for the mess to all go away. One prescription that I had filled at my local pharmacy was a bottle of **Miles Magic Mouthwash**. I had never heard of such a thing. It sounded like something a quack would sell. My doctor isn't a quack and I trust my pharmacist, so I did what the bottle of **Miles Magic Mouthwash **directed. It said "Take two teaspoons, swish and spit four times a day as needed." I only had to use the **Miles Magic Mouthwash **for 3 or four days, and that nasty thrush mess was gone!I suppose Miles worked magic, after all. As it turns out, **Miles Magic Mouthwash **is a mixture of : "Viscous lidocaine 2% 150 mL, Diphenhydramine 12.5 mg/5 mL 20 mL, Hydrocortisone (*Solu-Cortef*) 100 mg, Tetracycline 2 grams, and Nystatin suspension 20 mL."  That magic mixture helped stop the pain from my thrush, and helped cure it. In case you ever wonder if possibly you may have thrush, here is some useful information: "*Initially, you may not have noticeable oral thrush symptoms. Signs and symptoms may develop suddenly, but they may persist for a long time and can include:* - *Creamy, white lesions on your tongue, inner cheeks and sometimes on the roof of your mouth, gums and tonsils * - *Lesions with a cottage cheese-like appearance * - *Pain * - *Slight bleeding if the lesions are rubbed or scraped * - *Cracking at the corners of your mouth * - *A cottony feeling in your mouth * - *Loss of taste * *In severe cases, the lesions may spread downward into your esophagus - the long, muscular tube stretching from the back of your mouth to your stomach (Candida esophagitis). If this occurs, you may experience difficulty swallowing or feel as if food is getting stuck in your throat."* I hope you never get thrush, but if you do, and your doctor doesn't prescribe **Miles Magic Mouthwash** for you, ask him or her about it. It truly worked magic for me. (P.S. I have marked out my personal information in the photos to protect my privacy.)

lopine

Tiny Town, GA