Question
Your son's teeth and gums seem to be developing very well, but from your description I believe he has an infection.
Answer
Your son's teeth and gums seem to be developing very well, but from your description I believe he has an infection. It could be one of several different infectionsnone of them seriousthat can affect children's gums.
He likely has a viral infection of the mouth caused by the herpes virus. This is the virus that causes cold sores and fever blisters and sometimes fever and pain. The first time children have the herpes virus they typically have an active infection throughout the mouth that lasts about a week. The immune system will clear the virus on its own. We usually treat the infection with pain medicine and gentle cleaning of the gums. If the virus comes back, it will produce one cold sore or fever blister.
This virus is contagiousyour son probably picked it up from someone with a cold sore or fever blister. Make sure other family members do not become ill by insisting on frequent and thorough hand-washing. Also, keep your son away from any newborns or individuals with immune problems until he is healed.
There are other viruses that can cause blisters in the mouth, too. In addition,
infants and
toddlers can get thrush, which is a yeast infection in the mouth. Thrush can make the gums red, swollen, and painful and produce white, cottage cheese-like patches on the gums and mouth surface. Thrush often needs medicine to clear.
When dealing with sores or bleeding of the gums, if the problem lasts more than two or three days or the pain is severe, have your son seen by his health care provider.
Good luck! I hope he feels better quickly.
